The Rise of Agentic AI: Transforming DevOps and Testing with Bridges Smith
TestGuild Devops Toolchain Podcast
Release Date: 05/07/2025
TestGuild Devops Toolchain Podcast
Support the show - try out Insight Hub free for 14 days now: https://testguild.me/insighthub In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Patrick Quilter, CEO of Deploy360, to explore how AI is reshaping DevSecOps and what it means for testers, developers, and security engineers. Patrick shares his unique journey from automation engineer to founder to acquisition, and now leading a company working directly with the Department of Defense on secure, AI-powered development pipelines. You’ll learn: Why automation engineers are perfectly positioned...
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In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, Joe Colantonio sits down with Matt DeBergalis, CEO of Apollo GraphQL, to explore how GraphQL is transforming the way teams build, ship, and scale applications. Matt shares his journey from open-source pioneer to leading one of the most widely adopted GraphQL platforms in the world—and why GraphQL is more relevant than ever in the age of AI, microservices, and agent-based applications. You’ll discover: How GraphQL eliminates over-fetching, reduces technical debt, and accelerates feature delivery Why it’s a natural fit for AI...
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In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Jennifer Rahmani, Co-founder and COO of Thoras.ai, a company redefining how infrastructure scales with AI-driven predictive technology. Drawing from her years as a DevOps engineer in the defense tech sector, Jennifer shares how she and her twin sister turned real-world frustrations into a reliability-first platform that eliminates the guesswork from scaling. We discuss how Thoras.ai integrates with Kubernetes to predict workload demand minutes—or even hours—in advance, allowing teams to maintain...
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Curious if AI will automate your contract testing—or wreck it? Add AI to Your DevOps Now: In this episode of the DevOps Toolchain Podcast, I sit down with Matt Fellows, co-founder of Pacflow and core maintainer of the PACT framework (now under SmartBear). We dive into the evolution of contract testing, how agentic AI tools like Copilot and Cursor are shaping testing workflows, and what the next 3–5 years might look like for API validation. We also get real about: Why test quality matters more in an AI-driven pipeline How autonomous testing may...
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Today, we’re diving into a hot topic for many in the software industry: leaping testing to DevOps. Joining us is Maciek Konkolowicz, a senior DevOps manager at an AI-driven test automation platform, who brings more than a decade of experience ensuring software quality and accelerating delivery. Checkout SmartBear InsightHub Now: Maciek shares his journey from functional test automation to DevOps leadership, offering real-world insight into what motivated his career shift, the skills and mindset that helped him thrive, and how the lines between testing and DevOps continue to blur with...
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How do you go from idea to impact—without wasting time or overbuilding too early? In this episode, Joe Colantonio is joined by Mac, CTO at Wednesday Solutions, to dive deep into what it really takes to scale software smartly and sustainably. They explore the mindset and systems needed to go from MVP to product-market fit, how to think about scaling for 3 years (not forever), and the biggest distribution mistakes startups make. You’ll also hear hard-earned lessons on using AI tools effectively, when to skip hyped tech (like serverless), and why building great software isn’t enough—you...
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On this episode host Joe Colantonio sits down with Jacek Marmuszewski of Let's Go DevOps, an expert with more than a decade of experience building and managing mission-critical cloud infrastructure for companies like Sabre and Oracle, as well as for numerous startups. Try out Insight Hub free for 14 days now: Jacek shares his journey from a Java and C programmer to a cloud-native advocate and DevOps platform engineer, offering invaluable insights into what it truly takes to create scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud environments. Together, they dig into the most common misconceptions...
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In this episode of the DevOps Toolchain podcast, we dive deep into the evolving intersection of AI, IoT, and embedded systems with special guest Hariharan Ragothaman who's a seasoned technologist and DevSecOps expert. Try out Insight Hub free for 14 days now: Hariharan shares how he went from programming in BASIC as a kid to leading cutting-edge AI server validation today. We explore the mindset shifts needed when moving from embedded systems to cloud-native architectures, and why having a security-first approach isn’t just optional anymore — it's essential. We also discuss: ✅...
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In this episode of the DevOps Toolchain podcast, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Thomas Hurley, Product Lead at SmartBear for ReadyAPI and SoapUI, to unpack everything you need to know about modern API testing in secure, regulated, and high-stakes environments. Check out SmartBear’s ReadyAPI Now: We explore why some organizations still choose on-prem API testing despite the cloud boom, and the critical role of data security, compliance, and control. Thomas delves into how teams can utilize service virtualization to overcome dependencies, accelerate shift-left testing, and simulate...
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On this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain, host Joe Colantonio is joined by Maurice McCabe, a seasoned AI engineer from AIA Systems whose expertise spans over two decades and the rise of agentic AI. Together, they dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of DevOps, AI-driven development, and modern product testing. Maurice shares his experiences from the early days of machine learning to today's generative AI revolution, uncovering how tools like Replit and smart browsers are transforming the way products are built, tested, and deployed. Whether you're a developer looking to keep your...
info_outlineIn this episode, host Joe Colantonio dives deep into the future of AI in DevOps with Bridges Smith, the VP of Product Management for AI at SmartBear. With over 25 years of experience leading innovations in product development, machine learning, and AI, Bridges brings a wealth of firsthand insights on how AI is rapidly evolving and shaping how developers and testers work.
Together, Joe and Bridges explore the shift from basic generative AI to the rise of agentic AI. These AI systems can make decisions and automate more complex tasks within DevOps and testing pipelines. They discuss the importance of keeping humans in the loop, how AI is tackling mundane and repetitive tasks to free up creativity, practical strategies for successfully integrating AI tools, and what metrics you should track to measure real gains.
You’ll also hear about SmartBear’s unique approach to embedding AI directly into workflows—accelerating testing, documentation, and observability—plus real-world use cases where these advancements are already making a difference. Whether you’re optimistic or skeptical about AI’s impact on the software industry, this episode is packed with actionable insights on future-proof your skills and embrace what’s next in DevOps and AI.
Tune in, learn what’s hype and what’s real, and get ready to take your DevOps toolchain to the next level!
Visit their AI hub to see how AI is shaping the future of software testing: https://testguild.me/aihubs