Lifting the Lid on Technology

Softsource

Insightful. Powerful. Actionable. Welcome to Lifting the Lid on Technology, a podcast series from Softsource vBridge giving you tech insights from the inside. Join us and New Zealand's leading IT vendors and experts to uncover current market trends and challenges.

  1. 4 days ago

    Who's watching the agents?

    1.3 billion AI agents are forecast within a couple of years. The population of India. But who is watching what they do? In this Episode of Lifting the Lid, Barry White and Philip Meyer dig into Agent 365 and Microsoft Cowork, the governancekeeping the agent world under control, and the harder questions about jobs and choice. Covered in this episodeAgent 365 and agent observability, giving agents Entra IDs and Purview controls, the AWS data centre outage, Microsoft Cowork versus Claude, choice of language models across Copilot and Azure AI Foundry, and why a human still needs to check the work. Governance, compliance and the importance of our roles with AI. Bought to you in partnership with Microsoft. New episodes weekly.

    Who's watching the agents?

  2. 6 days ago

    Why auto renew will save you money

    This episode is a practical one, and it could save you money. There's a change to licensing that could raise your monthly bill, and many businesses need to act quickly. In episode five, Barry White and Philip Meyer break down Extended Service Terms in plain language, with the context you only get from 35 years inside Microsoft. Covered in this episodeWhat Extended Service Terms are, why the grace period is gone, auto renew and payment mechanics, how an annual deal can flip to monthly with an uplift, and how to get your renewal in order before the end date. Essential listening on Microsoft CSP, Extended Service Terms and licensing for New Zealand business. Bought to you in partnership with Microsoft. New episodes weekly.

    Why auto renew will save you money

  3. 5 Aug

    If AI can see all, it will tell all

    A student used their school AI LLM to show the salaries of every teacher. Is this an AI problem or a security problem? In episode four, Barry White and Philip Meyer take on confidentiality in the age of AI, and why the biggest risk is usually a helpful person, not a bad one. Covered in this episode The end of security by obscurity, accidental oversharing, Microsoft Purview and data security posture management for small business, classifying data as confidential by default, insider risk, and the scale of intellectual property loss. Real talk on AI confidentiality, data governance and Purview for New Zealand business. Bought to you in partnership with Microsoft. New episodes weekly.

    If AI can see all, it will tell all

  4. 4 Aug

    People Didn't Pilot Electricity

    People didn't pilot electricity. They adopted electricity. They didn't trial it for six months to see how it felt. They said, right, we're shutting down the steam engine and we're electrifying the business. In episode three, Barry White and Philip Meyer take a critical look at Copilot adoption and mindset, with the experienced talk of someone who spent 35 years inside Microsoft. Covered in this episode Free versus paid Copilot, security and governance, why AI is a business transformation and not an IT project, AI as electricity, why you should not bet on a single language model, and why older users often adopt with more intent. Honest talk on AI adoption and business transformation. Bought to you in partnership with Microsoft. New episodes weekly.

    People Didn't Pilot Electricity

  5. 27 July

    Into the AI Plumbing

    Right now, tens of millions of AI agents are talking to each other. Not to us. To each other. In episode two, hear the insights from someone who spent 35 years inside Microsoft. Philip Meyer and Barry White get past the hype and into the machinery of real business AI in New Zealand. Covered in this episode The agentic shift, hiring digital agents, machine to machine knowledge transfer, why AI still needs data plumbing and security, the five pillars of an AI shift, Microsoft Fabric andCopilot Studio, and why Copilot is the UI for AI. Practical talk on all things Microsoft: Copilot, agents, Fabricand generative AI for business. New episodes weekly.

    Into the AI Plumbing

  6. 27 July

    Data storage and the cloud repatriation

    The loss of information of businesses, the damage done to them, equates to the third largest economy in the planet. In episode one, Barry White sits down with Philip Meyer, 35 year Microsoft Veteran, now out on his own. They dig into the questions every New Zealand business is quietly asking about the cloud and AI. Covered in this episode Why New Zealand stays hybrid, data sovereignty and the ANZ government data centre, latency andtransactional workloads, the diluted promise of cloud scalability, the real cost of lost intellectual property, and the shift from Shadow IT to Shadow AI. Straight talk on cloud compliance, data sovereignty and governance, built for New Zealand business. New episodes weekly

    Data storage and the cloud repatriation

  7. 1 Apr

    S1 Episode 22 - What Happens After the Deal is Done

    Most acquisitions are messy. Two companies, two cultures, two ways of doing things: and often casualties along the way.  Sometimes, it goes differently. In episode 23 of Lifting the Lid, Barry White sits down with Pablo Garcia-Curtis (Group CEO, Softsource vBridge) and Mark Mayo (CEO, The Laptop Company) to talk about what actually happens when you bring 200 people under one company, and why taking time turned out to be the smartest move they made. If you're a business leader navigating growth, thinking about acquisition, or just trying to build a team that doesn't wants to do the right thing, this episode is worth a listen. See spotify.com/nz/legal/privacy-policy for privacy information.

    S1 Episode 22 - What Happens After the Deal is Done

  8. 03/12/2025

    S1 Episode 21 - How Collaborative is New Zealand Really?

    Are NZ workplaces keeping pace with the rest of APAC in the new era of collaboration?  With hybrid work now the norm, organisations across New Zealand are rethinking how people connect, communicate, and collaborate.  In this episode of Lifting the Lid on Technology, Jason MacBride, Regional Director ANZ at Neat, joins Barry White to unpack the latest IDC APAC Team Collaboration Benchmarks Report, revealing how NZ businesses compare with their regional peers and how Neat is paving the way for customers with innovative workplace collaboration solutions that simplify hybrid meetings, enhance inclusivity, and drive smarter, more sustainable experiences.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    S1 Episode 21 - How Collaborative is New Zealand Really?
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About

Insightful. Powerful. Actionable. Welcome to Lifting the Lid on Technology, a podcast series from Softsource vBridge giving you tech insights from the inside. Join us and New Zealand's leading IT vendors and experts to uncover current market trends and challenges.

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