Tech Talks Daily

What can Formula One and football teach businesses about building customer relationships that continue long after a single event?
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Ben Lewis, Vice President of Marketing at Infobip, about the company's work with AI-powered sports companions and what those experiences can teach customer experience leaders in every industry.
Ben explains how Infobip worked with TGR Haas F1 Team to create RaceMate, an AI companion available through WhatsApp and Apple Messages for Business. Fans can access team information, driver histories, race schedules, trivia, personalized content and interactive experiences without downloading another application.
We also discuss PitchMate, Infobip's conversational companion for global football fans. It remembers a fan's preferred team, can deliver personalized schedules and match information, and supports quizzes and other interactive features across an extended tournament.
For me, one of the most useful lessons is the decision to meet fans inside messaging channels they already use. We have all downloaded an application for a conference, flight or one-off event, used it for several days and then forgotten it exists. RaceMate and PitchMate allow the conversation to remain available in the same place someone would message a friend.
Ben also explains why Infobip measures success through returning users, conversation duration and the number of interactions rather than relying solely on clicks. TGR Haas F1 Team is currently using RaceMate to grow its fan community and provide useful content rather than constantly pushing merchandise.
The same thinking can apply far beyond sports. We discuss travel companies contacting customers during unresolved claims, healthcare providers sending poorly timed automated messages and brands promoting products without recognizing that a customer is already involved in a dispute. Connected data can help prevent these disjointed experiences.
Our conversation closes with practical advice for businesses adopting agentic AI. Ben recommends connecting customer data with campaigns, testing carefully, establishing guardrails and defining when an AI agent should transfer a conversation to a person.
Are businesses investing too much in new customer applications when the better experience could already live inside WhatsApp, RCS or Apple Messages for Business? Please share your thoughts with me.

Late payments have become so common that many businesses simply accept them as part of commercial life. But should they?
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Pat Bermingham, founder and CEO of Adflex, about why late payments continue to cost the UK economy an estimated £11 billion every year, why thousands of businesses fail because of cash flow pressures, and how technology could help change payment behavior rather than simply respond to it.
Pat argues that late payments are rarely an administrative accident. In many industries they have become an informal financing mechanism, allowing larger organizations to protect their own cash flow while placing increasing financial pressure on smaller suppliers. Construction is one example, but the challenge extends across many sectors where long supply chains and uneven bargaining power make delayed payments the norm rather than the exception.
We discuss why new government proposals to strengthen payment regulations represent progress, while also examining why legislation alone cannot solve a structural problem that has developed over decades.
Instead, Pat believes technology can play a much bigger role.
He explains how virtual commercial cards and Straight Through Processing (STP) allow buyers to access extended finance while suppliers receive payment far more quickly, without introducing additional friction into the payment process. Rather than forcing suppliers to accept card payments directly, the technology automates the process behind the scenes while improving reconciliation, increasing visibility and supporting healthier cash flow across the supply chain.
The conversation also explores why many organizations still rely on fragmented payment systems created through years of acquisitions and disconnected technologies. Modernizing payment infrastructure can reduce delays, improve operational efficiency and help businesses build stronger supplier relationships rather than treating late payment as a normal business practice.
Pat also shares how an earlier career as a music producer shaped his thinking about technology. Watching digital innovation transform music production helped him recognize how technology can simplify complex processes while also creating new business models that challenge established industries.
For finance leaders, procurement teams, CIOs and business owners, this episode provides practical insights into improving cash flow, strengthening supplier relationships, modernizing payment processes and preparing for a future where prompt payment becomes both a commercial advantage and an increasing regulatory expectation.
Changing payment legislation is important. Changing payment behavior is what will ultimately strengthen businesses, protect suppliers and create more resilient supply chains.

Most AI conversations begin with productivity. Joanna Pachnik thinks that's the wrong place to start.
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Joanna Pachnik, founder of Blueclip, about why AI is changing far more than the speed of work. It's changing how businesses create value, what customers are willing to pay for, and what competitive advantage will look like over the next decade.
Drawing on her experience leading global supply chain transformation projects at Ernst & Young and Mars before founding Blueclip, Joanna argues that knowledge is becoming increasingly accessible through AI. Research, analysis and reports that once took weeks and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars can now be produced in hours. That doesn't eliminate the need for expertise. It changes what expertise is worth.
Rather than paying for information alone, organizations increasingly want implementation, measurable outcomes and practical experience that AI cannot easily replicate. Joanna explains why unique industry knowledge, benchmarking, practical experience and genuine human relationships may become more valuable as AI becomes more capable.
We also discuss why so many enterprise AI initiatives struggle to deliver meaningful results. Joanna believes the technology is rarely the biggest obstacle. The real problem is poor data, undocumented processes and organizations trying to automate before building the foundations AI depends upon. Her advice is simple: prepare your data, document your processes, create a company knowledge layer, then introduce AI one use case at a time.
The conversation also explores why AI should be viewed as a business transformation initiative rather than an automation project. Instead of accelerating existing processes, companies should ask whether those processes should exist at all. AI creates an opportunity to redesign how organizations operate, continuously improve decision-making and move people toward higher-value work.
We also examine the importance of human oversight. Joanna believes AI should begin with people reviewing and guiding its outputs before gradually taking on more responsibility in carefully selected scenarios. Human accountability remains essential, particularly when AI supports material business decisions.
For business leaders navigating AI strategy, digital transformation and enterprise innovation, this conversation offers practical advice on creating long-term value instead of chasing short-term AI hype. It explains why the companies that succeed will not necessarily be those using the most AI, but those prepared to rethink how they create value, organize knowledge and redesign their businesses around new possibilities.
The future belongs to organizations that see AI as more than another productivity tool. It belongs to those willing to transform how they work, how they serve customers and how they create lasting business value.

What happens behind the scenes when you dial 911, and is the infrastructure ready for AI, satellite messaging, video, and precise location data?
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by John Snapp, VP of Technology at Intrado. John has spent around 23 years working with cellular, location, and 911 technologies. He explains how a mobile emergency call is located, routed through a dedicated network, and directed to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point.
We discuss where AI can provide practical support inside emergency communications. Translation can help telecommunicators understand callers without waiting for an interpreter. Real-time transcription can capture details and suggest established procedures. AI voice agents can also handle suitable nonemergency inquiries, giving trained staff additional time for calls where lives may be at risk.
John is clear that emotional emergency calls still demand human understanding and authority. AI can supply information, identify possible synthetic voices, and reduce administrative work, but trained telecommunicators remain responsible for interpreting the situation and directing the response.
Our conversation also examines the infrastructure beneath these capabilities. Legacy 911 networks were designed largely for voice and limited amounts of data. Next Generation 911 introduces IP connectivity capable of carrying text, images, video, and richer location information. John explains how this foundation has made satellite texting possible and why similar capabilities were far slower to introduce using older networks.
Moving to NG911 creates its own problems. Different vendors can comply with the same technical standard while implementing it differently. Calls may also need to move between modern and legacy call centers, making interoperability testing between jurisdictions a major part of deployment.
We also consider cloud resilience, local survivability, connectivity diversity, telephony denial of service attacks, AI generated swatting calls, and the danger of adopting automation before establishing governance. John recommends starting with lower-risk areas such as quality assurance and nonemergency calls, communicating openly about AI use, and expanding only after teams understand the operational impact.
As emergency communications become richer and increasingly connected, how should public safety agencies balance faster innovation with the reliability and human judgment every caller depends on? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts with me.

When organizations review their cybersecurity posture, printers are rarely the first systems that come to mind. Yet they often account for around 20% of network endpoints while receiving, storing, processing, and transmitting sensitive business information every day.
In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I welcome back Jim LaRoe, CEO of Symphion, to discuss why printers and other connected IoT devices have become one of the most overlooked areas of enterprise cybersecurity and why AI-powered attacks are raising the stakes for organizations that continue to ignore them.
Jim explains how many businesses continue to treat printers as simple office equipment rather than Linux-based network devices with privileged access to email systems, file servers, identity services, and critical business workflows. Because responsibility for these devices often sits between procurement, managed print providers, IT operations, and security teams, they can easily fall outside normal cybersecurity processes.
We discuss how the threat landscape has changed over the past year as AI enables attackers to automate reconnaissance, credential theft, lateral movement, and ransomware deployment. Jim explains why organizations adopting Zero Trust principles also need to rethink how they secure and manage connected endpoints that have traditionally been overlooked.
The conversation also explores certificate lifecycle management, cyber hygiene, firmware management, endpoint visibility, and why unsupported devices can introduce unnecessary risk into modern enterprise environments.
For organizations managing hundreds or even thousands of printers across multiple locations, Jim explains why protecting these endpoints does not need to create additional operational burden. Instead, security should become an ongoing operational program that continuously monitors devices, detects configuration drift, applies security controls, and helps organizations maintain compliance without disrupting critical business workflows.
We also discuss the governance challenge many organizations face. Before companies can reduce risk, someone needs to own it. That means establishing accountability, assigning budget, understanding which devices exist across the business, and recognizing that printers and IoT devices deserve the same attention as servers, laptops, and other managed endpoints.
If you're responsible for cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, risk management, or digital transformation, this episode offers practical advice on protecting forgotten endpoints, strengthening Zero Trust strategies, improving endpoint visibility, and reducing the hidden risks that AI-powered attackers are increasingly looking to exploit.
Sometimes the biggest cybersecurity vulnerability isn't the system you forgot to patch. It's the one you forgot was connected in the first place.