What's Up with Tech?

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Robots are leaving the lab, and the real world does not hold still. We sit down with Dr. Amarjot Singh Founder and CEO of Skylark Labs to unpack what “physical AI” actually means when a machine has to operate outdoors, in hazardous environments, and keep learning after deployment, without a safety net of perfect data or constant cloud access.

We walk through mission-critical examples where edge AI and continual learning are not optional. Think military tarmacs where a 1 cm piece of debris can cripple a jet engine, and where new debris types and surface imperfections can trigger costly false positives. We also get into why on-device learning changes the game: lower latency, better privacy, and resilience when connectivity drops. Amarjot shares how Skylark shrinks models onto edge hardware so robots, robotic dogs, and other platforms can adapt in the field instead of waiting for a retraining cycle back at HQ.

Then we go deep on drones and UAV autonomy. The conversation moves beyond “spot the crack” into drones that can take action with robotic arms, from cleaning solar panels in dusty deserts to applying quick fixes on industrial equipment. That upgrade introduces hard control problems: once a drone touches the world, it has to handle new forces, wind, and unexpected obstacles like scaffolding, all while staying stable and safe. We also cover what still holds the industry back, including data bottlenecks and rugged humanoid hardware needs like waterproofing, safer batteries, and stronger hands.

If you care about robotics, edge computing, autonomous drones, and mission-critical humanoid robots, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.
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Interested in being a guest? Email us at admin@evankirstel.com
US tech companies don’t usually lose in Europe because the product is bad. They lose because they market like Europe is one big country. From Berlin, B2B marketer and podcast host William Delaney joins us to compare how SaaS and tech companies sell, market, and grow across Europe versus the United States, especially in traditional industries like manufacturing, pharma, and logistics where trust is everything and “move fast” is not the default setting.

We dig into a simple but revealing contrast: in many European markets, buyers want the “instruction manual” before they buy. That shows up as longer decision cycles, more cautious adoption of new tools, and a stronger demand for proof. William shares why testimonials and human credibility often beat ads, why feature-driven product marketing can matter more than broad “solutions” language, and how community-led growth can open doors when you’re an unknown vendor.

We also get practical about localization, not just translation. Messaging that works in the UK and Ireland can fall flat in Germany, Austria, or Benelux, and the tone shifts again in Mediterranean markets. Then we tackle GDPR and data privacy: when regulation slows scaling, when it strengthens long-term trust, and how that intersects with AI adoption right now. If you’re building a go-to-market strategy for Europe or trying to sell complex B2B software anywhere, you’ll leave with clearer angles, better expectations, and tactics you can apply immediately. Subscribe, share this with a founder or marketer who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest Europe go-to-market question.
Learn more about Microsoft's ISOC announcement: https://fandf.co/4iQ9b5n
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Your network can be “up” and still be the thing that slows every cloud migration, security rollout, and AI initiative. From the Lumen booth at the Gartner IT Symposium, we sit down with Scott Yao to get specific about what’s really driving enterprise network complexity: different networking models to the cloud, inside each cloud, and between clouds, plus the operational burden that grows every time you add another workload or provider.

Scott walks us through Lumen’s push to modernize the old telco experience and flip the model from ticket-based provisioning to on-demand, software-defined connectivity. The conversation gets practical fast: pre-provisioning capacity to the destinations enterprises actually use (cloud platforms, GPU and AI farms, SaaS), then exposing that capacity as programmable capabilities so teams can turn services on and off, scale bandwidth, and add destinations in minutes instead of waiting weeks.

AI is the accelerant. When machines talk to machines and data pipelines move petabytes, the network can’t be the bottleneck, and the control plane matters as much as the fiber in the ground. We dig into why orchestration and intent-based operations are becoming mandatory, how Alkira fits into Lumen’s strategy for unified multi-cloud networking, and why security, encryption, and services like DDoS protection need to be built in, not bolted on. You’ll also hear a clear “where do we start?” framework and a real-world example of colo simplification by virtualizing expensive hardware-heavy deployments.

If you’re responsible for multi-cloud connectivity, network automation, or AI-ready infrastructure, subscribe, share this with your team, and leave a review with the one network problem you want solved next.
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A fiber cut, a congested wireless sector, a storm blocking satellite visibility: any one of these can happen on a normal day. The real question is whether that moment turns into a business outage. We walk through what “virtually unbreakable” enterprise networking looks like when you plan for failure up front and build an always-on connectivity model that keeps traffic moving even when a link goes bad.

We’re joined by Jonathan Drexel from T-Mobile, who shares why outage risk has changed shape and scale, including the hard costs leaders now track at the board level. We unpack the trap hidden in many “redundant” wired designs, where two circuits that look diverse on paper still share common underground or upstream failure points. From there, we explore why the golden age of connectivity is here: fiber remains the capacity anchor, but 5G fixed wireless and LEO satellite internet have matured into enterprise-grade options that break differently, giving you a realistic path to network resilience and business continuity.

You’ll hear a practical framework for designing resilient networks: start by defining business requirements by site criticality, then confront your network reality by building an availability matrix for each address. We also dig into why the convergence point matters, how to pressure test failover with real corporate traffic, and what operational burden shows up when you try to stitch multiple providers and hardware stacks together. Jonathan also explains how a managed 5G plus Starlink approach can keep a secondary path always ready and support a strong service-level commitment.

If you care about uptime, redundancy, failover testing, and keeping critical applications online, this one is for you.
T-Mobile for Business Partner
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Hybrid isn’t a stepping stone anymore. For a lot of organizations, it’s the only realistic way to balance cloud innovation with the uptime, compliance, and control they cannot give up, especially in healthcare, public sector, utilities, and other high-stakes environments. We sit down with a panel from Mitel and GlobalData to get specific about what’s changing in unified communications, why “move everything to the cloud” keeps running into the real world, and what buyers should demand from vendors when resilience is non-negotiable. 

Our GlobalData principal analyst walks through what “integrated workforce experience” should actually mean, and why most collaboration stacks still miss the point: about 70% of the workforce is deskless. When frontline teams are cut off, work gets done through a patchwork of apps and unofficial tools, which creates delays, service quality issues, and real security risk, especially as unmanaged AI usage grows. We break down the three core questions leaders need to press on: coverage for the whole workforce, what happens during an outage, and how AI is governed across roles and devices. 

Mitel leaders Eric and Martin share what they built with Mitel Workforce Experience (Mitel WX) and why it’s designed around workflows, plugins, and deployment choice across public cloud, hybrid, and private models. We also tackle the obvious question: can you just use Microsoft Teams, and where does a workflow-first frontline layer add value without ripping anything out. If you’re trying to unify communications, improve frontline productivity, and reduce tool sprawl while staying compliant, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with your IT or operations team, and leave a review with the biggest communications gap you’re trying to fix.
Learn more about Microsoft's ISOC announcement: https://fandf.co/4iQ9b5n
Support the show
More at https://linktr.ee/EvanKirstel