What do you do when you want to get your enterprise data into a usable format? And how can you make better use of the data you already use, through the likes of analytics, AI, and even quantum computing?All these questions and more have been front and center at SAS Innovate 2025, the data and analytics veteran’s annual conference held in Orlando, Florida.As the week has pressed on, what have we learned about SAS’ view of its place in the rapidly changing world of business technology? And what sets it apart from its competitors?In this episode, Jane once again speaks to Rory, to learn more about his SAS Innovate 2025 coverage and the key themes and announcements.Read more:SAS wants its AI agents to supercharge workers, not replace themSAS leans on synthetic data and digital twins to support business data demandSAS thinks quantum AI has huge enterprise potential – here's why“Public trust has become the new currency for AI innovation”: Why SAS is ringing the alarm bell on AI governance for enterprisesSAS Innovate 2025 live: All the updates from day twoWhat to watch out for at SAS Innovate 2025
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RSAC Conference 2025: AI and quantum complicate security
RSAC Conference 2025 has been full on, with cybersecurity experts from all over the world descending on San Francisco to share trends, data, and announcements.This year, ITPro has been providing both remote and on the ground coverage from the event, across talks covering topics such as AI security and threat actor methodology.In this episode, Jane speaks to Rory about some of his RSAC coverage and key takeaways from the event.Read more:RSAC Conference 2025 was a sobering reminder of the challenges facing cybersecurity professionalsRSAC Conference Day One: Vibe Is 'All In' on AI for Security“Governance is an irreplaceable role”: Microsoft Security VP on why diversity and sector expertise will keep security workers relevant in the age of agentic AIRSAC Conference day two: A focus on what attackers are doing"There needs to be an order of magnitude more effort"": AI security experts call for focused evaluation of frontier models and agentic systemsCyber defenders need to remember their adversaries are human, says Trellix research headRSAC Conference day three: using AI to do more with less and facing new attack techniques"China has almost doubled their aggression in cyber’: Kevin Mandia and Nicole Perlroth warn organizations aren’t waking up to growing APT threats
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April rundown: MITRE frights and Microsoft launches Recall (again)
April has been a busy month for tech news – we recorded this episode with a week left in the month, but there’s already so much to discuss.A major upset in the international database for tracking vulnerabilities had some in the cybersecurity field stunned – until a last minute U-turn.Elsewhere, AWS is the latest hyperscaler to roll back on data center plans, but what does this mean for the market?In this episode Jane and Rory speak once again to Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to unpack some of the most noteworthy April news.Read more:MITRE CVE program handed last minute reprieve amid funding lapse concernsThird time lucky? Microsoft finally begins roll-out of controversial Recall featureMicrosoft's Recall delayed once again as roll-out fiasco continuesNew Microsoft Recall feature is a 'security nightmare' and could make Copilot+ PCs a top target for cyber criminalsFirst Microsoft, now AWS: Why tech giants are hitting the brakes on costly data center plansAnalysts think Microsoft's data center rollback is bad news for the AI boom – but the company says not to worry
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Putting small language models under the microscope
We’ve spent the past few years discussing large language models, the huge AI models that power a lot of the generative AI tools that have dominated the headlines.But small language models are also possible – and rapidly growing in popularity. What benefits do these tiny AI models offer, and how much use will they get in the coming months and years, and how do they differ from other lightweight, ‘low latency’ models?In this episode, Jane and Rory take a look at some of the smallest AI models on the market, asking what they're for and if they could be the future of the technology.Read more:Small language models are growing in popularity — but they have a “hidden fallacy” that enterprises must come to terms withSmall language models set for take-off next yearGoogle’s new ‘Gemma’ AI models show that bigger isn’t always betterMicrosoft wants to take the hassle out of AI development with its ‘Models as a Service’ offeringThree open source large language models you can use todayChinese AI firm DeepSeek has Silicon Valley flustered
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Google Cloud Next 2025: Targeting easy AI
Las Vegas has been taken over by Google Cloud this week, with Google Cloud Next 2025 in full flow. There have already been a number of headline grabbing announcements: we've seen the launch of a powerful new AI accelerator chip by the name of Ironwood, huge updates to Google Cloud's security capabilities, and new agentic AI development kits for enterprises. But there's been much, much more on top.In this episode, Ross Kelly, news and analysis editor at ITPro, speaks to Rory about Google Cloud's messaging at its annual conference and what the mood on the ground is at Google Cloud Next 2025.Read more:Google Cloud Next 2025: All the live updates from the day two keynoteGoogle Cloud wants to tackle cyber complexity – here's how it plans to do itGoogle Cloud announces major computing boost with Ironwood chip, new hypercomputer upgradesForeign AI model launches may have improved trust in US AI developers, says Mandiant CTO – as he warns Chinese cyber attacks are at an “unprecedented level”Google shakes off tariff concerns to push on with $75 billion AI spending plans – but analysts warn rising infrastructure costs will send cloud prices sky highGoogle Cloud Next 2025 is the hyperscaler’s chance to sell itself as the all-in-one AI platform for enterprises
The ITPro Podcast is a weekly show for technology professionals and business leaders. Each week hosts Rory Bathgate and Jane McCallion are joined by an expert guest to take a deep dive into the most important issues for the IT community. New episodes premiere every Friday. Visit itpro.com/uk/the-it-pro-podcast for more information, or follow ITPro on LinkedIn for regular updates.
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