Optimise to Innovate

Alex Galbraith & Jason Gray

Not every technology investment leads to innovation, but it should.

Welcome to Optimise to Innovate, the podcast from SoftwareOne for technology leaders who want to turn cloud, AI and software investments into measurable business value.

Join Alex Galbraith, Jason Gray and expert guests as they explore why well-intended technology programmes can sometimes become costly, complex or difficult to scale, and what organisations can do to get them back on track.

Across the series, we discuss cloud investment, AI adoption and Agentic AI, software estate management, SaaS sprawl, FinOps, cloud cost control and the practical decisions that help businesses move from optimisation to innovation.

Each episode brings honest conversation, real-world lessons and practical guidance for leaders who want technology to drive progress, not create more friction.

Have a topic you would like us to discuss? Email Alex and Jason at o2i@softwareone.com.

Follow Optimise to Innovate on your favourite podcast platform to get the latest episodes first.

New to the show? Start with these three episodes

For AI leaders: Agentic AI Is Not Really About Agents
For CIOs/CFOs: FinOps, You Can’t Tool Your Way Out of Bad Cloud Habits
For IT and procurement leaders: Are You Oversubscribed?

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9 episodes
monthly
Avg 46 min
English

Episodes 9

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S1 · E8
August 27 · 51 min
Keep Calm and Carry On Sovereign
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! Who really controls your data? As digital sovereignty moves from policy circles to the boardroom, organisations are facing tough questions about control, compliance, resilience and innovation. In this episode, Jason and Alex are joined by digital sovereignty specialists David Schneider and Nelson Herrera to unpack one of the most talked-about topics in technology today. They explore what digital sovereignty actually means, why it matters to both governments and enterprises, and how organisations can balance regulatory requirements with the need to innovate. From sovereign cloud and workload placement to vendor choice, risk management and the future of European technology, this episode cuts through the hype to provide practical guidance for leaders navigating an increasingly complex digital landscape. You'll learn why digital sovereignty is not about choosing sides. It's about understanding what matters most to your organisation and making informed decisions that balance control, resilience and innovation.
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S1 · E7
July 22 · 57 min
Vibe Coding for Grown-Ups - AI in Professional Software Development
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! What happens when professional developers stop just writing code, and start leading teams of AI agents? In this episode, Alex and Jason are joined by Sebastian Brandt and Paweł Stuczyński to explore how AI is changing software development beyond the vibe-coding hype. From faster prototypes and AI-assisted reviews, to smaller pull requests, security scanning, QA, cognitive load, agent overload and token costs, this is a practical look at what happens when development gets faster, but the need for quality, governance and good engineering judgement becomes even more important... because AI can help you build more, but someone still needs to know whether what you’ve built is actually any good!
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S1 · E6
July 1 · 53 min
Agentic AI, Agentic AI, Agentic AI, and other things...
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! AI used to chat. Now it’s starting to do the work. In this episode of Optimise to Innovate, Alex and Jason step back from the agentic AI hype and ask what happens when organisations actually start running this stuff at scale, because one agent is interesting, but a thousand agents is an operating model... We explore the real-world challenges behind agentic AI, from governance, control planes and non-human identities, to trust, explainability, token costs and FinOps. We also tackle a bigger question - if agents take on more entry-level work, how do we build the experienced people we’ll still need in five or ten years’ time? A practical, honest and occasionally sci-fi-adjacent conversation about where AI is heading, what organisations need to think about now, and how to separate the signal from the agentic AI noise. Further reading: https://www.softwareone.com/en-gb/blog/articles/2026/06/18/five-takeaways-from-the-ai-summit-london-2026
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S1 · E5
May 26 · 55 min
Feeling the Vibe? How Non-Developers Are Building Apps
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! Vibe coding promises a tempting idea. Describe the app you want, let AI build it, and suddenly anyone can become a creator! Building something that works is one thing, but building something you can trust is another... In this episode, Alex and Jason are joined by Gio and Jacek to explore how non-developers are using AI to build apps, automate annoying tasks, and turn domain knowledge into working software. They unpack what vibe coding actually is, why “prompt and pray” only gets you so far, and how a more structured approach can turn AI from a clever toy into a genuinely useful collaborator. For anyone who has an idea, a problem to solve, or a recurring task they would love to automate, this episode might be what encourages you to stop waiting and start experimenting.
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S1 · E4
April 22 · 50 min
Are You Oversubscribed? The Hidden Costs of SaaS Sprawl
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! We're back with a question every business should be asking right now: Are you oversubscribed? We're joined by Julian Kuiper and Robert Whyte to unpack the increasing challenge of SaaS sprawl. Whether it's hidden subscriptions, shadow IT, overlapping tools, or a myriad of other reasons, the uncomfortable truth is that many organisations are paying for far more software than they realise. Subscription software can be both a huge advantage and a serious management headache. If you've ever looked at a software bill and thought “hang on, what even is this?”, this one is for you! You can follow our guests on LinkedIn: Julien - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julienkuijper/ Robert - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-whyte-a401b959/
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S1 · E3
March 24 · 52 min
Agentic AI Is not really about agents
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! In this episode of Optimise to Innovate, we cut through the hype around agentic AI and ask the big question: is this the future of business process transformation, or just generative AI with a very enthusiastic to-do list? Expert guests Alex Waldhaus and Seva Shchepanskyi explore why agentic AI is not really about agents at all, but about better process design, stronger data foundations, sensible governance, and knowing when to keep humans firmly in the loop. From data platforms, governance, and change management to observability, human-in-the-loop design, and the risks of treating AI like magic instead of engineering it like a system, this conversation grounds the topic in real-world execution and practical examples. A great listen for anyone who wants smarter automation and fewer meetings where someone says the word transformation 14 times... You can follow our guests on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-waldhaus-5a5174115/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/vsevolod-shchepanskyi/
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S1 · E2
February 23 · 42 min
FinOps - You can't tool your way out of bad cloud habits
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! FinOps is not just spreadsheets and frowning, and this episode is proof! We dive into the people side of cloud cost control, the habits that actually work, and the common mistakes that quietly burn budget. This episode is very practical, with plenty to steal for your own teams. If your cloud bill has ever made you wince, this one will feel very familiar. Want to suggest a topic for discussion on a future episode? Simply email Alex and Jason on o2i@softwareone.com.
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January 21 · 9 min
Optimise to Innovate - What's coming up.
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! Not every tech investment leads to innovation, but it should... Join your hosts, Alex Galbraith and Jason Gray for the launch episode of the new Optimise to Innovate podcast from SoftwareOne. SoftwareOne helps organisations maximise the value from their investments in technology. In this launch episode, Alex and Jason share detail on what you can expect to experience during this series. A series that will focus on how technology investments, that are designed to solve business problems and drive innovation, can often transform from enablers to obstacles, and what you can do to navigate this challenge. Want to suggest a topic for discussion on a future episode? Simply email Alex and Jason on o2i@softwareone.com. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button on your favourite platform to get the latest episodes first.
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S1 · E1
January 21 · 42 min
Making Workplace AI work for you.
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! The brain in front of the computer is you... Join your hosts, Alex and Jason, and their guest Tomi Karafilov – expert in Workplace AI, as they discuss the value that AI can bring to your workplace. Enjoy a lively discussion on the value and pitfalls of investing in technology that can either supercharge efficiency if implemented and managed correctly, or the opposite if not. Understand how this technology can support and enable you – the brain in front of the computer… Want to suggest a topic for discussion on a future episode? Simply email Alex and Jason on o2i@softwareone.com.
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