AVANT Technology Insights
Strategies for solving business challenges through today’s Information Technologies, featuring the foremost thought leaders in the field. AVANT is an industry leading platform for IT Decision Making. www.GoAVANT.net
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Chip Hoisington - What's Driving Colo - Repatriation and Real Estate
03/06/2024
Chip Hoisington - What's Driving Colo - Repatriation and Real Estate
Colocation is experiencing a resurgence in popularity! What's behind this renewed interest in popularity? Join Alex Danyluk, Managing Director of AVANT Analytics, and Chip Hoisington, Senior Director of Connectivity, Colo, and Wireless at AVANT, as they delve into the current Colo landscape. Discover why, after a decade of prioritizing cloud strategies, some are returning to data centers and others are venturing into them for the first time. Let's explore together! Listen in to get started.
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Brent Wilford - 2024 Outlook for UC
02/21/2024
Brent Wilford - 2024 Outlook for UC
In this episode, Alex Danyluk, Managing Director of AVANT Analytics, and Brent Wilford, Senior Director of Customer Experience and UCaaS at AVANT, focus on the outlook of the UCaaS industry. The good news? Businesses of all sizes can adopt UCaaS from various providers. So, what's the challenge? With an abundance of providers, determining the best fit for your business can be complicated. They explore what IT decision-makers should keep in mind as they evaluate potential providers. Plus, they discuss the common conception that Microsoft Team is a dominant player with the highest number of voice seats. Is this true? Listen in to find out!
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John Paullin - Allergic to AI? Not So Fast!
02/07/2024
John Paullin - Allergic to AI? Not So Fast!
In this episode, Managing Director of AVANT Analytics, Alex Danyluk, interviews our very own John Paullin, Sales Engineer and Senior Analyst of AVANT Analytics! Together, they discuss what enterprise customers are really asking about in regard to AI in the contact center. John shares his experience speaking to hundreds of customers from all walks of life and educating them on the various ways AI can impact not just the customer experience they provide, but also what is often their most expensive asset: their agents! Listen into this episode to gain smart technology insights, learn how to open up the Artificial Intelligence conversation, and deepen your understanding of AI as it relates to Contact Center solutions.
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Sarah Arnstein - Review of 2023 SASE Gartner Magic Quadrant
01/03/2024
Sarah Arnstein - Review of 2023 SASE Gartner Magic Quadrant
Recently, one of our podcast hosts, Alex Danyluk was scrolling through LinkedIn and saw that AVANT's resident SASE expert, Sarah Arnstein, was compiling her own write-up on the very first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE Report. From there, this episode was born! Dive into our new episode as Alex Danyluk, Managing Director of AVANT Analytics, and Sales Engineer Sarah Arnstein discuss what is going on in the SASE landscape. Listen in and discover how things have evolved even further since Gartner's SASE report landed, as well as some surprising takeaways our AVANT Analytics experts are sharing from the report! Follow along with the Gartner report as you listen! Download their full report here >> Learn more about SASE providers and features with Sarah's blog, “Get SASE with Sarah” >>
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Todd Cadieux - AI, Where Are We Today and Where Are We Going
12/06/2023
Todd Cadieux - AI, Where Are We Today and Where Are We Going
In this episode, John Paullin, AVANT Analytics Senior Analyst, and Todd Cadieux, RVP of Solution Consulting at Five9, are going to talk about everybody's favorite buzzword - you guessed it - AI, AKA Artificial Intelligence. They explore how it fits into today’s modern contact center and what capabilities are being sought out first. In other words, where does the buying journey for AI start? Finally, they wrap up by sharing some bold predictions as to where they believe AI is heading. Listen in for all that and more on our latest episode of AVANT Technology Insights.
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Greg Vander Gaast - Security Products Don’t Work
11/15/2023
Greg Vander Gaast - Security Products Don’t Work
In today's episode, Stephen Semmelroth, Sr. Director of Security at AVANT, is joined by Greg Vander Gaast, Chief Technologist of Security at CDW, to talk about security strategy. They explore some methods that some might consider blasphemous, while others think to be the real deal when it comes to building a security program. Plus, they guide listeners on how to prevent security problems before they even happen. Join them as they jump into the security strategy conversation!
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Sarah Arnstein - From 'Hold' to Hero - The Supervisor's Guide to Wrangling WFH Contact Center Craziness
11/01/2023
Sarah Arnstein - From 'Hold' to Hero - The Supervisor's Guide to Wrangling WFH Contact Center Craziness
In this episode of AVANT Technology Insights, Brent Wilford, Senior Analyst of AVANT Analytics, is joined by his colleague and Sales Engineer Sarah Arnstein, to talk about Contact Center Supervisors. How valuable are they in the day-to-day operations of your contact center? What impact can they have for your organization as you evaluate solutions and make the shift from on-prem to Contact Center Cloud technology? Listen in to find out! Get SASE with Sarah >> https://getsasewithsarah.com/
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Stephen Semmelroth - State of the Threat Right Now
10/18/2023
Stephen Semmelroth - State of the Threat Right Now
In our latest podcast episode, Alex Danyluk, Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Director of AVANT Analytics, is joined by AVANT's Cybersecurity guru Stephen Semmelroth! Together, they discuss the whiplash that has been occurring in the cybersecurity space over the past two years, from pre-COVID to present day. Plus, they dive into what's really going on right now in Security, including what they believe is the new North Star of the cybersecurity space!
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Tia Hopkins - SEC Regulations
10/04/2023
Tia Hopkins - SEC Regulations
In our latest Technology Insights podcast, Stephen Semmelroth, Sr. Director of Security at AVANT, dives deep into the new regulations from the SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) on cybersecurity. 'Who does that impact from your board?? How do these regulations affect you and your business? What are the key takeaways you need to know? Stephen is joined by one of the most preeminent on the subject Tia Hopkins, Chief Cyber Resilience Officer and Field CTO from eSentire, and together they are answering these questions and more! Listen in and learn with these cybersecurity pros!
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Lou Rabon - Security is the Key to Unlocking Revenue
09/20/2023
Lou Rabon - Security is the Key to Unlocking Revenue
This is one episode of Technology Insights you won't want to miss! Host and AVANT Sr. Director of Security Stephen Semmelroth is joined by our guest, Lou Rabon, CEO of CDG. Together, they jump into the cost of a breach to look at how much organizations should actually spend on security. Plus, they explore why it's so important for business leaders to be able to speak security and security leaders to be able to speak business! Don't miss out on the expert insights that will keep your organization secure and financially efficient. Join us - let's get going!
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Mike Kuch - What AI means in the Contact Center
09/06/2023
Mike Kuch - What AI means in the Contact Center
In this episode of AVANT Technology Insights, we are talking about everything that is involved when moving from voice to cloud. Senior Analyst of AVANT Analytics Brent Wilford is joined by industry expert and Senior Director of Solutions marketing from Avaya, Mike Kutch! Together, they discuss moving your PBX, understanding the needs of your entire organization to ensure they'll be met before you make the decision, and properly introducing artificial intelligence and other modern features into your contact center so you can keep and maintain a great customer experience. It's time to listen in and learn - let's go!
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Steven Baer - We Do Nothing But Stop Cyber Threats
08/16/2023
Steven Baer - We Do Nothing But Stop Cyber Threats
In this episode, Stephen Semmelroth, Sr Director of Security at AVANT, is bringing on Security expert Steve Baer to talk about the history of cybersecurity. Where have we been as an industry? What is the new focus of it? What are some of the things that you need to know about in the world of cybersecurity right now? Listen in to this episode to join us in the cybersecurity conversation!
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Tom Nevins & Anish Patel - Taming Cloud Expense Mayhem
08/02/2023
Tom Nevins & Anish Patel - Taming Cloud Expense Mayhem
In this episode, Peter Callowhill, Senior Analyst for AVANT Analytics, is joined by Tom Nevins, Tangoe Vice President, Solution Architects, and Anish Patel, Tangoe Cloud Practice Lead. Together, they talk about Cloud Expenses Mayhem and what it means in the world of cloud. Plus, they explain what the impact is for organizations and how help is now available to get "houses in order" while still reaping the benefits of the cloud! Listen in to discover how you can benefit financially by working with a long-term leader in the expense management field, how to procure a best-of-breed expense management solution and the value of both a competitive expense management market and the availability of advanced cloud strategies. Let's dive deeper together!
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Theresa Lanowitz - Joining Forces to Analyze the CSI Report Findings
07/19/2023
Theresa Lanowitz - Joining Forces to Analyze the CSI Report Findings
In this episode, Stephen Semmelroth, Senior Analyst of AVANT Analytics, is joined by Theresa Lanowitz, Head of Evangelism at AT&T Cybersecurity, to discuss the AT&T Cybsecurity Insights Report for 2023! This is a phenomenal report that will change the way you do business. Together, Stephen and Theresa dive into the report, exploring budget planning strategies for tech-service organizations and answering the question: should you be an optimist in this space or not? Find out the answer, and much more, in our latest podcast episode!
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Brent Wilford & John Paullin - CCaaS 6-12 Report
07/05/2023
Brent Wilford & John Paullin - CCaaS 6-12 Report
Are you looking to move to a CCaaS solution? Interested in learning how many of your peers in the industry are also currently making the CCaaS shift? In this episode, AVANT Analytics Managing Director Alex Danyluk is joined by AVANT CCaaS experts and Sales Engineers, Brent Wilford and John Paullin, to dive into the key takeaways of the latest 6-12 Report, focused on the evolving CCaaS landscape! For the best listening experience, we recommend you follow along with us as we explore the CCaaS market by downloading the CCaaS 6-12 Report at
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Gabe Sette - Skyrocketing Costs and Decommissioning of POTS Lines Addressed
06/21/2023
Gabe Sette - Skyrocketing Costs and Decommissioning of POTS Lines Addressed
In this episode of AVANT Technology Insights, Chip Hoisington, AVANT Senior Director of Engineering, and Gabe Sette, Spectrotel Senior Vice President, talk about what exactly is going on with POTS lines! Everybody is calling them about these crazy POTS lines, as costs skyrocket and users receive shut-off notices. To answer all your questions, Chip and Gabe review what's in the POTS line and TDM copper-based kind of connectivity world today and explain how their organizations are helping solve the problem for Trusted Advisors and customers! Listen in to learn more!
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Derek Siler - Protect Applications using NIST Cybersecurity Framework
06/07/2023
Derek Siler - Protect Applications using NIST Cybersecurity Framework
In this episode, Niko O’Hara, the Head of Engineering at AVANT, and Derek Siler, the Solutions Architect at Flexential, dive into the NIST cybersecurity framework, focusing specifically on how we can use it to protect critical IT workloads. They talk through the details of the framework itself, as well as each individual category. Lastly, they hit on how you can use this as the foundation for a complete cybersecurity strategy. Click the “play” button to get started!
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Todd Surdey - The Future of Communication
05/17/2023
Todd Surdey - The Future of Communication
In this episode of AVANT Technology Insights, AVANT President and co-founder Drew Lydecker is joined by Todd Surdey, Head of Global Channels & Business Development at Zoom. Together, they talk about the absolute disruption they're creating - in unified communications, contact center, video, and AI. Zoom is the definition of everything is changing. Listen in and join the evolution! This one's going to be fun.
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Dave Watson - How Modern CCaaS Solutions Can Impact Your KPIs
05/03/2023
Dave Watson - How Modern CCaaS Solutions Can Impact Your KPIs
In this episode of AVANT Technology Insights, Senior Analyst John Paullin and UC/CC Field Sales Engineer David Watson discuss the importance of mapping CCaaS technologies to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and explore how the former can positively impact the latter. Don't miss these great insights that will help you and your customers navigate the IT decision-making journey! To learn more about this topic, our free e-book, The Connection Between CCaaS Solutions and Your Customer’s KPIs, to explore the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and related metrics your prospects are most focused on!
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Drew Lydecker, Brent Wilford, Stephen Semmelroth - State of Disruption in 2023
04/19/2023
Drew Lydecker, Brent Wilford, Stephen Semmelroth - State of Disruption in 2023
It's the one hundredth episode of the AVANT Technology Insights podcast, and this is one you shouldn't miss. Drew Lydecker, Alex Danyluk, Stephen Semmelroth, and Brent Wilford cover the state of disruption in our industry RIGHT NOW, diving into UCaaS/CCaaS, security, cloud, the as-a-service movement, and MUCH more! This episode provides some great market insights and is a must-listen for those who are focused on growing and evolving their business along with the industry! Check it out! To Learn More:
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Terry Corder - Solving the Microsoft Teams Communication Puzzle
04/05/2023
Terry Corder - Solving the Microsoft Teams Communication Puzzle
In our latest AVANT Technology Insights episode, Sr. Research Analyst Christopher Brennan is joined by Terry Corder, Fusion Connect's Sr. Director of Solution Engineering! Together, they discuss how to solve the puzzle of using Microsoft Teams for both collaboration and communication. What is the cleanest and easiest way to unpack this for a confused client? What is the Microsoft Contact Center strategy today, as it pertains to Teams and future plans? Listen in to find out!
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Duane Barnes and Kenneth Ziegler - Joining Forces to Simplify Managed Services
03/15/2023
Duane Barnes and Kenneth Ziegler - Joining Forces to Simplify Managed Services
In our latest episode, AVANT President Drew Lydecker discusses one of the best mergers and acquisitions he has seen in the industry with Duane Barnes, GM of RapidScale, and Ken Ziegler, CEO of Logicworks. How does this acquisition expand on the already powerful suite of managed IT solutions that RapidScale offers today? What are the benefits that end customers can expect as a result? Click the “play” button to find out!
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George Just - How Much Can You Block
03/01/2023
George Just - How Much Can You Block
Welcome to another Security-focused episode of Technology Insights, hosted by Stephen Semmelroth, AVANT Sr. Director of Security, and George Just, Chief Revenue Officer of ThreatBlokr. In this episode, Stephen and George take a step back to think about security and the problems in this space that you're facing. For the next 30 minutes, listen in as they guide you on how to tackle those problems and more!
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Marcus Garcia - The Evolution of Great CX
02/15/2023
Marcus Garcia - The Evolution of Great CX
In our latest AVANT Technology Insights podcast, AVANT Senior Analyst Chris Brennan is joined by Marcus Garcia, VP of Sales at NICE CXone! They explore shifting customer tendencies, and what that evolution means for organizations focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience, or CX.
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Boris Ginshpun - Common Pitfalls in Digital Communications
02/01/2023
Boris Ginshpun - Common Pitfalls in Digital Communications
Digital communications between a company and its customers and prospects certainly doesn't feel new. After all, many companies have chat, email, and web forms as "Contact Us" options on their websites. Additionally, several organizations market to their prospects using email and SMS. While these digital mediums were intended to offer convenience and promised efficiencies, many barriers to effective digital communications still exist. Why is that the case? What are the best practices when getting started with a digital communication strategy? Most importantly, what impact will a well-designed digital strategy have on the customer and employee experience? Tune into our latest AVANT Technology Insights podcast and join John Paullin, Senior Analyst at AVANT, and Boris Ginshpun, Vice President of Product Strategy at LiveVox, as we explore the answers to those questions and more!
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Tony Lauro - The Light at the End of the Cybersecurity Tunnel
01/18/2023
Tony Lauro - The Light at the End of the Cybersecurity Tunnel
In this podcast, AVANT President and co-founder Drew Lydecker is joined by Tony Lauro, Director of Security Technology and Strategy at Akamai. They're focusing on educating, entertaining, and sparking thoughtful conversation all around cybersecurity with Akamai, one of its biggest players. They explore what keeps CIOs up at night - and what Akamai is doing to help them sleep better. Plus, they explain how beneficial utilizing the technologies Akamai builds is for leadership visibility. How can you prepare for and understand the world we're living in today, through a cybersecurity lens? Is there any light at the end of that tunnel? Drew and Tony answer all of this and more in our latest episode of AVANT Technology Insights!
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Tony Scribner - People-Process-WHAT
01/04/2023
Tony Scribner - People-Process-WHAT
In this episode, we talk with Tony Scribner of Ntirety, who challenges the way we think about build-or-buy decisions and how to apply security. Does it really move the needle? Jump in and get ready for the newest episode of the AVANT Technology Insights podcast.
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Rob Stephenson - The Talent Balance
12/21/2022
Rob Stephenson - The Talent Balance
“Find an employer that is going to support you, train you, and give you that opportunity.” All along the cybersecurity side of the house, everyone needs to take best practices and precautions seriously. You should assume someone is attempting to get into every single device you have that is connected to the Internet. Enterprises must make sure they are protected by seeking out talented people who can provide that necessary support. How does Thrive solve the talent balancing problem? They don't just have a single-pronged attack; they actually go through multiple levels. In this episode, Senior Director of AVANT Analytics Stephen Semmelroth and CEO of Thrive Rob Stephenson break into the details of the art of talent balance and offer a helpful guide to finding the right people who can help your organization stay protected.
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Tim Joos - All-in-One Enterprise Technology Management
12/07/2022
Tim Joos - All-in-One Enterprise Technology Management
In this episode, we discuss enterprise technology management and what it can do for your business. Gone are the days of having a small pool of vendors supporting your business. Now, it’s dozens of technologies, and brand-new or evolving ones at that! We explore some of the common questions that arise as a result of these changes. How can you keep track of the rapid pace of evolution in technology? How do you know what you’re actually spending your money on? How do you integrate new technologies into various businesses? Listen in and learn as we answer these questions and more!
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Kyle Hall and Adrian Tilston - Hiring Veterans with the Skillbridge Program
11/09/2022
Kyle Hall and Adrian Tilston - Hiring Veterans with the Skillbridge Program
Welcome to a special Veteran's Day podcast hosted by AVANT Sr. Director of Security and Kyle Hall and Adrian Tilston of Resourcive. In this episode, they discuss how they bring on transitioning veterans and explore their own journeys of transition. Join us and learn how to capitalize on talent that can help you move that needle. “It doesn't matter how big or small your organization is if you're hiring right now. There is a program that can get transitioning veterans into that through Skillbridge. There are so many organizations, from Hiring Our Heroes to Shift or a whole myriad of programs, to help transition veterans and get them into your company. You really don't have a reason not to be leveraging this, because it is so easy and it's such a high payoff,” said Adrian Tilston.
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