Full Tech Ahead

Amanda Razani
  • 5,0 (1)
  • TECNOLOGIA

On this podcast, I sit down with business leaders, researchers and executives to explore innovative technology solutions and products, whether they’re transforming industries today or still in development. But we go far beyond the tech itself. From real-world use cases and business implementation journeys to cybersecurity challenges and future trends, we uncover what’s shaping the digital landscape.We also dive into topics that matter to every tech professional: Work/life balance, business communication, education and training. Think of it as your one-stop shop for meaningful technology discussions that inspire and inform.

  1. The Importance of Model Context Protocol

    HÁ 3 DIAS

    The Importance of Model Context Protocol

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani interviews Amit Sharma, CEO and Founder of CData. They discuss the critical challenge of enterprise AI: securely connecting advanced AI models to proprietary enterprise data (like CRM and accounting systems). Sharma explains that while AI models have vastly improved, the real bottleneck is providing them with the right business context.  He introduces the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as a key solution for this. The conversation also covers the shift toward Agentic AI—which demands near-perfect accuracy since there is no human in the loop—and data infrastructure, where Sharma advocates for data virtualization (leaving data where it resides, including on-premise) rather than moving everything into a massive central warehouse.  Ultimately, he views AI as a massive enhancer of human capital that will radically accelerate business timelines. Key Quotes "The real power of AI is only captured when AI can actually connect to enterprise data." "The models aren't the issue. The issue is, how do we make the data and context available to AI?" "If you have a case for keeping data on prem, they should keep the data on prem. We in fact favor solutions like virtualization, where you can leave the data where it is..." Takeaways Context is King, Not Just the Model: Stop waiting for a "better model" to fix your AI problems. Recent models are already highly advanced; the actual challenge is securely feeding them your specific enterprise data and business context. Embrace the Model Context Protocol (MCP): To effectively connect AI to business data without massive token waste, organizations should adopt MCP, which is becoming the standard for securely structuring and governing how context is brought into AI models. Agentic AI Requires Extreme Accuracy: When moving from conversational AI to Agentic AI (where AI takes actions autonomously), the margin for error shrinks to zero. Without a human-in-the-loop to catch mistakes, data accuracy and strict agent governance become paramount. Virtualize, Don't Centralize: You don't necessarily need to move all your data into a massive central data warehouse to use AI. Leaving data where it naturally resides (including on-premise) and using data virtualization is often more secure, compliant with data residency rules, and highly efficient. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    13 min
  2. Your Analytics are Wrong!

    15 DE MAI.

    Your Analytics are Wrong!

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani interviews Josh Koenig, co-founder and SVP of Marketing at Pantheon.  They discuss how the rapid adoption of AI agents and LLMs is fundamentally changing web traffic and search behavior. As more people "ask" AI instead of searching Google, organic website traffic is dropping, but the visitors who do click through are highly "primed" and ready to act.  Koenig advises companies against turning their websites into chatbots; instead, they should focus on AI Engine Optimization (AEO) by ensuring lightning-fast load times, properly structured content, and strong third-party reviews.  He also warns against the flood of bland, AI-generated content ("AI slop"), emphasizing that a unique brand voice is essential to stand out. Finally, he notes that as privacy changes make tools like Google Analytics less reliable, the future of metrics lies in server-side, full-clickstream tracking. Key Quotes "The majority of people are no longer searching. They're asking and they're having an AI, an agent, an LLM, sort of start their research." "Trying to beat ChatGPT or Claude at its own game on your website is probably not smart." "Fundamentals are what matter more than ever... having your website be fast, having your content be good, having a team that can move quickly without breaking things." Takeaways Traffic is Down, but Intent is Up: AI answers simple queries directly, reducing overall organic website traffic and increasing cost-per-click. However, visitors who bypass the AI to reach your site are much further along in their journey and highly motivated. Optimize for AI Crawlers: To be cited in AI overviews, your website needs three things: high speed (AI bots won't wait for slow pages), well-structured content (using Q&A formats and clear H1/H2 tags), and a strong reputation on third-party review sites. Avoid "AI Slop": The internet is being flooded with cheap, mediocre, AI-generated content. To succeed in marketing, you must educate and entertain by starting with a strong point of view and a distinct human voice that AI cannot replicate. The Future of Analytics: Increased privacy settings and opt-outs are making traditional tools like Google Analytics less reliable. Businesses will need to shift to server-side (clickstream) tracking to accurately measure true human engagement and track how often AI crawlers are querying their sites. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    21 min
  3. Manage AI Like Employees

    7 DE MAI.

    Manage AI Like Employees

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani interviews Leslie Nielsen, CISO at Mimecast. They discuss Mimecast's recently released "2026 State of Human Risk Report."  Nielsen explains that human-centric cyberattacks are escalating annually, driven by economic uncertainty and employee fears that AI might replace their jobs, making them more susceptible to malicious recruitment or carelessness.  A major highlight of the report is the severe risk of data exfiltration; dumping sensitive corporate data (like board presentations or financial disclosures) into unsanctioned generative AI models leaks intellectual property outside the company.  Furthermore, Nielsen warns against the uncontrolled rise of "agentic" software that bypasses change control, creates non-human identities, and lacks proper management, effectively creating rogue employees on the network. He advises leaders to use AI to fight AI, create explicit AI acceptable use policies, and treat agents with the same accountability and management as human employees, including processes for "firing" an agent. Key Quotes "We have to be using AI because it's going to take AI to fight AI.""Traditionally, when we thought about leaks, we thought about it being posted on a web page, but now it's kind of... death by 10,000 cuts; just kind of those slow leaks that are building up.""Treat [agents] just like you think about who's managing employees... somebody needs to be responsible... and also be accountable if things go wrong.""Bad news is good news early... The faster that it can be contained, the faster we can all work better to have a safer environment." Takeaways HR and Management for Agents: Organizations must treat AI agents like human employees or contractors. Someone must be officially responsible for managing, auditing, logging, and granting specific, limited permissions to every agent. They also need defined processes for onboarded and, crucially, "firing" or disconnecting an agent if things go wrong.New Era of Data Leaks: "Leaks" are no longer just public website postings. Employees dumping sensitive data (board decks, financials) into unsanctioned Gen AI tools to speed up their work is a dangerous new form of intellectual property exfiltration into third-party models.Fighting AI with AI Speed: Business leaders must equip their security teams with AI tools to handle the rapid decision-making and alert volume required in modern defense. An AI speeds up development and increases threat vectors; human SoC analysts cannot keep up alone.Vigilance for Everyday Users: AI has made phishing and scam attempts extremely convincing. AI-written emails rose from 3% to 17% in late 2024/early 2025. Everyday users must pause, verify identity via an alternate known channel (like a direct phone call), and remember that if something seems too good to be true, it is.Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    16 min
  4. Automate Finance End-to-End

    30 DE ABR.

    Automate Finance End-to-End

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani speaks with Prashanth Saradesai, Head of AI for Wiss, about how accounting and finance organizations can successfully implement artificial intelligence.  Saradesai shares insights from evaluating over 200 AI vendors, noting that many finance teams hesitate to adopt AI because they struggle to prove a clear Return on Investment (ROI). He explains that treating AI as an isolated "point solution" (e.g., merely extracting invoice data) is ineffective; instead, organizations must automate end-to-end workflows to see real value.  Furthermore, he emphasizes that in the strict finance sector, "good enough" is unacceptable, making human-in-the-loop processes essential to mitigate AI hallucinations.  Finally, he advises companies to refine their internal processes, build strong data foundations, and prioritize change management to ensure a successful AI adoption. Key Quotes:  "In finance, 'good enough' is not an answer. You can't say, 'hey, my finances are good enough.' Even one number doesn't work; it flows through your financial reporting." "If leadership has the vision of bringing AI to the organization, but if you are not bringing everybody in the organization... there won't be any value." "Start investing in AI from the perspective of using it for your end-to-end workflow... being AI native, thinking from a standpoint of making all your employees AI fluent, are the North Stars." Takeaways: Focus on End-to-End Workflows: Using AI for a single task like invoice extraction won't drive significant ROI. AI should be implemented to handle the entire workflow—from extraction and matching to approvals, posting entries, and reconciliation. Fix Processes and Data First: The biggest mistake companies make is starting with the technology. Organizations must first clearly define their internal processes, clear bottlenecks, and build a solid, well-organized data foundation before deploying AI. Prioritize Change Management: An AI initiative will fail if the vision stays only at the executive level. Training employees on both the advantages and the limitations (like hallucinations) of AI is crucial for successful, company-wide adoption. Capture Decision "Context": As the industry moves toward autonomous AI agents capable of "computer use," the organizations that will succeed are those building "context graphs"—documenting not just their raw data, but the specific reasons and context behind their past business decisions. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    20 min
  5. Unlock Safe AI Growth

    23 DE ABR.

    Unlock Safe AI Growth

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani interviews Javed Hasan, CEO and Co-Founder of Lineaje. They discuss the critical importance of software supply chain security, emphasizing that 95% of modern software risks come from open-source ingestion. Hasan introduces Lineaje's new product, "UnifAI," which is designed to make AI applications secure by design. He highlights a major industry blind spot: AI has become incredibly easy to build, but it is often not safe to run. UnifAI solves this by helping CISOs discover their AI inventory, derive the correct security policies, and autonomously apply those policies in both low-code and high-code environments. The conversation also explores complex emerging threats such as runtime code generation, "reasoning compromise," and the growing danger of Shadow AI. Key Quotes "95% of the risk in modern software is ingested by using open source. So we make open source safe to use by companies." "AI has become easy to build, but AI is not safe to run. So what UnifAI does, it makes the AI applications secure by design." "Use AI to improve productivity safely." Takeaways Automate AI Security Policies: CISOs and developers are overwhelmed by rapidly changing AI regulations. Solutions like Unify streamline this by discovering all AI assets and autonomously applying the correct security policies directly into the development workflow, eliminating the need for manual rule-reading. Beware of "Reasoning Compromise": Hackers are finding new ways to exploit AI without using explicitly bad prompts. By manipulating the context or the "reasoning" of an LLM (e.g., claiming the CEO ordered an action), attackers can bypass built-in controls and extract sensitive data. The Threat of Shadow AI and Autonomous Code: Unauthorized AI tools or rogue agents (Shadow AI) can perform deep, unauthorized actions like sending emails or extracting credentials. Furthermore, AI agents writing code at runtime without human oversight represent a massive new security challenge that traditional policies cannot catch. The Shift to "Security for AI": We are moving past just using AI to make existing security tasks faster ("AI for security"). The industry must now focus on an entirely new domain—"Security for AI"—to protect the newly established AI-centric software infrastructure. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    12 min

  6. 16 DE ABR.

    Off-Grid Data Centers

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," host Amanda Razani interviews Reza Azizian, CEO of Ferveret.  They discuss the company's innovative liquid cooling technology for data centers and AI factories, which is inspired by nuclear reactor cooling.  Azizian highlights a recent benchmarking study conducted with UCLA, revealing that Ferveret's adaptive cooling solution delivers 35% more compute power from the same power envelope compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, the discussion emphasizes sustainability; while a typical 100MW data center consumes the equivalent of 4,500 Olympic swimming pools of water annually, Ferveret’s closed-loop system consumes essentially zero water.  This technological breakthrough aims to make the "AI revolution" environmentally sustainable and enables the deployment of off-grid data centers in hot, arid regions. Key Quotes "We developed liquid cooling technologies for data centers and AI factories, which is inspired by nuclear reactor cooling." "...in a 100 megawatt datacenter, that can translate into almost 230 million of more revenue per year, which is quite significant." "A typical 100 megawatt data center can consume up to 4500 Olympic swimming pools of water per year for cooling... our solution basically works with a closed loop. So the water consumption is basically almost zero." "We are here to help to make the AI revolution sustainable." Takeaways Massive Efficiency Gains: A recent UCLA study proved that Ferveret's cooling solution provides 15% more compute at the server level and a total of 35% more compute at the facility level using the exact same power contract. Zero Water Waste: Traditional data centers rely on evaporative cooling, wasting massive amounts of water. Ferveret utilizes a sealed, closed-loop system that doesn't evaporate water, drastically reducing the environmental footprint. Unlocking New Locations: Because the system operates efficiently without consuming water, it allows companies to build data centers in drought-prone, highly regulated areas (like Arizona or Nevada). Off-Grid Potential: The efficiency of this cooling technology makes it financially and operationally viable to pair data centers entirely with solar power, creating truly sustainable, off-the-grid facilities. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    14 min

  7. 9 DE ABR.

    How to Help Your AI Team

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," Amanda Razani interviews Mery Zadeh, SVP of AI Governance and Risk Consulting at Lumenova AI. The conversation centers on the complexities of building AI governance teams and navigating the "three-language problem" where technical, regulatory, and business teams struggle to communicate.  Zadeh advises companies to stop searching for "unicorn" candidates who possess all these skills and instead focus on cross-training and rotation programs. Furthermore, as AI evolves from Generative AI to Agentic AI (systems that take independent actions), she emphasizes the critical need to shift from annual audits to real-time, continuous monitoring.  Ultimately, she notes that the most successful AI governance frameworks are practical ones that developers actually use, rather than theoretically perfect models. Key Quotes "We're turning AI risk to possibilities.""We should stop looking for a Unicorn... start on career paths, start on education.""You can't govern what you can't see." Takeaways Solve the "Three-Language Problem": Effective AI governance requires fluency in business, technology, and compliance. Instead of hunting for an impossible candidate who knows it all, organizations should implement rotation programs (e.g., auditors spending time with tech teams) to cross-train their current workforce.Integrate Teams Across the AI Lifecycle: From the initial business intake and legal risk assessment to the developer build phase, cross-functional teams must collaborate continuously to ensure the AI system is technically sound, compliant, and fit for its intended use.Shift to Continuous Monitoring: As the industry moves toward Agentic AI—where AI agents execute tasks like booking or canceling meetings—traditional annual audits are obsolete. Organizations must implement real-time monitoring and strict permission controls to catch and correct issues immediately. Prioritize Practical Governance: The most effective AI governance isn't a flawless, overly complex policy; it's a practical framework with clear controls and evaluations that developers understand, see value in, and actually follow.Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    14 min

  8. 4 DE ABR.

    The End of SEO?

    In this episode of "Full Tech Ahead," Amanda Razani interviews Ryan Johnson, CPO of CallRail, about how Artificial Intelligence can benefit small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Johnson explains CallRail's evolution into a conversation intelligence platform and advises business owners to use AI to solve long-standing "legacy problems"—such as managing after-hours calls or handling peak call volumes—rather than inventing new problems to solve.  He emphasizes the importance of starting small, setting realistic expectations, and securing leadership buy-in to avoid the high failure rate of AI projects. Finally, the discussion touches on the future of AI, including the rise of agentic AI and its potential impact on search engines and SEO. Key Quotes "Where can AI solve the gaps that you've probably had for many, many years?" "The most important thing about AI is it's not this like light switch that this happens. You actually have to invest time into it from a lot of different angles." "Start small, start somewhere, don't be afraid of it and, and just learn." Takeaways Target Legacy Problems: AI is highly effective at filling gaps in daily operations, such as handling peak-hour calls, answering queries after traditional business hours, and conducting initial lead qualification. Start Small and Be Realistic: Avoid overwhelming implementations. Begin with a narrow, focused use case to get comfortable. Set realistic expectations, as AI is not magic and often requires fine-tuning to achieve high accuracy. Leadership Buy-in is Crucial: To avoid the common pitfall of AI project failures, businesses must define clear, measurable goals and ensure full support from the executive team and business owners before implementation. The Future is Agentic AI: The next major evolution will involve AI agents communicating with one another to execute complex tasks, which will likely redefine consumer search experiences and the future of SEO. Find Amanda Razani on LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-razani-990a7233/ Follow the FTA LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/full-tech-ahead/ Visit the FTA website: https://fulltechahead.com/ Check out the Substack Channel: https://fulltechahead.substack.com/

    16 min
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On this podcast, I sit down with business leaders, researchers and executives to explore innovative technology solutions and products, whether they’re transforming industries today or still in development. But we go far beyond the tech itself. From real-world use cases and business implementation journeys to cybersecurity challenges and future trends, we uncover what’s shaping the digital landscape.We also dive into topics that matter to every tech professional: Work/life balance, business communication, education and training. Think of it as your one-stop shop for meaningful technology discussions that inspire and inform.

Informações

  • Criado por
    Amanda Razani
  • Anos de atividade
    2025 - 2026
  • Episódios
    46
  • Classificação
    Livre
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Full Tech Ahead
  • Site do podcast
    Full Tech Ahead