Heavy Strategy

From technology to workplace culture, from geopolitical trends to economics, Heavy Strategy debates pivotal questions in enterprise IT. Hosts Greg Ferro and Johna Till Johnson bring their technical expertise, analytical acumen, and contrasting viewpoints to discuss complex topics of interest to IT leaders. Frequently irreverent and always thought-provoking, these are the conversations you wish you could have at the leadership table. Tune in and join the think tank, where unanswered questions are better than unquestioned answers.

141 episodes

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Episodes 141

HS140: AI and Technical Debt – Boon or Bane?
12d ago · 42:27
Does AI increase or reduce technical debt? Join Johna Johnson and John Burke as they discuss how to make strategy in environments in which AI fuels untrammeled growth in enterprise complexity–but also points the way to automated optimization (and concomitant technical debt reduction). Episode Links: Watch this episode on YouTube The AI Technical Debt Crisis:... Read more »
HS139: When “One Cloud to Rule Them All” is NOT the Answer: Regionalization
26d ago · 33:58
IT folks spent a lot of time in the last 20 years creating globe-spanning infrastructures that maximize performance while minimizing the number of data centers or cloud instances they operate. More recently, the steady rise of regionalized data sovereignty requirements has created counter-pressure. AI regulations are now adding to that pressure to ditch a single... Read more »
HS138: When “One Cloud To Rule Them All” Is NOT the Answer: Repatriation for AI and more
1mo ago · 30:56
Some enterprises are finding reasons to pull back from a cloud-first IT strategy and run workloads in on-premises data centers. John and Johna dig into why companies are making the change, including cost and AI security. They also discuss and the strategic implications for IT, and what organizations stand to gain—and lose—from repatriation. Episode Links:... Read more »
HS137: Did AI Turn “Everybody Codes” into “Nobody Codes”?
2mo ago · 38:23
“Everybody codes” was an enterprise buzzword. In this era of AI vibe-coding and single-use coding, should everyone code? Should anyone code? John and Johna talk about enterprise strategies with respect to coding in the AI era, including what expertise to look for in employees. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter Meter delivers full-stack networking—wired, wireless, and cellular—to leading... Read more »
HS136: How AI Is Changing Enterprise Software Development (Sponsored)
2mo ago · 50:41
AI can generate working code quickly. Building reliable software to run infrastructure platforms is still a multi-year engineering challenge. In this sponsored episode, BlueCat chief strategy officer Andrew Wertkin joins John Burke and Scott Robohn to talk through the difference between code generation and enterprise software development, and the challenges and opportunities of engineering reliability... Read more »
HS135: AI Spyware in Chrome Spotlights Attractions of DaaS
2mo ago · 31:08
VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) have been arriving “real soon now” for the past couple of decades. Will the advent of vendors’ AI spyware (as Google is introducing through Chrome) be the accelerant that finally makes it happen? John and Johna discuss why the challenges in this brave new AI-enabled... Read more »
HS134: Dodging the AI Iceberg: Midcourse Corrections
2mo ago · 32:38
By now most organizations have AI strategies (among their other tech strategies). But how do you know when it’s time to make a midcourse correction? Better still: How can you predict when, and what kind of corrections you might need? John and Johna discuss, and tell the story of how a university prepared for technology... Read more »
HS133: Approaching Zero…Trust (Sponsored)
3mo ago · 49:56
Most enterprises have some kind of zero trust strategy, but a lot of them could be better described as good intentions rather than active programs being implemented. Making good on a zero trust strategy and achieving an actual zero trust architecture requires tools that embody the core precept of zero trust thinking: deny access by... Read more »
HS132: Heart of Glasswing
3mo ago · 36:28
How can enterprise IT folks prepare for the age of Mythos? Anthropic says its Claude Mythos model is so much better at finding software vulnerabilities that it has delayed public release. Instead Anthropic launched Project Glasswing to give IT infrastructure and software makers early access, so they can have some lead time to address vulnerabilities... Read more »
HS131: Cybersecurity Strategy: Defending Against AI
3mo ago · 34:48
Enterprise strategists need to worry about securing their environments against AI-powered attacks. John and Johna discuss what cybersecurity and IT leaders need to consider in developing a cybersecurity strategy that addresses AI-augmented threats as well as how to use AI defensively … and why AI attacks can be like a duckbilled platypus. AdSpot Sponsor: Meter... Read more »
HS130: Wait, AI Doesn’t Secure Itself? Developing an AI Security Strategy
4mo ago · 37:41
Your enterprise better have a cybersecurity strategy for AI. But where to start? Everywhere! Securing AI means securing all the AI layers and throughout the lifecycle: data, model, and applications, in training and in inference. Johna and John discuss what your strategy must address and how to get support for it because, of course, it’s... Read more »
HS128: Planning for an AI Bubble Burst
4mo ago · 34:25
How should you shape your IT strategy around the possibility–or is it probability–that the AI economy is a true bubble and will burst soon? John Burke and Johna Johnson revisit the signs indicating that an AI bubble is in full swing and pointing to the potential for collapse in the near term. Doomsaying having been... Read more »
HS129: Achieving Operational Excellence
4mo ago · 39:35
The best strategy in the world won’t succeed if a team falters operationally. But what is operational excellence, and what does it take to acquire it? Cal Poly faculty member (and former Intel strategist) John Miranda shares his thinking with our Heavy Strategy listeners. He discusses concepts like the theory of constraints, root-cause analysis, and... Read more »
HS127: You’re Not Thinking About Your Network the Way You Should (Sponsored)
5mo ago · 38:10
Mav Turner, Chief Product Officer at Kentik, joins John Burke and Drew Conry-Murray for an in-depth conversation on the importance of deep visibility into enterprise networks. As networks grow more complex and stretch from on-prem and WAN to multi-cloud and edge locations, this sponsored discussion explores how good visibility supports everything from daily operations to... Read more »
HS126: AI Everything, AI Everywhere, AI All At Once
5mo ago · 39:37
At CES in January, NVIDIA, AMD, Siemens and others spun elaborate tales of a world suffused with AI: AI in the cloud, AI at the desktop, AI in the factory, AI underneath enterprise software and as the UI for enterprise software and agentically accomplishing anything and everything in a world of embodied, physical AI. Johna... Read more »
HS125: How to Choose an IT Hiring Service
6mo ago · 33:02
Every employer knows to conduct background checks. However, conducting background checks on IT professionals requires an extra layer of verification, given the privileged access they typically have to IT systems and tools. Moreover, in this AI era, background checks need to be deeper and more effective than before–in the past we didn’t need to verify... Read more »
HS124: Administration DDoS on AI Regulation
6mo ago · 43:37
The recent U.S. Executive Order 14365, Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, is the administration’s latest attempt to prevent the enforcement of most of the AI laws passed in individual US states. Because it is only an executive order (EO), it cannot directly nullify, supersede, forestall, or put a pause on state-level laws.... Read more »
HS123: What Can You Stop Worrying About in 2026?
7mo ago · 31:21
Are there some things that can come off your strategic planning radar for IT and cybersecurity in 2026? If you ask AI, you’ll get some surprising answers. Johna and John take a critical look at this AI-generated list to see which ones may or may not be “solved enough” to fall off the strategic planning... Read more »
HS122: Insider Threats in the Age of AI
7mo ago · 33:46
Leaders may shy away from thinking about insider threats because it means assuming the worst about colleagues and friends. But technology executives do need to confront this problem because insider attacks are prevalent—a recent study claims that in 2024, 83% of organizations experienced at least one—and on the rise. Moreover, AI and deepfakes vastly enhance... Read more »
HS121: Digital Security Teammates: From Fantasy to Operational Reality (Sponsored)
8mo ago · 32:50
Your next security teammate might not be a traditional hire — it could be a Digital Security Teammate (DST),” says Secure.com CEO Uzair Gadit. In this sponsored episode, Uzair explains the concept of a DST and how it differs from an AI SOC. He highlights the operational and business benefits of deploying DST, including improved... Read more »
HS120: Eight New Year’s Resolutions for 2026
8mo ago · 26:00
As you wind down 2025, what should you be planning to do for 2026? The Heavy Strategy team breaks it down for you with eight resolutions for the new year. From setting an AI strategy to cloud optimization, Johna and John can help you enter the new year prepared for what’s next. Other resolutions include... Read more »
HS119: Securing 2026: How AI, Quantum, and the AI-Powered Browser are Driving Enterprise Defense (Sponsored)
9mo ago · 23:53
Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President at Palo Alto Networks, joins Johna Johnson and John Burke for a wide-ranging exploration of two emerging focal points of enterprise risk: cryptographically relevant quantum computing, and browser-mediated agentic AI. The looming arrival of quantum computers that can break legacy encryption has already created the threat of “harvest now, decrypt... Read more »
HS118: Bricking the Company – Discussing Existential Threats with Leadership
9mo ago · 35:05
AI and other technologies are increasingly capable of delivering company-ending events. How do you have “the conversation” with senior leadership–the one about the existential risks your organization faces, and the steps needed for remediation–in a way that ensures that your company is maximally protected, and that you get the resources you need? AdSpot Sponsor: Meter ... Read more »
HS117: Environmental, Social and Governance Initiatives: What That Means for Your Organization (Sponsored)
9mo ago · 34:13
Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) initiatives aren’t just “the right thing to do”, they can also save companies real dollars, particularly if they’re investing in data centers and other infrastructure. Join Jonathan Ciccio, Continuous Improvement Manager for The Siemon Company, as we discuss The Siemon Company’s ESG initiatives. The Siemon Company has been in business for... Read more »
HS116: Nth-Party Risk May Put You on the (Block) Chain Gang
9mo ago · 32:57
The evolution of the modern, Internet-driven economy has created the conditions for essentially unbounded Nth-party risks (that is, risks from your suppliers, and risks from your suppliers’ suppliers, and risks from your suppliers’ suppliers’ suppliers, ad infinitum). Nth party risks exist in public clouds, SaaS, software and hardware supply chains, and now in the form... Read more »