Utilizing Tech: The Podcast Series About Emerging Technology

Tech Field Day

Utilizing Tech is a weekly podcast exploring practical technology in the modern enterprise. Each season spotlights an emerging area: three seasons on AI, plus dedicated seasons on CXL and Edge. Season Six revisited AI, while Seasons Seven and Eight—presented by Solidigm—examined AI Data Infrastructure and AI at the Edge. Now, Season Nine turns to Agentic AI.

  1. 09x02: Moving Beyond Text for Agentic AI Applications with ApertureData

    3D AGO

    09x02: Moving Beyond Text for Agentic AI Applications with ApertureData

    Our online interactions include audio, video, and sensor data, but most AI applications are still focused on text. This episode of Utilizing Tech considers how we can integrate multimodal data with agentic applications with Vishakha Gupta, founder and CEO of ApertureData, Frederic Van Haren of HighFens, and Stephen Foskett of Tech Field Day. After decades of developing AI models to process spoken word, images, video, and other multimodal data, the ascendance of large language models has largely focused on text. This is changing, as AI applications are increasingly leveraging multimodal data, including text, audio, video, and sensors. Many agentic applications still pass data as structured or unstructured text, but it is possible to use multimedia data as well, for example passing a clip of a video from agent to agent if the system has true multimodal understanding. Enterprise applications are moving beyond text to include voice and video, data in PDFs like charts and diagrams, medical sensors and images, and more. Guest: Vishakha Gupta, CEO and Founder, ApertureData Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Frederic Van Haren⁠, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. ⁠Guy Currier⁠, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    38 min
  2. 09x01: Utilizing Agentic AI with Frederic Van Haren, Guy Currier, and Stephen Foskett

    SEP 29

    09x01: Utilizing Agentic AI with Frederic Van Haren, Guy Currier, and Stephen Foskett

    AI is the hottest topic in tech right now, evolving dramatically over the previous eight seasons of this podcast. We are kicking off Utilizing Tech season nine with a discussion of the state of the art of Agentic AI with Frederic Van Haren of HighFens, Guy Currier of Visible Impact, and Stephen Foskett of Tech Field Day. Generative AI augments our capabilities, and is being used every day by millions of people. Agentic AI combines reasoning with actions, enabling AI to perform actions on our behalf. Although AI does not reason like us, the way it manipulates data resembles intelligence, and iterative analysis can result in a chain of thought that strongly resembles reasoning. Agents can then receive context and take actions based on this using a framework like Model Context Protocol (MCP). These techniques help move generative AI from concept to production, building real applications rather than simply processing text. This season of Utilizing Tech will help our listeners understand the emerging agentic AI, and how this technology can make end users more productive and build profitable businesses using AI technology. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠ Frederic Van Haren, Founder and CTO of HighFens, Inc. Guy Currier, Chief Analyst at Visible Impact, The Futurum Group. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    35 min
  3. 08x12: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure for AI with WEKA

    JUN 16

    08x12: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure for AI with WEKA

    Fore more episodes: https://www.utilizingtech.com/ Storage software running on modern hardware can deliver incredible performance and capability to support AI applications. This episode of Utilizing Tech wraps up our season with a discussion of WEKA's data platform for AI with Alan McSeveney, Scott Shadley of Solidigm, and host Stephen Foskett. Modern hardware is capable of incredible performance, but bottlenecks remain. The limiting factor for AI processors is memory capacity: GPUs are hungry for data and must be refreshed from storage quickly enough to keep them running at scale. Storage can also be used to share data between GPUs across the data center and to cache working data to accelerate calculation. The secret to scalability, from storage to applications to AI, is distribution and parallel processing. Modern software runs at incredible scale, and all elements of the stack must match. Technologies like Kubernetes allow applications to use huge clusters of workers all contributing to scale and performance. WEKA runs this way, matching the GPU clusters and web applications we rely on today. Guest: Alan McSeveney, Field CTO of Media and Entertainment, WEKA Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠.

    32 min
  4. 08x11: Long Live Immersion Cooled Servers with Hypertec

    JUN 9

    08x11: Long Live Immersion Cooled Servers with Hypertec

    More episodes and seasons of Utilizing Tech: https://utilizingtech.com/ Immersion cooling requires specialized servers designed to operate submerged in a tank of coolant, but there are many benefits. In this episode of Utilizing Tech, sponsored by Solidigm, we continue our conversation on immersion cooling with Patrick Scateni of Hypertec, the leading manufacturer of immersion-cooled servers. Most of the current demand for immersion cooling is in the datacenter, but edge computing is rapidly adopting this technology thanks to the demands of AI applications. Hypertec calls their servers immersion born, since they are designed for this specific application rather than being modified for use in a coolant tank. Sustainability is growing in importance and immersion cooled solutions are much more power efficient, much closer to a PUE of 1 compared to 1.5 for a conventional air-cooled server. It also uses no water, while air-cooled data centers often use evaporative cooling equivalent to an olympic-sized pool every day or two. Immersion cooled servers can be packed closer, enabling smaller datacenters, and are cheaper, more reliable, and longer-lived than conventional equipment. Guest: Patrick Scateni, VP of Global Sales at Hypertec Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠.

    36 min
  5. 08x10: Cooling at the Edge with DUG

    JUN 2

    08x10: Cooling at the Edge with DUG

    More episodes and seasons of Utilizing Tech: https://utilizingtech.com/ Modern AI servers generate a lot of heat, but the industry is ready with revolutionary technologies like immersion cooling. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Micah Jordan from DUG, discussing specialized server solutions with Jeniece Wnorowski of Solidigm and Stephen Foskett. Although it sounds exotic, companies like DUG have been using immersion cooling for decades. Once they proved the value of the technology in their own datacenter, DUG began delivering immersion cooled containers wherever they are needed, especially at the edge. This uniform and efficient cooling allows servers to work harder while also extending their lifespan and reducing the risk of component failure. DUG’s containerized AI racks are being deployed around the world closer to users, lowering the latency and enabling rapid response to demands. DUG is working with partners like Hypertec to build, certify, and support immersion cooling for end customers, achieving higher density and lower energy consumption. Guest: Micah Jordan, Account Executive at DUG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micah-jordan1/ Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠.

    26 min
  6. 08x09: Building Data Driven AI Applications with Metrum AI

    MAY 26

    08x09: Building Data Driven AI Applications with Metrum AI

    As enterprises roll out production applications using AI model inferencing, they are finding that they are limited by the amount of memory that can be addressed by a GPU. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Steen Graham, founder of Metrum AI, discussing modern RAG and agentic AI applications with Ace Stryker and Stephen Foskett. Achieving the promise of AI requires access to data, and the memory required to deliver this is increasingly a focus of AI infrastructure providers. Technologies like DiskANN allow workloads to be offloaded to solid-state drives rather than system memory, and this surprisingly results in better performance. Another idea is to offload a large AI model to SSDs and deploy larger models on lower-cost GPUs, and this is showing a great deal of promise. Agentic AI in particular can be run in an asynchronous model, enabling them to take advantage of lower-spec hardware including older GPUs and accelerators, reduced RAM capacity and performance, and even all-CPU infrastructure. All of this suggests that AI can be run with less financial and power resources than generally assumed. Guest: Steen Graham is the Founder and CEO of Metrum AI. You can connect with Steen on LinkedIn and learn more about Metrum AI on their website. Guest Host: Ace Stryker is the Director of Product Marketing at Solidigm. You can connect with Ace on LinkedIn and learn more about Solidigm and their AI efforts on their dedicated AI landing page or watch their AI Field Day presentations from the recent event. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    33 min
  7. 08x08: Spreading Standards and Ideas with Dr. J Metz

    MAY 19

    08x08: Spreading Standards and Ideas with Dr. J Metz

    Standards bodies don't just set technical specifications, they also drive greater understanding of topics like storage. This episode of Utilizing Tech, brought to you by Solidigm, features Dr. J Metz, Chair of SNIA and the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and technical director at AMD. Over decades of advancement, enterprise storage has evolved to be a central requirement of modern systems, especially where AI is concerned. And storage is a lot more than just capacity: It's about performance and power, connectivity and throughput, availability and reliability. Standards bodies like SNIA and UEC help raise awareness of these requirements while also setting standards to address them. Technological developments made in one area often have unexpected applications in others. This makes it even more important to foster open communication to enable ideas to spread. Host: J Metz is the Chair of both the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and SNIA, as well as a Technical Director at AMD. You can connect with J on LinkedIn or on X/Twitter. Learn more about The Ultra Ethernet Consortium on their website. Learn more about SNIA on their website. Learn more about AMD here. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    32 min
  8. 08x07: Building Servers for the Edge with Antillion

    MAY 12

    08x07: Building Servers for the Edge with Antillion

    No matter how we define the edge, the special requirements for use in harsh environments drive unique product decisions. This episode of Utilizing Tech, brought to you by Solidigm, features Alistair Bradbrook, founder of Antillion, discussing edge servers with Jeniece Wnorowski and Stephen Foskett. It pays to start with the intended outcome, defining the solution based on customer needs rather than with the technology at hand. This is especially true at the edge, where unique requirements for mobility, power, ruggedness, and manageability drive novel configurations. When it comes to defense applications, AI is driving greater collection of data at the edge, yet connectivity is often inconsistent, driving increasing processing power. Yet the current CPUs can often handle inferencing in edge use cases, especially when the rest of the server, including storage, can handle high data transfer rates. Edge computers have always needed more storage capacity, and the latest SSDs can bring incredible amounts in a small form factor. Antillion is also a leader in conduction cooling, bringing liquid and immersion cooled devices to market for demanding applications. They are also working to bring disaggregated servers to market using CXL technology, a topic covered in detail on season 4 of this podcast. The edge is all about constraints, and this limitation drives incredible innovation. Guest: Alistair Bradbrook is the Founder and COO of Antilion. You can connect with Alistair on LinkedIn and learn more about Anitllion on their website. Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠, President of the Tech Field Day Business Unit and Organizer of the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day Event Series⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Jeniece Wnorowski⁠⁠⁠, Head of Influencer Marketing at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Scott Shadley⁠⁠⁠, Leadership Narrative Director and Evangelist at ⁠⁠⁠Solidigm⁠⁠⁠ Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Tech Field Day website⁠⁠⁠ for more information on upcoming events. For more episodes of Utilizing Tech, head to ⁠⁠⁠the dedicated website⁠⁠⁠ and follow the show ⁠⁠⁠on X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠on Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠on Mastodon⁠⁠⁠.

    38 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Utilizing Tech is a weekly podcast exploring practical technology in the modern enterprise. Each season spotlights an emerging area: three seasons on AI, plus dedicated seasons on CXL and Edge. Season Six revisited AI, while Seasons Seven and Eight—presented by Solidigm—examined AI Data Infrastructure and AI at the Edge. Now, Season Nine turns to Agentic AI.

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