Ten Thousand Feet, the Vervint Podcast

Vervint
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Technology
  • Monthly

All areas of an organization, even those still in the analog world, are being transformed by technology. This shift isn't just modernizing manual processes with digital tools, but changing the fabric of an organization to support a new way of thinking. So while it may be a buzzword, digital transformation is happening and we're here to unpack it with you. Between big ideas and tiny details is the ten thousand foot view. Join the technology consultants from Vervint as we discuss the changing landscape of technology and what we're learning along the way. Vervint is a technology consultancy, specializing in all things digital. With offices in Minneapolis, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, we have spent almost three decades working with companies to grow, innovate, and better serve their customers using technology.

  1. Oct 21

    With Gratitude Episode Five | Cat and Mouse

    October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so Episode 5 of the With Gratitude series takes 10,000 Feet somewhere it hasn’t gone yet. Hosts Stephanie Hogen, Chief Consulting Officer at Vervint by Koniag Tech, and Allen Debes, CEO of Koniag Capital, are joined by Brian Gallagher, President of the cyber team at Vervint by Koniag Tech, and Matt Meyers, Senior Manager of Adversary Operations at The Home Depot, who covers red teaming, threat intelligence, deception engineering, and purple teaming. Matt has also served 25 years in the Air National Guard and is Deputy Lead of Connecticut’s Cyber Incident Response Team. The conversation opens with how both guests came into this work through September 11, then turns to what AI actually changed. Matt walks through a leaked API key as a before-and-after: ten years ago exploiting one took deep expertise and days of effort, and today it takes a prompt. Brian recalls SolarWinds requiring hundreds of people reading code line by line only five years ago. From there the discussion moves to what each of them recommends for non-security listeners, with Matt offering LFAP (least function, access, and privilege) and Brian warning about the approve-all reflex in AI tools. They cover visibility as the root of most major incidents, how to brief non-technical leadership, and why neither of them wants to shut down company-wide AI experimentation: shadow AI happens regardless, so the work is building a sanctioned playground with controls and enterprise licensing already in place.

    With Gratitude Episode Five | Cat and Mouse

  2. Oct 21

    With Gratitude Episode Four | Live with Eli Bernstein

    Recorded live during Tech Week in Grand Rapids, this episode of With Gratitude brings together Stephanie Hogen, Chief Consulting Officer at Vervint, and Eli Bernstein, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Ascertain. Ascertain builds AI agents for healthcare work patients never see: prior authorizations, referrals, and benefits verification. The company calls its model “service as a software,” meaning customers buy the outcome and don’t have to manage the tool themselves. Eli opens with the series’ signature question and says gratitude lasts when trust and security come with it, as a steady confidence underneath rather than a single moment of delight. Ascertain started with fieldwork. Eli spent hours in clinicians’ offices watching administrators move one piece of information across two monitors and fifteen applications while juggling three people on a call. He came to see healthcare as a translation problem. The front desk, the payer, and the government registry each name the same insurer differently, and LLMs were the first technology that could map those messy, subjective signals. He shares results from one of the country’s largest oncology practice groups (40 to 50% faster turnaround, and roughly 95% of one team’s payer phone time given back) and tells the story of an authorization assistant in Virginia who recognized every caller within five seconds. The reason behind the company is personal: his father left medicine over administrative burden, and so did co-founder and CEO Mark Michalski, a radiologist. In the second half, Eli talks about building. Ascertain stays out of patient-facing communication on purpose, and he points to Zappos as a counterexample to the industry’s rush to cut human contact. He explains how he prioritizes a roadmap without a twenty-variable framework on the wall, and how to build something durable when the technology underneath keeps changing. His answer is that the advantage lies in context and domain mapping, which outlast any particular model. Audience questions cover the VA, running a proof of concept with a single payer, security and change management inside healthcare organizations, whether efficiency gains get reclaimed as higher patient volume, and how to measure success beyond touchless rate. Eli predicts that within a year the big step will be safe, auditable write access into internal systems, where today most tools can only read the data.

    With Gratitude Episode Four | Live with Eli Bernstein

  3. Aug 28

    With Gratitude Episode Three | More Outside Cats

    In this episode of With Gratitude, hosts Stephanie Hogen (Chief Consulting Officer, Vervint, part of Koniag Tech) and Allen Debes (CEO, Koniag Capital) are joined by Mark Orttung, CEO of Projectworks, a platform that runs professional services firms from proposals to payments and now serves more than 750 companies. Mark has moved back and forth between building software and running services businesses, and he brings both perspectives to a conversation about what AI should actually change inside a consulting firm. The discussion centers on three ideas. First, that growth is the hidden solution to problems that don't look like growth problems. Mark walks through the twenty small mechanics that work automatically while a firm is growing and break simultaneously when it flattens, including the annual raise that quietly becomes unaffordable the moment you stop hiring a new college class, plus the counterintuitive decision to hire three expensive senior client partners at the bottom of a decline rather than run layoffs. Second, Stephanie's "inside cats and outside cats" framing, which gives the episode its title. House cats do internal admin, outside cats create client value, and the strategic goal of agents is to shrink the inside work so complexity and expertise move outside the firm's four walls. Third, Mark's answer to an audience question about AI hollowing out junior roles: the "AI reality check" role, where juniors shift from weeks of assembling research to verifying that AI output actually holds up, citations included. Along the way: why most software in his category solves "the less important half" of the problem by selling efficiency instead of growth; the week-long manual resource-planning exercise that was stale seven days later; Projectworks' aggregate data across 700 plus customers showing that firms planning resourcing two or more months ahead see just under 25% higher year-over-year revenue growth, 9% higher revenue per employee, and about 8% higher utilization; the MCP release that lets Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini draft a consultant's timesheet from calendars and meeting notes; the systems of record versus systems of action debate and why Mark doesn't believe in the "SaaSpocalypse"; the contract review Claude skill that scores MSA terms red, yellow, or green against a firm's target positions on limitation of liability, indemnification, and termination rights; and the reminder that recovered hours should go toward learning, ideally alongside customers. Mark's closing line: gratitude becomes lasting when people have the freedom to do the work they enjoy most. Everything else is "the laundry of the job."

    With Gratitude Episode Three | More Outside Cats

  4. Jul 24

    With Gratitude Episode Two | The Ripple Effect

    What happens when technology is designed not to replace human relationships, but to strengthen them? In this episode of With Gratitude, Stephanie Hogen sits down with Karen Borchert, founder and CEO of Alpaca, to discuss how thoughtful listening can transform workplace culture. Drawing from her experience supporting educators across the country, Karen shares why small moments of recognition create outsized impact, how positivity spreads through teams, and what leaders can learn from the simple act of asking, “How are you doing?” The conversation also explores the evolving role of AI in human-centered organizations. Rather than replacing relationships, Karen argues that technology is most valuable when it helps people discover opportunities for connection, appreciation, and support that might otherwise go unnoticed. Along the way, she offers practical advice for leaders in any industry on building stronger feedback loops, responding quickly to employee needs, and creating cultures where people feel genuinely seen and heard.

    With Gratitude Episode Two | The Ripple Effect

  5. Jul 24

    With Gratitude Episode One | A New Aim

    In this first episode of With Gratitude, Stephanie Hogen and Allen Debes explore a surprising shift in how we experience technology, starting with the moment AI becomes something we instinctively thank. From there, the conversation expands into how AI is changing the structure of work, compressing timeframes and reshaping client expectations, while opening the door to more thoughtful, human-centered experiences if used intentionally. They unpack the tension between acceleration and over-reliance, introducing the risk of “cognitive surrender” alongside the opportunity to use AI as a true thinking partner rather than a replacement for judgment. At its core, the episode introduces a new aim for technology and services: designing for lasting gratitude, not just short-term satisfaction. The discussion highlights the importance of preserving human ownership, emotional intelligence, and accountability in an AI-driven world, arguing that the real value lies in a disciplined human–AI partnership where technology handles the heavy lifting and humans bring meaning, context, and connection.

    With Gratitude Episode One | A New Aim

  6. May 19

    Not Just a Consultant: How Shared Investment Made RTC's Upgrade a Success

    When RTC Industries decided to finally upgrade their Infor LN ERP system after 17 years on the same version, the stakes were high and the history was complicated. A previous attempt had stalled, leaving the organization with lingering doubts about whether a project like this could actually succeed. In this episode of 10,000 Feet, host Jessica Boucher sits down with Bill Mickow, VP of IT at RTC Industries, and Ben McClure, Project Manager at Vervint, to talk about what it genuinely takes to see a complex, high-stakes implementation through to a successful go-live. What set this project apart was not the technology itself, but the nature of the partnership between RTC and Vervint. With no one on the business side fully dedicated to the project, Vervint did not simply advise from the sidelines. They embedded alongside the RTC team, bridging the gap between deep system expertise and the operational realities of the business. That meant helping navigate scope decisions, building confidence in new processes, and always presenting a united front to the broader organization, so the business never had to absorb the friction of internal disagreements. The results spoke for themselves. After multiple full dry-run cycles, disciplined checklist management, and relentless collaboration between both teams, go-live day arrived with a war room that was, by Bill's own account, remarkably quiet. Post-launch, the organization responded not with exhaustion but with energy, a growing backlog of new capabilities they were finally ready to pursue. As both guests reflect on the project, their shared takeaway is clear: ERP upgrades do not have to be painful, but getting them right requires choosing a partner who is as invested in your long-term success as you are.

    Not Just a Consultant: How Shared Investment Made RTC's Upgrade a Success

  7. Jan 8

    Beyond the Summer: How Vervint Interns Spark Lasting Change

    In this episode of 10,000 Feet, Mollie Hill and Robin Kleinjans‑McKee take listeners inside Vervint’s internship program—an experience designed not just to shape future consultants but to uplift teams, clients, and the wider community. They explore how the program’s combination of real client work, intentional mentorship, hands‑on learning, and community involvement creates impact that echoes far beyond a single summer. What We Cover in This Episode• The Heart Behind the Program Mollie and Robin break down why intern season is one of Vervint’s favorite times of the year, sharing how the program advances both Vervint’s mission and the growth of young professionals. They discuss the company’s commitment to developing local talent and strengthening community ties. • Mentorship & Leadership Development Listeners get an inside look at Vervint’s mentor‑manager model, which provides interns with daily support while also developing leadership skills in current employees. It’s a win‑win: interns build confidence, and mentors grow as leaders. • Training That Builds Real‑World Skills From consulting fundamentals and business 101 to agile workflows, human‑centered design, and even AI in business—executives and consultants guide interns through meaningful learning sessions. StrengthsFinder workshops help interns understand how they naturally show up on teams. • Real Client Work, Real Impact The interns aren’t getting coffee—they’re contributing to real client projects that make a difference. Mollie and Robin share stories of how interns’ fresh perspectives spark new ideas and innovation within the teams they join. • Community, Culture & Connection The program extends beyond project work. Game lunches, group check‑ins, the Hello West Michigan Intern Connect conference, and volunteering days all help interns build meaningful relationships and become part of Vervint’s culture. • The Final Presentations & What Comes Next The episode highlights the powerful moment when interns present their summer work to the entire company—and the pride that comes with seeing their growth. Mollie and Robin also touch on the various post‑internship paths, from joining Vervint full time to receiving support as they pursue other opportunities. • Why It Matters Across the episode, one theme stands out: investing in people leads to growth for everyone—interns, employees, clients, and the communities Vervint serves. The program doesn't just prepare future consultants; it strengthens Vervint’s culture year after year.

    Beyond the Summer: How Vervint Interns Spark Lasting Change

  8. 12/11/2025

    Cloud Outages: Lessons in Resilience and Error Budgets

    In this episode of 10,000 Feet, Nate Sherman and Matt Glenn dive into the recent wave of major cloud outages impacting AWS, Azure, and Cloudflare, exploring what went wrong and why these failures are so disruptive. They discuss the growing risks of globally applied changes, the importance of error budgets, and strategies for building resilience in modern infrastructure. The conversation also covers best practices in site reliability engineering, monitoring, and alerting, as well as the role of AI and automation in change management. Packed with insights for architects, SREs, and IT leaders, this episode offers practical guidance on balancing speed, reliability, and risk in today’s cloud-driven world.

    Cloud Outages: Lessons in Resilience and Error Budgets
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

All areas of an organization, even those still in the analog world, are being transformed by technology. This shift isn't just modernizing manual processes with digital tools, but changing the fabric of an organization to support a new way of thinking. So while it may be a buzzword, digital transformation is happening and we're here to unpack it with you. Between big ideas and tiny details is the ten thousand foot view. Join the technology consultants from Vervint as we discuss the changing landscape of technology and what we're learning along the way. Vervint is a technology consultancy, specializing in all things digital. With offices in Minneapolis, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, we have spent almost three decades working with companies to grow, innovate, and better serve their customers using technology.

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