Show 297 - Google Cloud NEXT, Part 1 of 3 - AI, Security & the New Enterprise Architecture

The first of three episodes recorded at Google Cloud NEXT, Las Vegas in partnership with Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider Host Russell Goldsmith was joined by: 1/ Kris Lovejoy, Global Head of Strategy, Kyndryl 2/ Vincenzo Forciniti, AI Adoption and Data Platform Leader, Fastweb & Vodafone 3/ Adrian Tatsch, VP AI Technology & Innovation, Equifax 4/ Patrick Bobrukiewicz, VP Data Services, Thrive Restaurant Group 5/ Kaapro Kanto, VP, Cybersecurity & Digital Platforms, DNA 6/ Brad Duff-Hudkins, VP Data Analytics, Next After Each of our guests offered a grounded, real‑world view of AI adoption at scale. The episode opens with Kris Lovejoy, Global Head of Strategy at Kyndryl, who outlines why digital sovereignty, geopolitical risk and regulatory pressure are reshaping enterprise architecture. She also breaks down the guardrails required for employee productivity tools versus mission‑critical agentic systems and why modernisation itself has become a security control. Next, Vincenzo Forciniti, AI Adoption & Data Platform Leader at Fastweb and Vodafone Italia, discusses the data‑unification challenges following Fastweb’s acquisition of Vodafone Italia. He shares how the team built a shared data catalogue, why change management is often harder than technology, and how modernising legacy stacks is enabling scaled AI across SDLC optimisation, operations and customer‑facing processes. We then hear from Adrian Tatsch, VP of AI Technology & Innovation at Equifax, who explains how the company is connecting APIs to AI agents using Apigee MCP, and how Equifax’s multi‑billion‑dollar cloud transformation has accelerated AI maturity. Adrian explains how Equifax is redefining human vs. non‑human work, upskilling, and measuring ROI across the organisation. Patrick Bobrukiewicz, VP of Data Services at Thrive Restaurant Group, shares a hospitality‑sector perspective on AI adoption. Kaapro Kanto, VP, Cybersecurity & Digital Platforms, DNA explains how DNA moved from traditional network operations to AI‑driven SecOps, enabling small businesses to benefit from enterprise‑grade detection, automation and response, and why the biggest barrier to AI maturity is shifting from pilot experiments to trusted, scalable operational models. And finally Brad Duff‑Hudkins, VP of Data Analytics at NextAfter, explains how his team used Google’s data engineering agents to cut onboarding time from 2–3 weeks to just 72 hours, and why agentic AI is already unlocking faster, more personalised, more scalable data operations for lean teams. A fast, insight‑rich episode capturing the reality of AI transformation inside complex global enterprises, from security and sovereignty to data foundations, workflow automation and the future of human‑machine collaboration.