Let’s Solve IT! Podcast

NetApp
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Technology
  • Updated Biweekly

IT leaders, are you ready to turn strategy into results?  Welcome to Let’s Solve IT!, the podcast designed exclusively for IT decision-makers who are ready to tackle today’s toughest challenges head-on.   If you’re facing IT challenges, you’re not alone. This bi-weekly podcast dives into real IT challenges from AI adoption to cybersecurity risks with candid conversations, lessons learned, and practical solutions. Hosted by Matt Brown, Sr. Executive Director at NetApp, Let’s Solve IT! helps you bridge the gap between strategy and execution.  Listen now to gain practical insights, tackle complex challenges, and deliver real results. 

Episodes

  1. Jun 3

    Ep. 7 - Should you buy your way out of a supply chain crisis?

    The technology industry is facing an ever-increasing supply chain crisis, and AI is rapidly making it worse. What started as a hardware shortage is now forcing enterprises to rethink storage, data center capacity, procurement strategy, and whether their infrastructure is truly prepared for the next wave of demand.   In this episode of Let’s Solve IT!, Matt Brown speaks with NetApp Technical Evangelist and The STEMINISTS co-host Phoebe Goh about a question many IT and engineering leaders are facing: Should you buy your way out of a supply chain crisis?  The conversation explores why throwing money at the problem and panic-buying hardware may make things worse. As AI demand explodes, enterprises are discovering that you can’t simply hoard your way out of a supply chain crisis, especially when the real problem is how data, storage, cloud, and infrastructure strategy are being managed in the first place.  You’ll hear:  Why AI is increasing pressure on enterprise storage and data center capacity  How the DRAM shortage and SSD supply chain challenges are affecting infrastructure decisions  Why buying more hardware may not solve the real problem  How AI is changing the value of cold data and historical data  Why storage teams need to think more strategically about data mobility, security, and performance  How cloud, tiering, and modernization can help organizations stay flexible  Why IT strategy, procurement, sustainability, and infrastructure planning must be connected  Because the real question may not be whether you can buy your way through the crisis.  It may be whether that decision prepares you for what comes next.  You are not alone. Let’s Solve IT!    Learn More  IT case studies | NetApp    Check out The STEMINISTS Podcast:  The STEMINISTS Podcast | Phoebe Goh and Mekka Williams    Connect with us! https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  Phoebe Goh | LinkedIn    AI data center, enterprise storage, storage infrastructure, supply chain crisis, DRAM shortage, SSD shortage, data center capacity, data mobility, cloud strategy, infrastructure modernization, IT strategy, storage optimization, AI infrastructure, cloud tiering, data center sustainability, AI workloads, enterprise AI, hybrid cloud, storage performance, data management

    15 min

  2. May 20

    Ep. 6 - Do your employees have the right AI tools to succeed?

    AI is no longer just a productivity tool. It is quickly becoming one of the biggest operational, security, and governance challenges enterprises have faced since the rise of the cloud.  In this episode of Let’s Solve IT!, Matt Brown speaks with NetApp IT Director of Enterprise Architecture and AI, Paul Carau, about the uncomfortable reality many technology leaders are now facing: Employees are adopting AI faster than most organizations can govern it.  The conversation explores why AI success requires far more than simply deploying the latest toolset. Leaders must now navigate employee personas, data access, governance, change management, overlapping AI capabilities, and the growing pressure to move faster without losing control of the environment.  You’ll hear:  Why uncontrolled AI adoption is becoming a major enterprise risk  How shadow AI is creating new challenges of security and governance  Why employee personas matter when deploying AI at scale  The growing complexity caused by overlapping AI platforms and tools  How organizations can balance innovation speed with operational control  Why AI governance must evolve alongside business expectations  Because the real question may no longer be whether your company is using AI.  It may be whether you still control how it’s being used.  Let’s talk about what that means, and Let’s Solve IT!    Resources just for you: IT case studies | NetApp    Connect with us! https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-carau

    16 min

  3. May 6

    Ep. 5 - More Tools. Less Output? The Truth About Developer Productivity

    Are your technology investments driving developer productivity—or just adding complexity?  In this episode of Let’s Solve IT!, Matt Brown sits down with Mekka Williams, Director of Innovation and Solutions and co-host of The STEMINISTS podcast, to unpack one of the biggest disconnects in modern IT: the gap between investment and impact.  They explore why more tools don’t always lead to better outcomes, what developer productivity really looks like from a business perspective, and how leading organizations are aligning people, processes, and technology to drive measurable results.  You’ll hear:  Why time-to-value continues to fall short of expectations How DevOps complexity is slowing teams down What meaningful productivity measurementlookslike  Where AIdelivers real valueand where it introduces risk  Why progress starts with action, not perfection Because improving productivity isn’t a one-time fix—it’s an ongoing business priority.  You are not alone. Let’s Solve IT!    Learn More  IT case studies | NetApp    Also make sure you check out The STEMINISTS Podcast | Phoebe Goh and Mekka Williams    Connect with us!  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  Mekka Williams | LinkedIn

    13 min

  4. Apr 22

    Ep. 4 - Does your data center need to go nuclear to support AI?

    It sounds extreme, but it’s not as far off as you might think.  In this episode of Let’s Solve IT!, Matt Brown talks with Ralph Renne, Sr. Director, Workplace Experience, to break down what’s really happening behind the scenes: massive increases in power demand, the shift to water-cooled environments, and why most data centers aren’t built for what’s coming next.    In this episode, you’ll learn:  What’s driving these new AI infrastructure demands  Why this isn’t just an IT problem, it’s a facilities and business problem  The real timelines and costs to get ready And what you should be doing right now to prepare Because this isn’t a future problem.  It’s already here.  And if you’re not planning for it, chances are, you're already behind.  You’re not alone. Let’s Solve It!    Learn More  IT case studies | NetApp    Connect with us! https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-renne-36ab0a6/

    12 min

  5. Apr 7

    Ep. 3 - Why are ERP implementations CIO career killers?

    Why do so many ERP transformations derail careers at the highest level?  It’s not the technology.  It’s everything else.    In this episode of Let’s Solve IT!, Matt Brown sits down with NetApp CIO Hem Nerkar to confront one of the most uncomfortable truths in enterprise IT: ERP transformations don’t start by failing systems—they start by breaking the people leading them.  Because what looks like a software upgrade is actually a high-risk, multi-year bet on your company’s culture, operations, and future.    In this episode, you’ll learn:  • Massive financial investment with no immediate payoff  • Organizational resistance at every level  • Hundreds of systems and stakeholders in play  • And a clock that never stops ticking while the business keeps running    Hem Nerkar pulls back the curtain on what really makes these transformations so dangerous and what separates those projects that succeed from those that quietly unravel careers.    This isn’t about features.  This isn’t about vendors.    This is about pressure, risk, and leadership when there is no safe path forward.  Let’s talk about what that really means. Let’s Solve IT!    Learn More Here:  IT case studies | NetApp    Connect with us! https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hem-nerkar-445b731

    15 min

  6. Mar 9

    Ep. 2 - How to afford AI and the people to run IT

    AI budgets are blowing up. Hardware prices are all over the place. And executives want ROI yesterday.  So here’s the real question nobody wants to say out loud: How are you supposed to afford the tech and the people to run it?  In this week’s episode of Let’s Solve IT!, host Matt Brown and Stephan Stelter, NetApp Manager, Solutions Engineering, confront the tension IT leaders feel every day: innovation pressure vs. finite budgets. They get into FOMO-driven spending, AI productivity myths, and resource scarcity.   Rather than defaulting to layoffs or across‑the‑board cuts, this conversation explores a smarter path forward: reallocating resources, retasking talent, and placing the right workloads in the right environments to maximize impact without burning out teams or budgets.  If you’re feeling squeezed between transformation goals and headcount limitations, this episode is for you.   Let’s talk about what that really means, and Let’s Solve IT!    Learn more about the world of NetApp on NetApp: IT case studies | NetApp

    10 min

  7. Mar 9

    Ep. 1 - When AI convenience becomes a business risk

    AI is everywhere — recording meetings, transcribing conversations, summarizing discussions, and storing more data than ever before. But as AI-powered productivity tools become the norm, how do organizations protect themselves from growing security and legal risk?    In this first episode of Let’s Solve IT!, host Matt Brown sits down with NetApp CISO Gavin Guttersen to explore a sobering reality: AI tools can create powerful productivity gains and unexpected exposure.    From litigation risk to data governance gaps, from “AI companions” in meetings to agents talking to agents, this conversation dives into the uncomfortable truth: Security through obscurity is gone.    In this episode, you’ll learn:  How AI transcription and meeting recording tools create unexpected security and legal exposure  Where data governance breaks down as enterprise AI adoption accelerates  What CISOs, IT leaders, and business teams must consider in an always‑recorded environment  If you’re responsible for AI security, data governance, or risk management, this episode sets the foundation for the conversations organizations can’t afford to avoid.  Let’s talk about what that really means. Let’s Solve IT!    Learn more about the world of NetApp on NetApp: IT case studies | NetApp    Connect with us!  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmattbrown  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaving

    14 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

IT leaders, are you ready to turn strategy into results?  Welcome to Let’s Solve IT!, the podcast designed exclusively for IT decision-makers who are ready to tackle today’s toughest challenges head-on.   If you’re facing IT challenges, you’re not alone. This bi-weekly podcast dives into real IT challenges from AI adoption to cybersecurity risks with candid conversations, lessons learned, and practical solutions. Hosted by Matt Brown, Sr. Executive Director at NetApp, Let’s Solve IT! helps you bridge the gap between strategy and execution.  Listen now to gain practical insights, tackle complex challenges, and deliver real results. 

Information

  • Creator
    NetApp
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
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    Let’s Solve IT! Podcast