Most people have used Google Maps or a similar app on the road, but wouldn’t it be great if you had a wayfinding service at a massive indoor facility like a mall? Or a hospital? Since 2017, the folks at RoveIQ">RoveIQ have been deploying interactive smart kiosks nationwide. Not only can these kiosks help people get from A to B, but they’re also invaluable data collectors for their clients.    RoveIQ’s VP of Software Engineering, Nate Denlinger">Nate Denlinger, breaks down a typical day for their DevOps and how they’re keeping these kiosks of the future running with the cloud.   Join us as we discuss: - Wayfinding and the challenges that come with indoor geocaching (2:22) - Managing hundreds of digital kiosks in a cloud-based infrastructure (14:57) - Optimization and update hurdles in customer-facing installations (27:08) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - AWS Elastic Beanstalk">AWS Elastic Beanstalk - Go Programming Language">Go Programming Language - Svelte">Svelte To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Custom website design and development can be a tricky business. On one hand, you need to provide your clients with a product that meets their needs. On the flip side, you don’t want it to be so responsive that they accidentally clog up the plumbing. Matt Meier">Matt Meier and Terence Devine">Terence Devine of design studio Ligature Creative">Ligature Creative join us to share how cloud-based services are helping them delight their clients with innovative branding for their websites. Hear how they use platforms like WP Engine to assist them with backend DevOps and their experience with tackling the development of an interactive Web TV series.     Join us as we discuss: - Developing and supporting custom processes in WP Engine (7:17) - Using cloud-based file sharing for remote operations (14:15) - Tackling a new development challenge in the Web TV space (23:09)  Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Bitbucket - WP Engine  - The Accidental Wolf   To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As remote work continues to be a non-negotiable for many DevOps engineers, cloud-based services, like AWS GovCloud, play a critical role for defense contractors. When government secrets are at stake, software integration platforms like Tangram Flex">Tangram Flex can’t leave anything to chance. Gene Erbacher">Gene Erbacher, Tangram’s Information Systems Security Manager, has seen firsthand how a secure cloud strategy can make off-site InfoSec work possible. In this episode, Gene gives us an inside peek into IT regulatory compliance for classified projects and dealing with security issues for remote employees. Join us as we discuss: - Gene’s pivot from active military service to private InfoSec (5:00) - Onboarding and user management for off-site engineers (9:12)  - How cloud computing makes InfoSec remote work possible (15:32) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Tangram Flex">Tangram Flex - Gene Erbacher">Gene Erbacher - AWS GovCloud">AWS GovCloud - NIST 800-171">NIST 800-171 To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

A lottery’s website traffic is about as flat as you can imagine during normal business hours. But once those multi-million dollar drawings take place in the evening, the jackpots aren’t the only numbers that are eye-popping. When Chris Abate"> Chris Abate, VP of Lottery Operations at Marcus Thomas LLC"> Marcus Thomas LLC, and his team took responsibility for the web properties and user experience of Mega Millions"> Mega Millions, The Ohio Lottery"> The Ohio Lottery, and The New Hampshire Lottery"> The New Hampshire Lottery - they knew they needed cloud solutions that packed a punch. Chris shares how the cloud gives lottery websites the edge in handling extreme traffic during peak hours and keeps bad actors from ruining the greatest day ever for winners. Join us as we discuss: - Engaging customers with a new lottery rewards program (5:46)  - Security checks and balances to deny malicious coders (10:53) - Automating and scaling a major lottery platform in the cloud (20:32) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Chris Abate">Chris Abate - Marcus Thomas LLC">Marcus Thomas LLC - Ohio Lottery">Ohio Lottery To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Brandon Heimann">Brandon Heimann, Information Technology Manager at Hohman Plating">Hohman Plating, is a chief evangelist for backing up data — offsite, onsite, and all over the place. Manufacturing cloud-based IT is a big enough monster without having to deal with local drive failures, especially when legacy industrial equipment is involved. When you add compliance-laden government contracts into the mix, Brandon thinks getting away from bare metal is a no-brainer. Brandon shares his experiences with IT and cloud computing in heavy manufacturing and navigating NIST and CMMC cybersecurity compliance.    Join us as we discuss: - Using IT to boost efficiencies in legacy industrial infrastructures (6:11) - Cybersecurity, NIST compliance scores, and the CMMC (12:08) - Preventing disaster with redundant and timely backups (18:01) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Brandon Heimann">Brandon Heimann - Hohman Plating">Hohman Plating - Darktrace">Darktrace - National Institute of Standards and Technology">National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification">Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) - PreVeil">PreVeil To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Former CIO Steve Hangen">Steve Hangen started his IT journey in the days of keying commands into punched cards, so he’s seen it all during the gradual evolution of cloud technologies. But when Steve inherited a broken e-commerce cloud-based platform at his last employer, Mikesell’s">Mikesell’s, he knew they needed an outside perspective to help get it back on track. Hear how Mike eventually became a believer in cloud services and why smaller businesses shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help in keeping up with fast-moving changes in technology.   Join us as we discuss: - Steve’s early misconceptions of the cloud and what changed (6:46) - Why small IT teams shouldn’t try to keep up with change alone (13:21) - Calling in help to overhaul a broken cloud-based platform (17:49)  Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Steve Hangen">Steve Hangen - Mikesell’s">Mikesell’s To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

When Covid brought the world to a halt, thousands of schools were left scrambling for remote learning alternatives. But the folks at Archbishop Carroll High School">Archbishop Carroll High School in Dayton, Ohio, were already ahead of the curve as each student already had a Chromebook in hand. Today, Carroll’s students are back in the classroom. And they’re enjoying a robust network of cloud-based servers that are helping give them a leg up in becoming future leaders in STEM fields. Their principal, Matt Sableski, gives us an inside peek into how Carroll’s IT initiatives are preparing their students for a digital world.   Join us as we discuss: - How IT is helping prep students for jobs that don’t exist yet (3:57) - Using cloud-based services to protect students online (8:48) - When government cloud services fail the stress test (13:56) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Archbishop Carroll High School">Archbishop Carroll High School - GoGuardian">GoGuardian To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Like many other IT experts who came before him, Eric Wright">Eric Wright started as a keyboard junkie working maintenance windows. Today, the VP of Operations at DataYard">DataYard is keeping his clients’ data safe and secure by working to keep up with the accelerated change in cloud-compute DevOps one day at a time. Hear how Eric learned to appreciate the value of proactive data analysis and recovery procedures so he can help his customers scale their businesses to higher heights.   Join us as we discuss: Cloud-compute versus SaaS functionality (5:51) Isolating OS processes through containers (12:24) Anticipating load management at scale (24:23) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Eric Wright">Eric Wright DataYard">DataYard Ohio Lottery">Ohio Lottery To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Alec MacEachern">Alec MacEachern, US Federal Lead for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at AWS">AWS, has been on the frontlines of the AI revolution for the better part of the last decade. Today, he’s helping the public sector try to relieve citizens by using AI to cut through mountains of red tape while keeping their data safe and secure from bad actors.   Alec talks about his experiences with siloed data integration, working with third-party MSPs, and the future of machine learning in medical research. And we close out the episode with an exciting announcement from the folks at AWS. Join us as we discuss: - Challenges of Integrating AI in government cloud services (5:11) - Why data readiness is critical to AI-cloud integration (9:28)  - GPU advances and machine learning in medical research (14:48) - AWS’s new groundbreaking generative AI service (19:15) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Alec MacEachern">Alec MacEachern - AWS">AWS - Amazon Bedrock">Amazon Bedrock To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As machine learning models like ChatGPT take the digital world by storm, where do cloud-based services factor into this AI revolution? And how do these pioneering companies securely manage such massive data sets? Two leading innovators from Cognovi Labs">Cognovi Labs, Chief Operating Officer Jim Levites">Jim Levites and Senior Software Engineer Alan Smith">Alan Smith, share how they’ve used cloud technology to help scale their groundbreaking Emotion AITM engine. You won’t want to miss this exclusive look into an AI that scales business growth by getting in touch with your feelings.   Join us as we discuss: - Using textual data to quantify human emotions (3:48) - Migrating a massive AI data set to the cloud (14:25) - Scalability, load testing, and learning to trust your tech (21:16) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Cognovi Labs">Cognovi Labs - Jim Levites">Jim Levites - Alan Smith">Alan Smith To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Like the internet and mobile technology before it, managed cloud service provider (MCSP) assistance used to be viewed as a curiosity, not a necessity. But early adopters like Vincent Lewis">Vincent Lewis quickly realized it was the best solution to help him manage his old printing and promotions business. Now the president of The Arcade Innovation Hub">The Arcade Innovation Hub in Dayton, Ohio, Vincent is helping small to mid-sized business owners realize the potential of IT modernization with MCSPs. Vincent shares how early cloud integration impacted his professional journey and how small businesses can use it to maximize their growth. Join us as we discuss: - The evolution of the IT modernization experience (6:42) - Becoming an early adopter of cloud management technology (17:36) - Advice to small business owners on IT infrastructures (24:49) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Vincent Lewis">Vincent Lewis - The Arcade Innovation Hub">The Arcade Innovation Hub - Greater West Dayton Incubator Business Clinic">Greater West Dayton Incubator Business Clinic To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Business IT can be a headache for any business owner.  It’s worse when you don’t have a dedicated team of experts to oversee and maintain your organization’s IT infrastructure. Jason Hanrahan">Jason Hanrahan, President of The Bridge Group">The Bridge Group joins us today and brings us insight into one critical aspect of modernizing any small business — finding the right Managed Service Provider (MSP) to trust. When moving your business to the cloud, making sure that your IT partner is making the right decisions when it comes to uptime and what products and services constitute the backbone of your infrastructure is key.   Join us as we discuss: - Excuses private businesses make to avoid moving to the cloud and the results of that decision (6:04) - Bridges Group’s approach to bringing in new clients (10:45) - Avoiding the trap of thinking that remote systems are the same as on premises (13:52) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Jason Hanrahan">Jason Hanrahan - The Bridge Group">The Bridge Group To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Small business owners have to put out a lot of fires. Cloud resource management shouldn’t be one of them. Scott Koorndyk">Scott Koorndyk, President of the Entrepreneurs’ Center">Entrepreneurs’ Center and Executive VP of the Arcade Innovation Hub">Arcade Innovation Hub in Dayton, Ohio, joins us to discuss compliance issues and IT infrastructure in business startups. In our first episode of Cloud and Clear, we dig into the nitty-gritty of IT project management and why going it alone can cost small businesses excess time and money. Join us as we discuss: - Entrepreneurial efforts in IT and innovation (9:33)  - IT success stories and their lasting operational impact (16:09) - Small business partnerships in remote cloud management (22:05) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Scott Koorndyk">Scott Koorndyk - skoorndyk@ecinnovates.com">skoorndyk@ecinnovates.com - Entrepreneurs’ Center">Entrepreneurs’ Center - Arcade Innovation Hub">Arcade Innovation Hub To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Welcome to Cloud and Clear: IT Modernization Out Loud, a show dedicated to bringing you the latest solutions and insights to your DevOps and data cloud infrastructure needs! Your future host, Alek Mezera">Alek Mezera, VP of Client Partnerships at DataYard">DataYard, joins Robb Conlon">Robb Conlon of Westport Studios">Westport Studios to give a sneak peek of the compelling content that will help you grow. If you’re looking to up your game in the IT space, then you don’t want to miss out on the cyber expert insights we’ll be bringing to you, Cloud and Clear.   Join us as we discuss: - The biggest challenge in cloud management today (1:16 ) - Guest profiles and conversations around success and failure (2:05) - Future topics around DevOps, cybersecurity, reliability, and performance (3: 32) Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Alek Mezera">Alek Mezera - alek.mezera@datayard.us">alek.mezera@datayard.us - DataYard">DataYard To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website, or search for Cloud and Clear in your favorite podcast player.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.