Cisco Live: Why the Future Of Work Is About Outcomes, Not Occupancy

What is the office actually for? It's a question that many organizations are still wrestling with as they balance flexibility, collaboration, employee expectations, and business performance. At Cisco Live, I sat down with Christian Bigsby, Senior Vice President of Workplaces at Cisco, to discuss how the role of the workplace is changing and why measuring success by attendance alone may no longer make sense. Christian shares how Cisco has rethought the relationship between people, place, and technology, bringing together teams that traditionally operated separately to create a more connected workplace experience. Rather than focusing on how many employees are in the office, the conversation centers on the outcomes that become possible when people come together with purpose. We explore how hybrid work has reshaped workplace strategy, why employee experience has become a business priority, and how organizations can create environments that support collaboration, innovation, learning, and culture. Christian also explains why flexibility should not be viewed as a perk but as an important part of helping employees do their best work. The conversation also looks at the growing role of AI in workplace operations. From forecasting occupancy and improving space utilization to helping organizations make smarter decisions about resources and services, AI is helping workplace leaders respond to a level of variability that traditional operating models were never designed to handle. Along the way, Christian offers thoughtful insights on leadership, trust, organizational culture, and why the future workplace may have more in common with a dynamic service than a fixed location. If you've ever wondered whether the future of work is about where people work, how they work, or why they come together in the first place, this conversation offers plenty to think about. What do you believe makes a workplace valuable in 2026, attendance, experience, outcomes, or something else entirely?

What happens when the newest users on your network aren't people at all? At Cisco Live, I sat down with Aruna Ravichandran, SVP and CMO for AI, Networking, and Collaboration at Cisco, to discuss a shift that could change how organizations think about networks, operations, and AI over the coming years. For decades, enterprise networks have been built around human behavior. People work predictable hours, take holidays, and generally follow familiar patterns. AI agents are different. They work continuously, analyze information around the clock, and increasingly act as digital teammates that can help organizations monitor, troubleshoot, and improve operations at a scale that would be impossible for humans alone. During our conversation, Aruna explained why AI is no longer just an application discussion. As organizations deploy more digital teammates, networks must support a new type of user that never sleeps, never stops learning, and can help identify issues before employees even arrive at work. We explore Cisco's vision for AgenticOps, the role of Cisco Cloud Control as a unified command center, and how AI-driven operations are helping reduce complexity for teams already overwhelmed by alerts, dashboards, and operational overhead. Aruna also shared her perspective on one of the biggest challenges facing the industry today: trust. While the technology is advancing rapidly, organizations need confidence that their digital teammates can make reliable recommendations and support critical operations without removing human oversight. That balance between automation and accountability sits at the heart of Cisco's approach. We also discuss why domain expertise still matters in the age of AI, how Cisco is drawing on decades of networking experience to build purpose-built models, and why the next few years may see every IT professional supported by an expanding team of digital coworkers. If you've been wondering how AI will move beyond chat interfaces and become part of everyday operations, this conversation offers an interesting look at where networking, automation, and AI are heading next. How many digital teammates do you think you'll be working alongside in the next few years, and what tasks would you trust them to handle first?     Useful LInks Anurag Dhingra's blog DJ Sampath's blog Aruna's LinkedIn post re. The AgenticOps stats she mentioned Press Release 

Have you ever wondered whether the skills that build a company are the same skills needed to scale it? In today's episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Hadi Moussa, the newly appointed CEO of Oyster, the global employment platform helping businesses hire, pay, and support talent in more than 180 countries. The conversation comes at a fascinating moment for the company, following founder Tony Jamous' decision to step into the Executive Chairman role and hand over the CEO position from a place of strength rather than necessity. What makes this leadership transition particularly interesting is that it challenges many assumptions about founder succession. Rather than waiting for investor pressure, market turbulence, or burnout, Tony recognized that the next chapter of Oyster's growth required a different operational skill set. Hadi shares what he learned from a succession process that centered on mission alignment, alongside leadership assessments, case studies, and extensive feedback. We also explore Hadi's own journey from Lebanon to leadership positions at Facebook, Airbnb, Deliveroo, Coursera, and now Oyster. His personal experience of leaving home to pursue opportunity has given him a deep connection to Oyster's mission of making global employment accessible regardless of geography. The discussion moves beyond leadership transitions and into the future of work itself. As artificial intelligence reshapes hiring, productivity, and workforce structures, Hadi explains why he believes there is a real risk that AI could concentrate opportunity within a handful of established technology hubs. He shares Oyster's vision of using technology to more broadly distribute opportunity, enabling companies to access talent wherever it exists while maintaining trust, compliance, and human support. We also discuss what businesses continue to underestimate about managing distributed teams at scale. From culture and communication to trust and compliance, Hadi argues that remote work success requires far more than technology alone. Companies must be intentional about how they build relationships, create alignment, and support employees across borders and time zones. For founders and business leaders, this episode offers thoughtful lessons on self-awareness, leadership evolution, and knowing when a company's needs may outgrow the strengths that originally built it. It is a conversation about growth, opportunity, and the difficult decisions required to put mission ahead of personal attachment. How should leaders know when it is time to pass the baton, and can AI help create a more globally distributed future of work rather than concentrating opportunity in a few select places? Share your thoughts and join the conversation.

Are organizations investing enough in cybersecurity, or are they simply spending more money while falling further behind? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Martyn Ditchburn, CTO in Residence for EMEA at Zscaler, about the findings from the company's latest Ripple Effect Report and what it reveals about the growing gap between cybersecurity investment and true organizational resilience. Drawing on insights from more than 1,700 IT leaders across 14 countries, Martyn explains why many organizations are still struggling to adapt to a threat landscape that is evolving faster than their security strategies. While cyber resilience budgets continue to rise, many leaders admit their approach remains too inward-looking, leaving critical vulnerabilities across supply chains, cloud environments, third-party ecosystems, and emerging AI deployments. We explore why shadow AI is rapidly becoming the new shadow IT challenge, with employees adopting AI-powered tools faster than governance frameworks can keep pace. Martyn discusses how AI is quietly being embedded into countless business applications, creating visibility and security challenges that many organizations have yet to recognize fully. The conversation also examines the growing importance of supply chain resilience. As businesses become increasingly dependent on external providers, cloud platforms, and interconnected digital services, traditional security perimeters continue to disappear. Martyn shares why third-party risk remains one of the biggest blind spots in modern cybersecurity programs and how organizations can better understand their expanding attack surface. Agentic AI is another major focus of our discussion. As AI systems move beyond assisting users and begin taking autonomous actions, security teams face entirely new challenges around identity, governance, accountability, and risk management. Martyn explains why many organizations are racing ahead with adoption while still lacking the guardrails needed to manage these emerging technologies safely. We also discuss lessons from previous technology shifts, including cloud computing and shadow IT, and why history keeps repeating itself when innovation outpaces security planning. Martyn offers practical advice on limiting risk, reducing blast radius through segmentation, and treating AI agents as digital identities that require the same controls and oversight as human users. As organizations pursue AI-driven growth and competitive advantage, are they building resilience into their foundations or creating new risks they cannot yet see? And in a world where AI is becoming embedded in everything, how can security leaders stay ahead of threats that are evolving faster than ever before?

At Cisco Live, I sat down with Papi Menon, Vice President of Product Management at Outshift by Cisco, to explore one of the most ambitious ideas emerging in the AI world today. While much of the industry remains focused on larger models and individual AI agents, Outshift is asking a different question. What happens when millions of AI agents need to collaborate across organizations, platforms, and industries? Papi joined me to explain the thinking behind Outshift, Cisco's emerging technology and incubation group, and the work they're doing to help shape the next era of AI. Our conversation explored concepts such as the Internet of Agents, the Internet of Cognition, and AGNTCY, an open-source initiative designed to create the foundations for agent-to-agent collaboration at scale. We discuss why connecting AI agents is only the first step, why shared intent and shared context could become as important as connectivity itself, and how organizations may need entirely new infrastructure to support an increasingly agent-driven future. Papi also shares his perspective on the challenges of interoperability, governance, trust, and security as AI systems become more autonomous and interconnected. The discussion moves beyond today's AI headlines and into the bigger questions facing the technology industry. If the internet connected people and systems, what infrastructure will be needed to connect intelligence itself? And what role can open standards play in ensuring that future remains collaborative rather than fragmented? Whether you're a technology leader, developer, strategist, or simply curious about where AI is heading next, this conversation offers a fascinating glimpse into how Cisco is thinking about the future of agentic computing and the foundations that may underpin the next major platform shift in technology. How do you think AI agents will collaborate in the future, and should that future be built on open standards or closed ecosystems?

Can businesses embrace AI without surrendering control over their data, technology choices, and future direction? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director of Zoho UK, to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today. As AI adoption accelerates, many leaders are finding themselves caught between the pressure to innovate and the responsibility to maintain trust, transparency, and control. Sachin shares his perspective on what separates successful AI adoption from costly experimentation. Drawing on his experience leading Zoho's growth in the UK, he explains why organizations achieving the best results are focusing on clearly defined business outcomes rather than chasing headlines or reacting to fear of missing out. We discuss how AI is already improving customer service, sales operations, application development, and decision-making, while also highlighting the importance of digital maturity as a foundation for meaningful AI success. A major theme throughout our conversation is the growing concern around black-box AI systems. Sachin explains why transparency, explainability, and contextual intelligence are becoming increasingly important for businesses operating in regulated environments. We explore how organizations can build trust by keeping AI close to the systems where their data already resides, thereby creating more auditable, accountable outcomes. The discussion also turns to digital sovereignty, a topic that has rapidly moved from technical teams into boardroom conversations. Sachin outlines the different dimensions of sovereignty, including data residency, infrastructure, model choice, intelligence ownership, and vendor flexibility. As geopolitical tensions, regulatory expectations, and concerns about technology concentration grow, organizations are taking a closer look at how dependent they want to become on a small number of technology providers. We also examine whether AI will strengthen the dominance of major technology firms or create new opportunities for diverse software providers. Sachin argues that while the largest players may own much of the underlying infrastructure, customers are increasingly focused on practical outcomes, transparency, and flexibility rather than simply choosing the biggest platform. Along the way, we discuss cloud fragmentation, governance, responsible AI adoption, data privacy, and the importance of challenging AI rather than unquestioningly trusting its outputs. Sachin offers practical advice for leaders who want to balance innovation with accountability while maintaining independence in an increasingly interconnected technology environment. As AI continues to reshape business software and digital operations, how can organizations remain agile without sacrificing control? And what role will digital sovereignty play in determining who succeeds in the next era of enterprise technology?

What happens when the weakest link in your technology supply chain becomes the entry point for a national security incident? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I welcome back Haydn Brooks, CEO and founder of Risk Ledger, to discuss why supply chain security has moved from an IT concern to a boardroom and government priority. As organizations race to adopt AI, connect more systems, and depend on increasingly complex ecosystems of vendors, partners, cloud providers, and third-party services, the attack surface continues to expand in ways many businesses still struggle to understand. Haydn explains why supply chains remain one of the largest blind spots in cybersecurity, despite years of warnings and a growing list of high-profile incidents. We explore how attackers increasingly target smaller suppliers that lack the resources and expertise of larger enterprises, using them as stepping stones to reach critical infrastructure, government agencies, and major corporations. The conversation also examines how AI is reshaping the risk equation. As organizations rapidly integrate AI tools, APIs, and third-party models into existing technology stacks, many are creating new forms of concentration risk. What happens when multiple services rely on the same AI provider? And how can businesses maintain visibility over technology dependencies that are constantly evolving? Haydn shares his perspective on why collaboration and information sharing have become far more common across the cybersecurity community, and why security leaders are beginning to recognize that defending against modern threats requires collective action rather than isolated efforts. We also discuss accountability, resilience, and why organizations must move beyond simply identifying risk and develop the ability to understand the impact of incidents when they occur. Along the way, Haydn offers practical advice for security leaders, explains why now is the time to reassess supply chain security strategies, and shares insights into Risk Ledger's international expansion as the company grows its presence in the United States. As AI accelerates innovation and organizations become increasingly interconnected, are businesses truly prepared for the risks that come with that progress? And could an overlooked supplier become the starting point for the next major cybersecurity crisis?

Have you ever stopped to think about the technology powering almost every text box you interact with online? Whether you're applying for a job, drafting a legal contract, publishing content, or updating a website, there's a good chance a rich text editor is quietly working behind the scenes. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I caught up with Fredrik Danielsson, Product Manager at TinyMCE, to discuss how one of the internet's most widely used editing platforms is evolving for the AI era. Frédéric shares the remarkable story behind TinyMCE, a tool that traces its roots back to the early days of the web and has played a role in creating much of the internet's human-generated content. From the days of hand-coded websites and Flash applications to today's AI-powered content workflows, we explore how the company has continually adapted to changing developer and user needs. Our conversation focuses on the launch of TinyMCE AI and why the company believes artificial intelligence belongs inside the content creation experience rather than in a separate chatbot window. We discuss the hidden productivity costs of constantly switching between applications, copying and pasting content between AI assistants and business tools, and why bringing AI directly into the editor creates a more natural and efficient workflow. We also examine the growing challenges around AI governance, content ownership, compliance, and accountability. As organizations race to adopt AI tools, how can they maintain visibility into which content was AI-assisted, who made changes, and how information flows through the business? Frédéric explains why features such as revision history, track changes, and audit trails may become increasingly important as regulations and expectations mature. Along the way, we discuss context-aware AI, model flexibility, developer experience, and the future of content creation. Frédéric also shares his thoughts on why AI adoption is becoming more natural for everyday users and what the next phase of AI-powered productivity could look like as these tools become deeply embedded in the software people already use. If AI is changing how we create, edit, review, and collaborate on content, what happens when the editor itself becomes the smartest participant in the room? And how will that reshape the way we work over the next few years?

Have you ever wondered why political campaigns can send millions of text messages but still struggle to have meaningful conversations with voters? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Tom Carroll, Co-Founder of Convos, a startup rethinking how political campaigns communicate through SMS. While political texting has become a standard part of modern campaigning, Tom argues that the industry has spent years solving the problem of message delivery while largely ignoring what happens when voters actually respond. We explore how Convos is building a conversational SMS infrastructure that helps campaigns manage thousands of voter interactions simultaneously. Rather than focusing solely on message volume, the platform analyzes replies, identifies sentiment and alignment, prioritizes urgent conversations, and helps campaigns understand what voters are really talking about. Tom shares how this approach is helping campaigns move beyond one-way broadcasts and toward genuine engagement at scale. During our conversation, we discussed why traditional political texting often breaks down once campaigns begin receiving large volumes of replies, how AI-powered conversational systems can help manage those interactions responsibly, and why transparency remains essential when introducing AI into political communications. Tom also explains how Convos uses campaign-approved knowledge bases and multiple validation checks to reduce misinformation and maintain message consistency. We also examine the broader implications of conversational AI in politics, from voter education and turnout efforts to balancing automation with authenticity. Tom shares examples of how campaigns have used conversational SMS to answer voter questions, provide election information, and create opportunities for meaningful engagement without overwhelming campaign staff. As AI continues to influence how organizations communicate with large audiences, this conversation offers an interesting look at how technology can help people listen at scale rather than talk louder. What role should AI play in political engagement, and where should the line be drawn between helpful voter communication and automated persuasion? Share your thoughts and join the conversation.

How do you move beyond AI experimentation and start building systems that can genuinely reason, act, and create value across an enterprise? Recorded at Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, this episode features Daniel Sheinberg, who leads cross-portfolio product initiatives for Adobe's Customer Experience Orchestration business. Daniel is at the center of Adobe's AI and agentic strategy, helping shape how some of the world's largest organizations think about the next generation of customer experiences. During our conversation, Daniel cuts through the hype surrounding agentic AI and explains what actually separates an AI assistant from an AI agent. We explore how advances in reasoning, memory, context awareness, and tool usage are enabling systems that can move beyond generating content to actively helping organizations achieve business goals. Daniel shares practical examples of how enterprises are using these capabilities to personalize customer journeys at a level that would have been impossible with traditional workflows. We also discuss the rise of AI-powered brand concierges, including how are using agentic experiences to create more meaningful customer interactions. Daniel explains why context is becoming one of the most valuable assets in enterprise AI, how businesses can prepare their data and systems for agentic workflows, and why governance, trust, and brand intelligence will play such an important role in successful deployments. If you're trying to understand where AI is heading next, what customer experience orchestration really means, and how businesses can safely deploy agentic AI at scale, this conversation offers a valuable look at both the opportunities and the challenges ahead.