Petri Dish
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- Petri Dish
Russell Smith hosts Petri Dish, a podcast for Microsoft system engineers and administrators looking to keep up to date with the latest trends in IT.
Latest Episode: AI Agents Are Moving into Windows and IT Needs a Plan
Petri Dish Episodes
AI Agents Are Moving into Windows and IT Needs a Plan
AI agents are moving beyond simple productivity helpers and becoming autonomous workers across Windows, Microsoft 365, and enterprise systems. In this episode of Petri Dish, Russell Smith talks with Craig Birch, Principal Technologist at Cayosoft, about Microsoft’s AI agent announcements from Build, including Agent 365, Microsoft 365 E7, agent identity, permissions, governance, and the risk...
From NASA to the White House: How WordPress VIP Protects High-Risk, High-Traffic Websites
Today on Petri Dish, we’re joined by Brian Alvey, CTO of WordPress VIP, the enterprise-grade CMS platform trusted by organisations like NASA, Salesforce, and major global publishers. Brian has been building on the web since the earliest days, bringing a rare mix of builder and operator experience to modern content platforms. In this conversation, we’ll...
Why Hybrid IT Is So Hard — And How SolarWinds Helps Simplify It
Virtualized infrastructure across on-premises data centers and the cloud was supposed to make life easier for IT teams. Instead, it’s often become a tangle of complexity. Why is something as established as virtualisation turning into a headache and what are we missing? To find out, I’m joined by Brad Cline, Vice President of IT Operations...
Entra App Owners = Global Admin Power? Audit It with Privileged App Path Auditor
Most Entra ID reviews focus on roles and permissions. I.e., who’s a Global Admin, what’s been consented, what looks obviously dangerous. But what if the real risk isn’t a privileged user at all? What if a regular user, with no admin role, can still put themselves on a path toward Global Administrator, simply because of...
AI Changed IT Training: It’s About Judgment Now, Not Clicks
Today we’re diving into the story behind Skillable, a platform that helps IT professionals build real-world skills. I’m joined by Danny Abdo, Chief Operations and Product Officer at Skillable, and Corey Hynes, Executive Chairman and founder of Skillable, to explore the problem the company set out to solve, how the product was built, and how...
90% of AI Token Spend “Goes Nowhere” — What CIOs Must Measure Now
In this episode of Petri Dish, we’re looking at one of the most important shifts happening in enterprise work right now: the rise of AI-powered document creation. Joining me is Jean-Marc Chanoine, Chief Sales Officer at Templafy, a company that’s been at the forefront of integrating AI and automation into the everyday tools knowledge workers...
Identity Is The New Perimeter: The Microsoft Digital Defense Report’s Biggest Wake-Up Calls
Attackers aren’t breaking in—they’re logging in. In this episode, we unpack the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 and what it reveals about today’s identity-first threat landscape: infostealers, hybrid ransomware operations, and social engineering that blends into “normal” activity. Joining the conversation are Chloé Messdaghi (strategic advisor on AI governance and cybersecurity at Microsoft) and Etan...
Agentic AI Is Coming to the Enterprise. But Can We Actually Trust It?
Everyone is talking about AI agents but very few organizations are actually running them in production. Teams are experimenting, launching pilots, and building demos… and then getting stuck. In this episode of Petri Dish, I’m joined by Giovanni Carraro, SVP of Global Strategic Alliances at Kyndryl, to unpack why that gap exists and what it...
AI Copilots at Scale: How DDN Powers Fast, Secure Enterprise AI
In this episode of Petri Dish, Russell Smith sits down with Wendy Stusrud, Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales at DDN to talk about what it really takes to make enterprise copilots and chatbots succeed at scale. Wendy shares why she joined DDN as the company doubles down on AI, and how DDN positions itself...
What If Identity Governance Wasn’t Overhead BUT Your Strongest Security Control?
In this episode, Russell sits down with Ramiro Calderon, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, Jef Kazimer, Principal Product Manager on the Microsoft Security Entra Identity Platform, and Tee Earls, Product Area Lead for Entra ID Governance, to unpack why identity governance is no longer just about compliance but it’s foundational to Zero Trust and modern...
Active Directory Update: RC4 Deprecation, 2025 DC Problems and OU Structure Tips
In this episode of Petri Dish, Russell Smith sits down with Principal Technologist Craig Birch to break down several major Active Directory changes that every IT administrator needs to know right now. We cover three big topics shaking up the identity and Windows Server world: 1. Kerberos RC4 Deprecation Microsoft is enforcing the removal of...
How AI Is Changing Remote Desktop Management
In this episode of Petri Dish, I talk to Devolutions CTO, Marc-André Moreau, and we dive into the latest in how AI is changing remote desktop management. Learn how Large Language Models (LLMs) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) are helping IT administrators automate tasks, boost efficiency, and unlock new opportunities. Whether you’re an early adopter...