TECHtonic: Trends in Technology and Services

In the AI era, enterprise technology companies face a hard truth: generic platforms no longer win. Profitable growth now depends on delivering specific business outcomes, and that requires going deeper than ever before.
In this episode of TECHtonic, TSIA Executive Director Thomas Lah speaks with Mari Cross, Chief Customer Officer at Infor, to explore how micro-vertical strategies, AI-driven services, and outcome-based solutions are reshaping enterprise software.
Mari breaks down what micro verticals really are, and why speaking the customer’s exact language is now table stakes. She shares how Infor invested billions to rebuild its platforms around industry-specific processes, how AI enables faster value realization through packaged use cases, and why “secret sauce” often turns out to be best practice in disguise.
The conversation goes deep on:
Why AI is forcing a shift from platforms to outcome-based solutions
How micro vertical expertise transforms sales, implementation, and customer success
The rise of AI-powered service models, and why services are becoming more strategic, not less
How Infor uses AI to drive adoption, customer health, and proactive engagement
What enterprise leaders must do to govern AI, scale ROI, and prepare their teams for what’s next
If you’re navigating AI disruption, rethinking your services model, or wondering how to actually deliver value, not just promise it, this episode is a must-listen.

AI is no longer a technology conversation, it’s an economic reckoning.
In this episode of TECHtonic, TSIA’s Thomas Lah is joined by J.B. Wood and George Humphrey to unpack the real-world implications of AI Economics through the headlines shaping enterprise tech right now. From Salesforce’s AI-driven job cuts to Adobe’s competitive pressure, Palantir’s services-led growth, and the collapse of traditional SaaS pricing models, this conversation makes one thing clear: the old rules of technology business models are breaking fast.
This isn’t academic theory. It’s a frontline analysis of how AI is reshaping profitability, pricing, org design, customer success, and competitive advantage, right now. The group challenges assumptions around per-user pricing, sales-led growth, and “free” professional services, arguing that outcome-based models, forward-deployed engineers, and value-centric customer engagement are becoming mandatory for survival.
If you’re a technology executive wondering how to grow profitably in an AI-first world, or whether your current model will survive the next 24 months, this episode lays out the uncomfortable truths and the strategic shifts you can’t afford to ignore.

B2B enterprises are overwhelmed by complexity, and AI is finally promising the breakthrough they’ve been chasing for years. On this episode of TECHtonic, TSIA Executive Director Thomas Lah sits down with AptEdge CEO Kusal De Silva and co-founder Aakrit Prasad for a direct, no-nonsense look at how AI is transforming the most ignored and most mission-critical function in technology: enterprise support.
This conversation doesn’t live in the hype. It goes straight to the real last-mile problem every enterprise faces: AI only works when it understands your environment, your data, and your intent. Raw automation isn’t enough. Context + action is what moves the needle. And when you get that right, AI isn’t just assisting support teams, it’s multiplying engineer productivity, collapsing resolution times, and turning support from a cost obligation into a strategic lever.
You’ll hear what’s actually happening inside hyperscale product environments, why “data quality is no longer the excuse”, why deflection metrics are the wrong scoreboard, and how AI-driven pricing and services models are evolving faster than the industry is ready for.
If you’re a support leader, a product exec, or anyone trying to stay ahead in the AI era, this episode gives you the language, the insights, and the urgency you need to stay relevant, and stay in the race.

In this power-packed episode of TECHtonic, TSIA Executive Director Thomas Lah speaks to Rajat Shah, Vice President of Services at Tetra Pak, for a rare inside look at one of the world’s most sophisticated industrial service organizations. From delivering 5+ million service hours annually to supporting more than 100,000 pieces of equipment across nearly 200 countries, Tetra Pak is transforming its global service operations with remarkable speed and scale.
Rajat shares how Tetra Pak is unlocking ROI through remote support, AI-powered virtual assistants, IoT-driven predictive maintenance, and robotic process automation, all while upskilling a 3,000-person field workforce through modern digital learning models. He reveals what it takes to build customer trust, how AI is capturing tribal knowledge from an aging workforce, and why tomorrow’s service engineers will be more account-integrated and digitally empowered than ever.
If you want to understand where service models are heading, and how fast you need to evolve, this episode is your blueprint.

TSIA Executive Director Thomas Lah sits down with Satya Gunampalli, Founder & CEO of G5 InfoTech, to explore how AI is not just enhancing workflows, but fundamentally reshaping the business models of technology companies. From why leadership culture is the #1 factor in successful AI adoption, to how AI agents are transforming software development and customer support, Satya explains where value is being created right now. Together, they unpack the rapid rise of AI-native startups, the future of enterprise services, and what companies must do today to build an AI-first operating model. This is a must-listen for tech executives, service leaders, and innovators navigating the next phase of digital transformation.