Petri Dish

Russell Smith

Russell Smith hosts Petri Dish, a podcast for Microsoft system engineers and administrators looking to keep up to date with the latest trends in IT.

  1. Aug 5

    AI can now fix outages while you sleep. Are enterprises ready?

    AI agents can now write code, investigate incidents, and in some cases resolve IT problems before anyone is even aware there's an issue. But how close are we really to autonomous IT? In this episode, I sit down with Karthik Sj, Chief AI Officer at LogicMonitor, to explore how AI is moving beyond chatbots into systems that can monitor, diagnose, and act on their own. We discuss why some organizations are embracing this shift faster than others, where automation can go wrong, and why the biggest obstacle to AI adoption might not be the technology itself. 👏 Thanks to Cayosoft for sponsoring this episode!

  2. Jul 22

    AI Is Changing Tech Hiring: How IT Pros Can Still Stand Out

    AI is changing almost every part of the tech hiring process, from how candidates tailor résumés and apply for roles to how employers screen, assess, and communicate with applicants. But as both sides lean more heavily on automation, the process risks becoming noisier, less personal, and harder to trust. In this episode, I’m joined by Neil Costa, Founder and CEO of HireClix, to unpack how generative AI is reshaping recruitment for IT professionals, where the traditional hiring model is starting to break down, and what candidates and employers can do to keep the process credible, human, and effective. This episode is sponsored by Cayosoft!

  3. Jul 8

    AI Theatre: Why Enterprise AI Projects Keep Failing

    Is your organization building real business value with AI or just putting on a show? In this episode of Petri Dish, Russell Smith speaks with Troy Norcross, Fractional COO, Founder of SER Team, and AI governance advisor, about why so many enterprise AI projects fail to deliver meaningful results. Instead of starting with a clear business problem, many organizations begin with the assumption that “AI is the answer” and then look for somewhere to apply it. Troy explains why this leads to AI sprawl, shadow AI, wasted experimentation, and disappointing ROI. He also breaks down what companies need to become genuinely AI-ready and governance that acts as guardrails rather than handcuffs. The discussion also covers why AI adoption is as much a cultural and business transformation challenge as it is a technical one, how token costs could reshape enterprise AI strategy, and why IT teams need to think carefully about data access, AI gateways, and efficient AI application design. If you’re an IT leader, admin, architect, or decision-maker this conversation will help you understand where organizations are getting AI wrong and what they should do instead! Guest: Troy NorcrossHost: Russell Smith #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIGovernance #EnterpriseAI#Microsoft365 #Copilot #ITLeadership #DigitalTransformation Sponsor: Cayosoft

  4. Jul 2

    Why IT Holds the Key to Better Financial Decisions

    Finance wants to become more strategic, but IT has to provide the governed, trustworthy data foundation first. In this episode of Petri dish, I'm talking to Brian Kobleur, who is Vice President of Ecosystems at Vena Solutions. We discusshow the humble Excel spreadsheet is still quite often the core tool used by financial planning and analysis teams, and how Vena Solutions is helping organizations make sure that the information that goes through those systems, which have been put together by IT and finance, can be trusted, leavingfinance teams more time to add value to the organization. This episode is sponsored by Cayosoft!

  5. Jun 18

    AI Agents Are Moving into Windows and IT Needs a Plan

    AI agents are moving beyond simple productivity helpers and becoming autonomous workers across Windows, Microsoft 365, and enterprise systems.In this episode of Petri Dish, Russell Smith talks with Craig Birch, Principal Technologist at Cayosoft, about Microsoft’s AI agent announcements from Build, including Agent 365, Microsoft 365 E7, agent identity, permissions, governance, and the risk of agent sprawl.If you manage Microsoft 365, Entra ID, security, or IT operations, this conversation explains why AI agents need to be treated like first-class identities and not trusted employees on day one.#microsoft365 #windows11 #artificialintelligence Thanks to  Cayosoft  for sponsoring this episode!

  6. Jun 2

    From NASA to The White House: How WordPress VIP Protects High-Risk, High-Traffic Websites

    In this epsidoe of Petri Dish, we’re joined by Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP, the enterprise-grade CMS platform trusted by organisations like NASA, Salesforce, and major global publishers. Brian has been building on the web since the earliest days, bringing a rare mix of builder and operator experience to modern content platforms. In this conversation, we’ll explore how enterprise CMS platforms are no longer just publishing tools, but core IT infrastructure that are deeply tied to identity, security, resilience, and governance. And what that shift means for IT teams as AI and automation reshape content systems. Thanks to our sponsors, Cayosoft!

  7. May 13

    Why Hybrid IT Is So Hard — And How SolarWinds Helps Simplify It

    Virtualized infrastructure across on-premises data centers and the cloud was supposed to make life easier for IT teams. Instead, it’s often become a tangle of complexity. Why is something as established as virtualisation turning into a headache and what are we missing? To find out, I’m joined by Brad Cline, Vice President of IT Operations at SolarWinds. With nearly 30 years in IT, Brad’s seen virtualization evolve from a neat idea to a real-world minefield. He’s here to help us unpack where teams get stuck – and why managing virtual environments isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Thanks to Cayosoft for sponsoring this episode!

  8. Apr 29

    Entra App Owners = Global Admin Power? Audit It with Privileged App Path Auditor

    Most Entra ID reviews focus on roles and permissions. I.e., who’s a Global Admin, what’s been consented, what looks obviously dangerous. But what if the real risk isn’t a privileged user at all? What if a regular user, with no admin role, can still put themselves on a path toward Global Administrator, simply because of an application they own? That’s the question behind today’s episode. Today on Petri Dish, I’m joined by Nicolas Blank, identity architect and Microsoft MVP, to talk about a class of Entra ID risk that many teams completely miss, why traditional reviews don’t catch it, and a new tool that he’s developed called Privileged App Path Auditor. Thanks to Cayosoft for sponsoring this episode!

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About

Russell Smith hosts Petri Dish, a podcast for Microsoft system engineers and administrators looking to keep up to date with the latest trends in IT.

Information

  • Creator
    Russell Smith
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Russell Smith
  • Show Website
    Petri Dish