Next in Tech

As organizations have worked to leverage the power of AI in interacting with large language models, they've invested in prompt engineering to generate better results. But agents shift the need manage the full context of not only the prompt, but also the data that's being presented. Analysts Jean Atelsek and Alex Johnston return to the podcast to look at the new discipline of context engineering and how it's being put to work in AI environments with host Eric Hanselman. The process of context engineering looks at ensuring that the right data context is in place for agents to act on. It requires a shift from thinking that more data is necessarily better and understanding to getting the right data is the best insurance against agents picking up bad habits. We've come full circle in approaches to data and organizations need to raise the level of abstraction at which they address data need for agentic applications.  We've been working through waves of capability in the march to agentic operations. Organizations have access to the same models, but how they're used is where differentiation is possible. Agentic approaches demand greater sophistication and understanding around the context with which data is presented to applications. There has to be more careful curation, to get reasonable results. More S&P Global Content: AI in action: unleashing agentic potential Next in Tech | Ep. 224: Context Around MCP Next in Tech Podcast: Agentic Customer Experience For S&P Global Subscribers: Agents are already driving workplace impact and agentic AI adoption – Highlights from VotE: AI & Machine Learning Benchmarking digital maturity: Are businesses ready for agentic AI? – Highlights from VotE: Customer Experience & Commerce Pace of AI agent advancement could spur M&A in the sales automation market Big Picture Report: 2026 AI Outlook – Unleashing agentic potential Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Jean Atelsek, Alex Johnston Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

The latest Big Picture reports are out and cover a wide range of topics from financial markets to supply chains and onward to technology and AI. Two of the authors, Lindsey Hall and Chris Rogers, join host Eric Hanselman to talk about sustainability, supply chains and AI. These are tightly interwoven and their dependencies spill out into geopolitics, as well. Sustainability conversations have focused on climate adaptation and resilience. Climate risks are growing and yet only 35% of businesses have adaptation plans in place. The urgent demands for AI infrastructure are consuming both energy and the materials to build data centers. Meeting those needs is shifting sustainability priorities for the companies looking to deploy AI, as well as energy focus. Renewables are still a key part of energy plans, but they've moved to an all-of-the-above approach to fuel AI-driven consumption levels. It's been what could be called an un-fun year in supply chain. Uncertainty has become the new certainty. Changes in tariff policies have had the side effect of pushing the affected countries closer together. That's led to reshoring efforts, which have seen particular growth in ASEAN countries. One of complexities of this shift is that labor forces are now competing with manufacturing automation and robotics, rather than skills and cost differentials in different regions. The rise of agentic AI is only increasing pressure on infrastructure and energy supplies as it accelerates operational velocity.  More S&P Global Content: Insights in Motion: See the Big Picture How data, AI and standards can help address sustainability challenges 5 Climate Week NYC takeaways setting the scene for decision-making in 2026 Three Tools for Trump Tariffs 2.0 Climate costs are rising, but few companies have an adaptation plan All Things Sustainable Podcast Next in Tech podcast: Agentic Customer Experience CERAWeek Conference For S&P Global Subscribers: Agents are already driving workplace impact and agentic AI adoption – Highlights from VotE: AI & Machine Learning Benchmarking digital maturity: Are businesses ready for agentic AI? – Highlights from VotE: Customer Experience & Commerce Pace of AI agent advancement could spur M&A in the sales automation market Big Picture Report: 2026 AI Outlook – Unleashing agentic potential Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman     Guests: Lindsey Hall, Chris Rogers Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

As the holiday shopping season gets into full swing, this year thoughts are turning to agents and the changing role of AI in commerce. Sheryl Kingstone returns to discuss the impacts and offer insights into strategies for putting agents to work and working in a world of agents with host Eric Hanselman. AI is spanning generations in technology adoption and engagement in ways that previous technologies have struggled. Search and digital engagement had strong splits between different generations. The natural language capabilities of chat interfaces are stepping across technology hesitancy. But it is creating challenges for businesses in reaching their customers. Search engine optimization is well understood, but how can a business ensure it's found by AI entities? Making more information available, but being more selective about which interactions get what data is a critical balance to achieve. Bot management has become a lot more complicated. Building trust in autonomous experiences is the next big hurdle that AI technologies have to accomplish. Gen Z users are more comfortable with automated actions, but trust is still key. Building connections with brand advocates is just as important as it's always been and now has to be delivered through AI. Internal chat can be a good start and it needs to be extended to become a more complete assistant-style interaction. It requires a significant improvement from legacy chatbots and the business it creates can make it worthwhile.   More S&P Global Content: 451 IT Insider: A roundup for IT decision-makers Next in Tech | Ep. 205: Agentic AI Impacts National Retail Federation looks to revitalize the modern commerce experience   For S&P Global subscribers: Benchmarking digital maturity: Are businesses ready for agentic AI? – Highlights from Vot… Pace of AI agent advancement could spur M&A in the sales automation market Big Picture Report: 2026 AI Outlook – Unleashing agentic potential   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman  Guest: Sheryl Kingstone Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith  

One of the biggest banking and payments conferences, Money 20/20, has wrapped up and the enthusiasm for all things stablecoin has continued. Jordan McKee, Sampath Sharma and McKayla Wooldridge return to discuss how this is evolving with host Eric Hanselman. The cryptocurrency has become the buzzy headline in so many of the conversations at Money 20/20. But consumers are still wary of stablecoins and the larger questions is around how financial services companies will deliver valuable services using them. Unlike previous years, there were no dark clouds hovering over the payments markets. The industry is generally upbeat and starting to embrace agentic AI. Efforts are underway to standardize agent-driven commerce with the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). It's a point of cooperation across payments companies that normally compete for share of consumer wallets. There's still work to be done in developing governance mechanisms for agentic transactions and those efforts will also need to build consumer trust.   More S&P Global Content: Inside the role of payments manager: Responsibilities, KPIs and strategy Next in Tech | Ep. 239: Stablecoins   For S&P Global subscribers: Interest in stablecoins and agentic commerce tempered by caution – Highlights from VoCUL: Connected… Data Insight: Cross-border payments volume to surpass $17 trillion by 2030 Cross-Border Payments Market Monitor & Forecast - Data Visualization Cross-border payments, stablecoins generate buzz at a low-key Money20/20 Asia   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman  Guests: Jordan McKee, Sampath Sharma, McKayla Wooldridge Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith  

The equipment that fills data centers is evolving rapidly, driven by the need to fulfill the seemingly insatiable appetite of AI applications. The Open Compute Project (OCP) was founded by Meta/Facebook to promulgate equipment standards and its annual Summit has grown from a small specialized gathering, to an event that strains the capacity of the San Jose Convention Center. Senior research analyst Perkins Liu returns to offer his take on this meteoric growth with host Eric Hanselman. AI requirements are pushing ever greater scale both logically and physically, with the width of server racks doubling in the Open Rack Wide (ORW) specification to support greater density and better serviceability. The OCP Foundation is also working on silicon interoperability and is setting specifications for chiplet integration. Liquid cooling has moved from a nice to have feature to a required capability as a means to dissipate the huge amount of energy drawn by ever denser GPU arrays. Energy delivery is changing with the advent of higher voltage DC power. The early OCP efforts on 48 volt DC are paling in the face of new 800 volts designs. The OCP Foundation is also expanding its mission to include education, with the establishment of the OCP Academy. It aims to raise workforce skills in open hardware and will offer online training in data center technologies. That underscores not only the expansion of the OCP Foundation's mission, but also the increasing scale of the ecosystem that supports data center environments and complexity and interdependency that AI creates.   More S&P Global Content: Sustainability continues to drive datacenter infrastructure evolution Webinar: Talk to the Expert - Artificial intelligence, datacenters and energy: Is APAC ready for th… For S&P Global subscribers: Air cooling remains prevalent, but liquid cooling is gaining momentum – Highlights from VotE: Datac… Adjusted definitions of datacenter markets in China align with socioeconomic processes Datacenters increasingly use direct current to cope with AI workloads Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman  Guest: Perkins Liu Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

There are many ways to frame conversations around cyber security. They can take on many aspects of security, ranging across the technical to the human. With the press towards platform consolidation, it's critical to reconsider the interaction between the human and technical elements and research director Scott Crawford and Javvad Malik, CISO advisor at KnowBe4, join host Eric Hanselman to dig into this important interplay. It's all too easy to fall into security practices that focus on technical requirements and don't account for the friction that is created for the people who use them. It's also easy to drop into a mindset that better security is just a matter of user education. Effective security requires thinking about user experience, as well as technical controls. Authentication is one of the most frequently experienced security interactions and also one where a technical focus can have the highest impact on the people using. Authentication happens often and is also a key element in securing IT environments. The push to multifactor authentication, for example, is an important step in security enforcement and can require a significant change in how people interact with the systems that support their daily lives. A wholistic approach to security can help teams move beyond the frustrating cycle of user training and shift to collaborative security implementations. More S&P Global Content: The evolution of security platforms – 6 centers of gravity shaping the market AI for security: Agentic AI will be a focus for security operations in 2025 From KnowBe4: The Hidden Cybersecurity Threat: Securing the Human-AI Relationship For S&P Global Subscribers: Security for agentic AI: Key areas of focus Worlds colliding: Uniting proactive and reactive security Identity & Access Management Market Monitor & Forecast Beyond ITDR: Viewing identity security through a wider lens Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Scott Crawford, Javvad Malik Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

The enthusiasm for AI has been impressive and it's leading to the inevitable questions about whether or not all of it is warranted. Melissa Otto CFA, head of S&P Global's Visible Alpha research team, returns to discuss concerns about an AI bubble with host Eric Hanselman. Defining what actually indicates a bubble might be the trickiest aspect of the question. Is it outsized levels of debt? Unrealistic valuations? Both debt and valuations are high, but are they unreasonably so? So much depends on seeing what AI capabilities can deliver and we're still in the early days of understanding what ROI really is. There are still challenges in getting the domain approaches right. Doing real analytical work is more challenging and there is still more work to do in integrating with business processes.  And it's not just the technical aspects that are in play. It's possible that macroeconomic restraints are holding back even more enthusiastic spending that could create a bubble. Current interest rates create caution in taking on additional debt. It's also possible that rate cuts could unleash more risk taking and overextension through debt. That might be an indicator of a looming bubble. Or maybe not… More S&P Global Content: Datacenter & Energy Innovation Summit 2025 Otto: Markets are grappling with how to price AI-related stocks   Netflix earnings preview: Q3 2025 Next in Tech podcast, Episode 239: AI Infrastructure Next in Tech podcast, Episode 221: Datacenter slowdown? For S&P Global Subscribers: Shifting AI exits Venture capital outlook: Investments surge as exits lag Hyperscaler earnings quarterly: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud capex projections trend still higher Tech Trend in Focus: GPUaaS market momentum Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Melissa Otto, CFA Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

The world of cryptocurrencies has seen no shortage of upheaval, but regulatory clarity that has arrived with recent legislation has created opportunities. Stablecoins are an area that's seeing renewed interest in FinTech as a means of reducing friction for global payments. Jordan McKee, Sampath Sharma and Nathan Stovall return to the podcast with host Eric Hanselman to look at how stablecoins are being put to work and how they're being used. For applications like cross border trade and the remittances trade, stablecoins can increase speed and potentially reduce costs. They can be considered another payment rail through which to conduct business.   Stablecoins are not without challenges. There are regulatory imperatives to be met, like anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC). Trust needs to be built in the market and education is needed around their potential benefits and risks. Traditional banks are getting involved, but they have additional stumbling blocks. There are technical hurdles, such as the readiness of backend systems to handle the higher precision values of stablecoins. And there are new concerns around custody risk, as handling wallets and the enhanced security required are new skills for many. The potential benefits and lucrative markets may give them enough incentive to take the plunge.   More S&P Global Content: US banks maintain favorable earnings while confronting economic uncertainty Money20/20 Europe 2025: Key trends and developments Balance sheet, M&A and capital raising strategies for a volatile environment Next in Tech | Ep. 230: FinTech Advances Street Talk | Episode 142: Despite Looming Rate Cuts, Strong Deposit Franchises Still Take The Cake   For S&P Global subscribers: Data Insight: Cross-border payments volume to surpass $17 trillion by 2030 Cross-Border Payments Market Monitor & Forecast - Data Visualization Cross-border payments, stablecoins generate buzz at a low-key Money20/20 Asia Tariffs create urgency for payment optimization strategies among large merchants, SMBs   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman  Guest: Jordan McKee, Sampath Sharma, Nathan Stovall Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

Some might think that the metaverse has been a passing technology fad, but rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated. While the language may have shifted to things like spatial computing and augmented reality, the technologies and use cases have been flourishing. Analysts Neil Barbour and Ian Hughes return to discuss recent study results and industrial metaverse progress with host Eric Hanselman. Companies are working to build a digital thread that runs through their organizations, linking the physical and virtual worlds. They're leveraging digital twins to simulate operations and putting AI to work creating and populating the virtual environments in which they run. When gaming companies shift to building virtual large world models in partnership with defense contractors, the metaverse has clearly shifted gears. Virtual environments are being used for training as well as strategic planning. Smart phones are being integrated into retail space planning and assessment and emergency teams are playing Tetris to secure helicopter landing sites. The metaverse is alive and well and making some large steps forward. More S&P Global Content: 451 Digital Industries Insider Metaverse Survey: Nearly half of consumers interested in buying smart glasses Metaverse Digest: A look at Augmented World Expo, Snap updates Lens Studio As the Esports World Cup Wraps, Kagan Looks at the Growing Potential of Competitive Gaming For S&P Global Subscribers: Industrial metaverse adoption grows – Highlights from Metaverse B2B survey Metaverse Digest: Generative AI interactive world-building accelerates More consumers piling into virtual worlds – Highlights from Metaverse Consumer survey The dawn of industrial AI Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Neil Barbour, Ian Hughes Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

Managing the capabilities of an organization's workforce is challenging in the best of times, but the current upheaval created by AI technologies entering the workplace makes it all the more complex. The technologies that have put to work around this problem are many and varied and analyst Ethan Ray joins host Eric Hanselman to look at where we've come from and where we could be headed. There's a rush to determine if new technologies are making workers more productive and what skills are needed to leverage them. Both a recent S&P Global study and the HR Tech conference showed some trends that could be transforming working environments. Workforce intelligence approaches are looking to build a wholistic picture of knowledge, skills and ability of employees and then do skills matching and development planning.   As in other technology disciplines, a proliferation of tools has made many organizations' efforts at workforce management complicated. It's another place where many are considering integrated platforms that that can bring together HR, IT and financial teams to better understand the use of tools and resulting productivity. There are questions about what we can and what we should measure to truly understand efficiency and effectiveness. How can we understand what combination of skills and tools are generating the best financial outcomes? Better technology should hold the answer, but the path forward is not always clear.   More S&P Global Content: AI upskilling: Navigating the urgent need for workforce transformation   For S&P Global subscribers: Take 5: AI shakes up HR Workday strengthens standing in AI-driven frontline recruitment space with Paradox buy HR teams see AI as vital but face adoption barriers – Highlights from VotE: Workforce Pro… AI holds potential for workplace transformation, but employee concerns must be addressed – Highligh… MIT Manufacturing Day headlined by circular economy, workforce skills and modularity   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman  Guest: Ethan Ray Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith

Getting data to where it's needed has always been an infrastructure challenge, but the scope and scale of the problem has become much more acute as data volumes rise and AI demands more. Research director Henry Baltazar returns to look at the latest results from the Voice of the Enterprise Data Migration study with host Eric Hanselman and reflect on how organizations are addressing the crunch in data movement. There's been a significant increase in the number of enterprises reporting that they've moved to migrating petabytes of data and they're now not only shifting to cloud, but moving between clouds, as well. They're also enlisting the help of service providers more often, an indication that the scale of these activities requires professional support to manage risk. Data movement at this scale demands a shift in tactics and more are using physical transport, the shipping of storage media to cloud providers, to get the job done. They can't risk the downtime needed for network transit, although network capacities are also rising. There are opportunities that cloudy environments present in managing data costs and new strategies that enterprises can put to work to lower not only costs, but risks, too.   More S&P Global Content: Next in Tech | Ep. 234: Broadcom VMware Explore Conference Next in Tech | Ep. 224: Context Around MCP   For S&P Global subscribers: Data Insight: Public cloud storage market to hit $56B by 2029 as data demand rises As data migration evolves, outage and security concerns grow Security concerns, large payloads are key challenges for data migration – Highlights from VotE: Sto…   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Henry Baltazar Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith  

To get to the benefits that AI offers, organizations have to address their technology infrastructure in ways that are much broader than historical approaches. Senior analyst Greg Macatee joins host Eric Hanselman to delve into what's required and what enterprises are identifying in the recent Voice of the Enterprise AI and Machine Learning study. Enterprises are struggling with raising the success levels of AI projects. Over 60% report moderate to severe challenges in achieving AI success. Bringing together the computational power and the right quality data in the right locations can be complicated in the hybrid environments that more are operating. It's not just a matter of being more selective with use cases, AI requires a set of organizational skills that have to be honed. Starting small and iterating can reduce risk while building competency.  Infrastructure has to shift in new ways, as well. Data management processes that can build the necessary data pipelines to feed AI applications bring together a broader set of tech disciplines. There are new wrinkles in AI infrastructure ecosystems, with new providers looking to address supply chain constraints, like the Neocloud or GPU as a Service  (GPUaaS) providers. Even hyperscalers are looking to them to meet surging demand in a tight market. Those new options offer new choices, but enterprises need to match them with their AI goals. More S&P Global Content: Navigating the AI infrastructure landscape The path from LLMs to agentic AI Next in Tech | Ep. 225: Security for MCP For S&P Global Subscribers: AI infrastructure strategies evolve amid widespread data challenges – Highlights from VotE: AI & Machine Learning Generative AI Market Monitor & Forecast AI infrastructure: Trends, thoughts and a 2025 research agenda Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Greg Macatee Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

The annual gathering on infrastructure virtualization that is the VMware by Broadcom Explore conference has wrapped up and there are important takeaways from both the formal program and informal discussions. Analysts Jean Atelsek, Henry Baltazar and William Fellows join host Eric Hanselman to talk about their takes on the event. The newly integrated VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 (VCF) suite has shipped and along with it a new approach to the product portfolio. AI-focused capabilities have been added as VMware aims to create a private cloud portfolio to rival the public cloud offerings. Higher level data services are the first service abstractions available, with the promise of more to come. In the new organizational structure, the Tanzu product offering is now in its own division in Broadcom. While that offers it independence, it's also meant that in areas like AI functionality, there is some overlap between it and AI capabilities being built into VCF 9. The larger challenge for Broadcom is to motivate customers to fully implement VCF 9 and put all of its capabilities to work. More S&P Global Content: Next in Tech | Ep. 222: FinOps – Managing Cloud and AI Costs Next in Tech | Ep. 214: KubeCon and Cloud Native Next in Tech | Ep. 183: Exploring Broadcom VMware For S&P Global Subscribers: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 manifests Broadcom's vision for modern private cloud VMware Tanzu enhances support for generative AI and agents with Tanzu AI Solutions VMware remains dominant as organizations evaluate alternative virtualization technologies Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Jean Atelsek, Henry Baltazar, William Fellows Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

Can you have too much data for an AI application? In the mad dash to collect the raw material for AI applications, it can be tempting to pull in as much as you can. Product manager Emily Jasper returns to the podcast with a set of recommendations for more strategic use of data with host Eric Hanselman. Just as it might not be wise to load up on everything on a buffet, being strategic about using the data that best suits the goals of your project can improve outcomes and help to manage risk. By understanding the data that you're putting to work, you can bound the universe of outcomes and simplify the process of bringing it into the AI application pipeline. At the same time, the process of data governance becomes clearer when the sources are better understood.  Bringing an understanding of the set of data resources that an enterprise has is critical and has to be accompanied by knowledge of the quality of that data. The principles of library sciences are back in focus in AI, as organizations work to curate data characteristics and provenance. As in so much of AI, matching the ecosystem of tools, data providers, and capabilities to the use cases being built is fundamental to project success. Managing risk in AI has become a process of bringing the right data to the right problem. More S&P Global Content: The path from LLMs to agentic AI Next in Tech | Ep. 224: Context Around MCP Next in Tech | Ep. 225: Security for MCP For S&P Global Subscribers: Data Management Market Monitor & Forecast Automation pervades data management practices – Highlights from VotE: Data & Analytics Technology Primer: Model Context Protocol explained The evolution of agentic process automation: Midyear market and technology update Pace of AI agent advancement could spur M&A in the sales automation market Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Emily Jasper Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

The typical process of deploying technology has been one of enterprises designing infrastructure around vendor capabilities. The Open Networking Users Group (ONUG) was founded to reverse that equation and define enterprise requirements for technology and work with vendors to achieve them. Co-founder Nick Lippis joins host Eric Hanselman to talk about the approach that ONUG takes, the nature of its community and the work that they're doing today. While their roots are in the networking world, they've expanded to address a wide range of enterprise concerns. The current collaborations include security related work in cloud and security operations automation, WAN connectivity and a reference architecture for AI infrastructure. The ONUG fall conference takes place in New York on October 22-23. More S&P Global Content: The ONUG fall conference The path from LLMs to agentic AI Next in Tech | Ep. 225: Security for MCP For S&P Global Subscribers: The evolution of agentic process automation: Midyear market and technology update Pace of AI agent advancement could spur M&A in the sales automation market 2025 will be pivotal for network APIs – Highlights from Communication and Network APIs Global Survey 2024 Use of open-source software driven by reliability, low cost – Highlights from VotE: DevOps Glimpses of cybersecurity talent development: Industry and community Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guest: Nick Lippis, ONUG co-founder Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

The annual "security summer camp" that is made up of the Black Hat and DefCon conferences is just past and the security analyst team, Scott Crawford, Dan Kennedy, Justin Lam and Mark Ehr, join host Eric Hanselman to examine what they saw and discuss the implications. Despite the heat of a Las Vegas summer, it's become bigger than the two main conferences, with a number of side events, like B-Sides, there's a lot going on. AI conversations are evolving and maturing. We've mostly moved beyond blaming user foibles for breaches, but AI is expanding the attack surface with new and more complex tactics for user manipulation. AI is lowering the barriers for attackers. The days of script kiddies have morphed into Claude Code-fueled attack development. The larger question is how security vendors are responding to AI risks. Claims that tier 1 security analysts should start looking for another job just seem irresponsible in the current environment. AI augmentation can reduce toil and digest the masses of events that security teams struggle to deal with today. At the same time, AI is scaling attack volumes. It's the constant hegemony that's always played out at the core of security. More S&P Global Content: RSAC Conference 2025: Breaking records at the threshold of uncertainty AI for security: Agentic AI will be a focus for security operations in 2025 Next in Tech | Ep. 215: RSA Conference Preview Deep Pocket Inspection: RSAC Innovation Sandbox Retrospective & Perspective Next in Tech | Ep. 227: Managed Security Services Next in Tech | Ep. 225: Security for MCP For S&P Global Subscribers: Use of GenAI security solutions has spiked, continued uptake projected – Highlights from VotE: Information Security Infosec spending projected to rise 27% on average in 2025 – Highlights from VotE: Information Security CNAPP in focus after large infosec acquisition – Highlights from VotE: Information Security Data Insight: Data security market to top $26B in 2029 Data Security Market Monitor & Forecast CNAPP matures into full-spectrum security solution Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Scott Crawford, Dan Kennedy, Justin Lam, Mark Ehr Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

The FinTech market has seen considerable upheaval in activity and valuations. But spring may be coming to the funding winter that FinTech has seen and Jordan McKee and Sampath Sharma return to examine the green shoots with host Eric Hanselman. Data platforms, payment rails and insurance tech are seeing renewed interest, while riskier areas, like lending, are not seeing the same focus. FinTech companies are looking at addressing infrastructure and process challenges faced by the banking sector as they transition to the world of instant payments.  Interest in cryptocurrency is roaring back, particularly in stablecoins. The U.S. GENIUS Act has delivered a framework for their use and opened the door to new experimentation. It's another area where FinTech's have an infrastructure opportunity, as a number of FinTech companies already have stablecoin experience and can put it to work for their banking partners. All of this and more will also be on the agenda for the upcoming Banking Infrastructure Modernization webinar at the link below. More S&P Global Content: Upcoming FinTech Webinar: Banking Infrastructure Modernization: Building for Instant Payments Money20/20 Europe 2025: Key trends and developments National Retail Federation looks to revitalize the modern commerce experience Fintech funding falls 42% to $35B in 2023, but downturn may be nearing end For S&P Global Subscribers: Tech Trend in Focus: Payment orchestration Cross-border payments, stablecoins generate buzz at a low-key Money20/20 Asia Real-time payments, stablecoins draw VC attention in Q3 2024 fintech funding 2025 Trends in Fintech Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Jordan McKee, Sampath Sharma Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

While advertising is a fundamental part of business, the creator economy has become a fundamental part of advertising. Analyst Zach Ciampa joins host Eric Hanselman to explore the many facets of which it's composed and look at the market impacts. Businesses are working to balance the mix of paid, earned and owned content that they're putting to work to establish, guide and strengthen their brands. The process of influencing buying behavior and brand loyalty and the media mix as part of it continues to evolve. While TikTok may be the view that many have of user generated content (UGC), it's a much richer palette that businesses can use. Social media has become a large part of advertising, in no small part because of the allure of virality. But is this just gambling on an outcome? The human connection of social media and its people-first nature can have great power, but can be challenging to manage. Technology is being thrown at it in various forms, from influencer management platforms, to agency-driven tech M&A. AI has a role to play, but the human aspect is often the most powerful.  More S&P Global Content: Next in Tech | Ep. 228: Advertising and Tech National Retail Federation looks to revitalize the modern commerce experience Kagan Media and Telecom Summit For S&P Global Subscribers: Payments composability, optimization and resilience are top merchant priorities – Highlights from VotE: Customer Experience & Commerce Technology Primer: Building the digital foundation for retail transformation Convenience, flexibility, speed drive consumer behavior – Highlights from VoCUL: Connected Customer Key takeaways from Shoptalk Spring 2025 Credits:  Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Zach Ciampa Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

Advertising is fundamental part of business and it's one that has been buffeted by the impacts of technology in both the path to markets and the management of its delivery. Creating a brand reputation and influencing consumers is the core function and analyst Natalie Colakides and Ian Whittaker, managing director of Liberty Sky Advisors, join host Eric Hanselman to discuss the nuances of advertising and technology's evolution around it. Shifts in media have had a profound effect - the reach of linear television media has decreased significantly, while digital advertising options have expanded. Businesses are looking to blend linear and streaming advertising, but it can be complex to make an effective distinction. There is significant global variation in media consumption and advertising potential. While the UK was the first market where digital spending overtook traditional, the European market is diverging from patterns in the U.S.. Many businesses are looking to AdTech to make the process more efficient, but there are limits its capabilities. Agencies still have a significant role to play, but the advertising buying and planning that has been a big part of their business could be under threat from advances delivered by AI. Enterprises have a lot to wrestle with, but they need to keep focused on the fundamental task of winning hearts and minds.   More S&P Global Content: Kagan Media and Telecom Summit event link   For S&P Global subscribers: Big Four ad agencies see mixed results due to macro uncertainty A sneak preview of the Kagan Media & Telecom Summit 2025 See it in charts: TV Networks, June 2025   Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Natalie Colakides, Ian Whittaker Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith

Effective security management has never been simple and the expanded threat landscape enhanced by AI has only widened the gap between defenders and attackers. Scott Crawford and Greg Zwakman return to discuss the managed security services market with host Eric Hanselman. Security services have been an option for enterprises since the earliest days of IT, but the need for more depth and breadth in security operations has changed market dynamics and the enterprise security calculus. Part of this shift is driven by the scope and scale of security operations. Expanded attack surfaces with more devices, more SaaS applications and hybrid infrastructure can be all the more difficult to secure. Integrated security operations patterns, like Managed Detection and Response (MDR) can provide more comprehensive services and ones that are targeted at delivering improved security outcomes, rather than just operational support. Changing security requirements are driving M&A activity, as well. Where services had been an augmentation to vendor products, some vendors now see them as a critical part of their portfolio and a key to platform aspirations. Zscaler's acquisition of Red Canary and Sophos' pick up of SecureWorks are some of the more notable transactions in this trend. Security management has shifted front of security markets. More S&P Global Content: AI for security: Agentic AI will be a focus for security operations in 2025 The evolution of security platforms – 6 centers of gravity shaping the market For S&P Global subscribers: Managed Security Services Market Monitor & Forecast For sale: MDR vendors 2025 Trends in Information Security Ending SecureWorks' search for a suitor, Sophos takes it off Dell's hands Zscaler expands its platform play into a new market by reaching for Red Canary Credits: Host/Author: Eric Hanselman Guests: Scott Crawford, Greg Zwakman Producer/Editor: Adam Kovalsky Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Feranmi Adeoshun, Kyra Smith