The Intelligence Age

AI is about to replace bloated SaaS, and most businesses are still only playing with chatbots

Sean G Muller says the next wave of AI is not about better prompts or prettier copilots. It is about rebuilding business around context, agents, and what actually creates value - before your software stack becomes the expensive middleman.
Mark Smth and Sean unpack why the last six months have been a genuine shift: agentic loops are now good enough to handle real business work, not just experiments. Sean explains how he moved from traditional technical architecture into building full application pipelines, MCP servers, and background agents that review email, track social signals, draft responses, and keep business moving without adding more human overhead.

You'll discover why context is the missing ingredient in almost every failed AI project, how Sean uses a simple meal-planning example to explain it, and why companies that scatter knowledge across laptops, SharePoint, Google Cloud, and people's heads are sitting on hidden risk. Sean also breaks down the difference between AI as a feature and AI as a business transformation engine, including the mistake many firms make when they bolt chat onto old workflows and call it progress.

We also get into the coming SaaS pocalypse - the idea that tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, Xero, Slack, and Atlassian may face a serious reckoning as businesses realize they can build leaner, custom, agent-first systems for less than the cost of endless licenses and modules. Sean shares how he built a headless, agent-driven CRM and why he thinks greenfield builds will replace expensive transformation projects much sooner than most executives expect. This conversation matters if you lead a business, run operations, own a small or mid-sized company, or simply suspect your current software is forcing you to work the wrong way. If you want to understand where AI is actually delivering leverage right now - and how to avoid wasting money on shallow pilots - this episode is essential listening.

Mark Smth hosts the conversation and brings the enterprise and product lens, pushing Sean to get specific about what success looks like for real businesses in New Zealand.

Sean G Muller is an AI and enterprise architecture specialist based in New Zealand, known for helping organizations build practical AI systems, implement agentic workflows, and rethink business process from the ground up.

Resources
1. The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0385249462?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_nz
2. Gemini: A Family of Highly Capable Multimodal Models — 2312.11805.pdf ⁠https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.11805
3. On the Measure of Intelligence — 1911.01547.pdf - https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.01547
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM

AI adoption fails when it stops at access to tools. This episode introduces a practical model that bridges the gap between AI tools like Copilot and measurable business outcomes. The focus shifts from technology to people, addressing key blockers such as time, confidence, and relevance. By grounding AI in real workflows, tailoring role-specific use cases, and measuring outcomes, organisations can move from low usage to meaningful impact fast.

🎙 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/837
👉 What you’ll learn     
Identify the real blockers stopping AI adoption in teams 
Shift from tool access to measurable business outcomes 
Design role-specific AI use cases that drive daily value 
Build AI training that fits real work, not theory 
Measure AI adoption with practical KPIs and usage data 
✅ Highlights     
"These two things are very, very different" 
"Some things really need to happen in between those two places" 
"This is not about the tech. This is about the people" 
"They didn't know how to use the tool" 
"They didn't know what they were allowed to do" 
"When would they sit and just learn a link" 
"To actually tailor use cases that are relevant" 
"We have to measure how they are moving" 
"We moved a department from 15% to 83%" 
"It shifts how you are working" 
🧰 Mentioned     
Microsoft Copilot (https://copilot.microsoft.com/)  
Copilot Notebooks (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/get-started-with-microsoft-365-copilot-notebooks-0775e693-11c6-4d80-8aba-fcc81a737a06)  
ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com/)  
AI Boost Academy (https://hannabergstrom.com/) [ 
Vattenfall (https://group.vattenfall.com/) 
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 
✅ Keywords      
ai adoption, copilot, generative ai, ai training, business transformation, ai use cases, digital productivity, ai skills, organisational change, ai strategy, workplace efficiency, ai literacy 
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
This episode dives into why large CRM and ERP projects keep failing and how AI is reshaping consulting, software delivery, and platform decisions. The core insight is simple. Organisations fail when they buy software instead of outcomes. With AI, experienced teams can move faster, strip away legacy complexity, and build only what the business actually needs. The conversation explores outcome-based thinking, flawed RFP processes, and why AI is accelerating the gap between great and average practitioners. 
👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/836   

🎙️ What you’ll learn   
How to frame technology decisions around outcomes, not vendors or features 
Why traditional RFP processes drive cost blowouts and failed projects 
The four core business problems most systems are really trying to solve 
How AI tools are changing the speed and shape of consulting work 
When building custom solutions now beats buying off-the-shelf software 
✅ Highlights 
“So many people are still buying software like it’s a software decision rather than a business decision.” 
“You’re really only trying to solve one of four business problems.” 
“Most organizations aren’t even thinking in terms of what is the root of what I’m trying to solve.” 
“Your highest qualified people are not even in the game because you’ve already excluded quality.” 
“AI is now to the developer what Visual Studio was in the 90s.” 
“It made the good developers really good and the bad developers a lot faster.” 
“Low code was developed because we couldn’t get enough developers.” 
“There’s a third option now, and that is vibe code your own add-on.” 
“I think we’re less than 18 months away from this changing enterprise software.” 
🧰 Mentioned 
Microsoft Power Platform: https://learn.microsoft.com/power-platform  
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Dynamics 365 CRM):
https://www.microsoft.com/dynamics-365/solutions/crm  
Microsoft Business Central:
https://www.microsoft.com/dynamics-365/products/business-central  
Microsoft Finance and Operations (Dynamics 365 Finance):
https://www.microsoft.com/dynamics-365/products/finance 
Notebook LM: https://notebooklm.google  
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator 
DynamicConsultantsGroup.com: https://dynamicconsultantsgroup.com 
✅Keywords   
ai in consulting, outcome-based software, crm failures, erp projects, power platform, low code vs pro code, vibe coding, rfp process, enterprise software, applied ai skills, digital transformation, consulting strategy
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 
 
AI is shifting from a tool to an operating system, enabling individuals to move faster, build bespoke solutions, and dramatically increase productivity. The biggest advantage now comes from curiosity, not technical depth. Those who experiment, learn a few tools deeply, and treat AI as a collaborator can compress hours into minutes and unlock new business models. Meanwhile, large organisations risk falling behind due to governance, inertia, and slow decision-making. 
👉 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/835    
🎙️ What you’ll learn 
Use AI as an operating system to replace and create software 
Move from idea to working solution in minutes, not hours 
Build capability by mastering a few tools, not chasing every new model 
Apply curiosity-driven workflows to unlock better AI outcomes 
Avoid common enterprise pitfalls around governance and tool sprawl 
✅ Highlights  
"This software rewards the patient and the curious." 
"Learn two or three of these tools really well." 
"Are you using these tools to improve your quality of life or aren’t you?" 
"This is the last software that I’ll ever train." 
"We can create bespoke applications through any of these tools." 
"It’s eating other software." 
"People who choose to be left behind." 
"From idea to iteration in 30 minutes." 
"I feel like I’m becoming a bionic person." 
"The barriers to entry are just gone." 
🧰 Mentioned 
ChatGPT – https://chatgpt.com/ 
Bing (Copilot Search) – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/copilot-search 
Google – https://www.google.com 
Gemini – https://gemini.google.com/ 
Claude – https://claude.ai/ 
Copilot – https://copilot.microsoft.com/ 
Perplexity – https://www.perplexity.ai/ 
Stability AI (Stable Diffusion) – https://stability.ai/ 
Ethan Mollick (Wharton profile) – https://mgmt.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/emollick/ 
Co-Intelligence (book) – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741805/co-intelligence-by-ethan-mollick/ 
Suno (AI music generator) – https://suno.com/ 
✅Keywords 
ai tools, generative ai, chatgpt, ai productivity, solopreneur ai, ai governance, llm workflows, ai operating system, automation, business ai, ai adoption, digital transformation 
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM
 
This episode explores why data governance must come before enabling Microsoft 365 Copilot, with insights from Khurram Hafeez. It breaks down how sensitivity labels, data loss prevention, and Microsoft Purview reduce the risk of unintended data exposure. You will hear practical guidance on preparing your environment, protecting sensitive information, and managing AI use across Microsoft tools and third‑party AI sites. The focus is on real‑world decisions organisations must make to safely adopt Copilot at scale.

🎙 Full Show Notes
https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/834

👉 What you’ll learn     
Why Copilot increases the impact of poor data governance 
How sensitivity labels affect what Copilot can access and summarise 
When to use DLP versus inline DLP for AI risk management 
How organisations can limit data sharing with third‑party AI tools 
What licensing choices matter for Copilot and Purview governance 
✅ Highlights     
“With the intro of the AI, the importance of the data governance compliance has much increased.” 
“The first defense layer that you should be apply, that is the sensitivity label.” 
“If a user doesn’t have permission, Copilot can’t actually extract the data.” 
“Standard policy actually is not sufficient these days.” 
“Users copy and paste or upload a sensitive file to third‑party AI sites.” 
“Inline DLP policy is one step ahead of endpoint DLP policy.” 
“Microsoft focus not to block something, to protect something.” 
“Before enabling the copilot, they ensure that their environment is ready.” 
“Copilot certainly honors the permissions the user have.” 
 🧰 Mentioned     
Microsoft 365 Copilot: https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot/ 
Microsoft Entra Suite: https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/microsoft-entra-suite  
E5 licence: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/enterprise/e5  
Pay‑as‑you‑go Purview licensing: https://learn.microsoft.com/purview/purview-billing-models 
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ 
Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/ 
DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com/  
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 
✅ Keywords 
microsoft copilot, microsoft purview, data governance, sensitivity labels, data loss prevention, inline dlp, endpoint dlp, ai security, m365 e5, third party ai, information protection, enterprise ai 
If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith