The Connectivity Podcast

Mattias Fridström continues the conversation with Rob Merhej, VP EMEA at AVANT, exploring how advisory‑led partners create long‑term value for customers – and why connectivity remains central to everything from AI to customer experience.
In this episode, they discuss:
How AVANT supports partners beyond the initial deal through ongoing advisory, cross‑sell, and up‑sell engagement
What separates top‑performing trusted advisors – and why selling multiple services per customer matters
How AVANT stays ahead of vendor roadmaps with specialist engineers and tools like Pathfinder and Atlas
Why AI deployments often fail without the right data center, bandwidth, and network design in place
The shift of unified communications into broader CX and contact‑center transformations
Growing awareness of AI security, governance, sustainability, and talent challenges
A look ahead at the next five years – from multi‑gig connectivity to AI as an everyday work companion
A lively conversation on connectivity, AI, and the advisory models powering the next wave of the technology channel. Tune in and get ahead of what’s next.

What’s reshaping the future of the technology channel? Rob Merhej, VP EMEA at AVANT, joins Mattias Fridström to discuss:
How AVANT evolved from a small startup to a global advisory‑led technology services distributor
The shift from traditional reselling to a modern trusted‑advisor model across cloud, connectivity, co‑location, cybersecurity, and AI
Why recurring‑revenue, as‑a‑service solutions are now central to partner go‑to‑market strategies
How AVANT supports partners with engineering expertise and agnostic guidance to navigate complex, multi‑site customer requirements
Key differences between the US and European channel ecosystems – and how European markets are rapidly catching up
The impact of AI deployments, co‑location growth, and increasing connectivity demands on the channel’s momentum
Don’t miss this insightful look into how the partner landscape is evolving – and why the trusted‑advisor model is becoming indispensable in today’s technology world.

What does the future of telecom look like? Kent Lidström, CTO of Smartoptics returns to the podcast for a discussion with Mattias Fridström on:
The increased importance of where components are manufactured
How the convergence of IP and optical layers has impacted suppliers
Hyperscalers building their own gear
Hollow-core fiber
Where quantum networking research stands today
Sustainability challenges in networking
Optical innovations to expect in the coming years
Don’t miss this deep dive into the trends shaping tomorrow’s networks.

How has optical networking evolved over the past 25 years – and what’s next? In this episode, Kent Lidström, CTO at Smartoptics, joins Mattias Fridström to explore:
The biggest shifts in optical networking and what still needs to change
Openness and disaggregation in the telecom industry
Shannon’s limit
How mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the industry
Why enterprises are moving toward simpler services like “raw bandwidth”
Encryption-based and physical security 
Strategies for managing component shortages through dual sourcing
If you’re curious about the past, present, and future of optical networking, this conversation is packed with insights.

Markus Viitamäki, Senior Infrastructure Architect at Embark Studios is back on the podcast. In this episode, he and Mattias Fridström discuss Markus’ previous engagement in the world’s largest gaming festival DreamHack, when to establish local gaming sites to meet customer needs (and what the requirements are), DDoS attacks in the gaming industry, and whether gamers really understand how the Internet is working.