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In this episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues, host Vikramsinh Ghatge speaks with Naomi Lariviere, Chief Product Owner and Vice President at ADP, about how AI, data, trust, and human-centered product leadership are reshaping workforce technology. Drawing on more than two decades of experience spanning financial services and human capital management, Naomi explains that technology is most valuable when it helps people navigate meaningful workplace moments such as getting hired, receiving pay, building skills, or advancing their careers. She emphasizes that successful products are measured not by the number of features they offer, but by how effectively they remove friction and improve user confidence.

Naomi highlights how workforce platforms are evolving beyond traditional systems of record into intelligent systems that provide guidance and support. Rather than simply storing information or automating workflows, modern HCM platforms are expected to deliver timely answers, recommend next-best actions, and simplify complex decisions for employees, managers, and HR teams. She also stresses that AI should never be implemented simply because it is available. Instead, organizations should begin with real customer pain points and determine whether AI can meaningfully reduce effort, improve experiences, and solve problems more effectively.

When discussing Human Resources, Naomi underscores that trust must remain the foundation of AI adoption. Because HR and payroll systems influence pay, compliance, hiring, benefits, and other significant employment decisions, AI should always be deployed responsibly with appropriate safeguards and human oversight. She explains that while AI can streamline repetitive tasks and surface valuable insights, people should continue making decisions in high-risk scenarios where fairness, compliance, and individual livelihoods are involved.

In this episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues, host Vikramsinh Ghatge speaks with Laura Thiele, Chief People Officer at Optimizely, about what it truly takes for organizations to thrive in an AI-driven era. Their discussion goes beyond technology adoption to examine the human side of transformation, highlighting how culture, continuous learning, empathy, leadership, workforce planning, and accountability shape long-term success. AI is rapidly becoming part of everyday workflows, making it essential for organizations to support employees as they adapt to new tools, responsibilities, and expectations.

Drawing on nearly three decades of HR leadership across Lockheed Martin, SAP, and Optimizely, Laura emphasizes that successful AI transformation depends as much on people as it does on technology. She explains that leaders often underestimate the amount of change employees must absorb, from learning new skills and overcoming uncertainty to embracing experimentation. Creating an environment where curiosity, psychological safety, and continuous learning are encouraged allows teams to build confidence while remaining accountable for business outcomes.

Laura also highlights culture as the force that keeps organizations connected during periods of rapid change. Strong cultures inspire collaboration, peer learning, and open feedback, enabling employees to experiment with AI while staying aligned with organizational goals. She believes HR has evolved into a strategic business function, influencing workforce planning, leadership capability, employee engagement, and talent development to drive measurable business results.

Boston Dynamics' Atlas captured global attention at the FIFA World Cup 2026 by stepping onto one of sport’s biggest stages during halftime of the Brazil versus Norway Round of 16 match. Presented by Hyundai Motor, Atlas delivered the match ball to the referee after recreating iconic football celebrations, demonstrating years of progress in robotics, balance, mobility, and autonomous movement. What looked like entertainment for fans also served as a real-world demonstration of the robot’s ability to operate reliably in complex, unpredictable environments.

Behind the performance was extensive engineering work. Boston Dynamics retrained Atlas to walk confidently on natural grass, where changing surface conditions affect stability, and replaced conventional Wi-Fi with a dedicated radio communication system to ensure reliable operation in a stadium filled with thousands of connected devices. The successful demonstration highlighted the robot’s adaptability while showcasing how advanced robotics can perform safely and consistently outside controlled laboratory settings.

Beyond its World Cup appearance, Humanoid Robot Atlas represents Boston Dynamics' transition from research prototypes to production-ready industrial machines. The fifth-generation, fully electric Atlas has been redesigned with significantly lower manufacturing complexity while supporting AI-driven learning, autonomous operation, and integration into factory workflows. Hyundai envisions the robot taking on repetitive, physically demanding, and hazardous industrial tasks while continuously learning through demonstrations and reinforcement learning rather than traditional programming.

In this episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues, host Vikramsinh Ghatge speaks with Ameet Joshi, BU Head – Enterprise AI, SAP BAIP & Digital Platforms at YASH Technologies Middle East, about what it takes for organizations to move beyond AI experimentation and achieve measurable business outcomes. Reflecting on his journey from launching a fish food business at 19 to building a career in enterprise technology, Ameet explains how entrepreneurship instilled a mindset of delivering value through continuous execution. His experience across SAP Labs India, cloud platforms, analytics, mobility, and enterprise AI has reinforced one core belief: successful transformation is defined by business impact, not by the technologies deployed.

Throughout the conversation, Ameet highlights why many AI initiatives fail to scale despite promising pilots. He shares an example of an AI-powered manufacturing project that accurately monitored employee stress levels but ultimately failed because wearable sensors were impractical in real-world working conditions. The lesson, he explains, is that organizations often focus on sophisticated technology while overlooking usability, process readiness, and the human experience. In many cases, the real barriers to AI adoption are fragmented data, disconnected systems, and weak enterprise architecture rather than AI itself.

Building on this perspective, Ameet discusses how Enterprise AI requires a strong digital foundation. He explains that SAP BTP has evolved into a platform supporting application development, integration, data harmonization, automation, and AI, enabling organizations to prepare for scalable transformation. He also explores the growing role of SAP Joule in bringing conversational AI into enterprise workflows, helping businesses reduce friction between people, processes, and outcomes while moving closer to an autonomous enterprise.

Claude has earned a reputation as one of the most capable AI assistants thanks to its advanced reasoning, long-context understanding, writing, and coding capabilities. With products such as Claude Code, the Claude Desktop App, Claude MCP, Claude Design, and the Claude Platform, Anthropic has built a strong foundation for an enterprise AI ecosystem. However, as OpenAI continues expanding ChatGPT into an all-in-one productivity platform with integrated research, automation, coding, file management, and content creation, Anthropic must evolve Claude beyond individual tools into a seamless, unified experience.

The AI race is no longer determined by model quality alone. Users increasingly value connected workflows, intuitive interfaces, transparent pricing, and the ability to move effortlessly between tasks. While Claude Fable 5 excels at complex research, software development, and autonomous workflows, Anthropic's product lineup and subscription structure can appear fragmented compared to OpenAI's clearer model hierarchy. To remain competitive, Anthropic needs to simplify its ecosystem, improve accessibility, and deliver a more cohesive user experience across consumer and enterprise offerings.

To achieve that vision, Anthropic should position Claude as a trusted professional AI platform rather than just another chatbot or coding assistant. The Claude Desktop App can become the central hub connecting Claude Code, Claude MCP, Claude Design, and enterprise workflows, while making MCP integrations easier for non-technical users and expanding Claude Code's agentic capabilities into marketing, finance, legal, and operations. A more transparent pricing strategy, predictable usage limits, and a clearer upgrade path across Pro, Team, Enterprise, and API plans would further strengthen its position.

Claude has earned a reputation as one of the most capable AI assistants thanks to its advanced reasoning, long-context understanding, writing, and coding capabilities. With products such as Claude Code, the Claude Desktop App, Claude MCP, Claude Design, and the Claude Platform, Anthropic has built a strong foundation for an enterprise AI ecosystem. However, as OpenAI continues expanding ChatGPT into an all-in-one productivity platform with integrated research, automation, coding, file management, and content creation, Anthropic must evolve Claude beyond individual tools into a seamless, unified experience.

The AI race is no longer determined by model quality alone. Users increasingly value connected workflows, intuitive interfaces, transparent pricing, and the ability to move effortlessly between tasks. While Claude Fable 5 excels at complex research, software development, and autonomous workflows, Anthropic's product lineup and subscription structure can appear fragmented compared to OpenAI's clearer model hierarchy. To remain competitive, Anthropic needs to simplify its ecosystem, improve accessibility, and deliver a more cohesive user experience across consumer and enterprise offerings.

To achieve that vision, Anthropic should position Claude as a trusted professional AI platform rather than just another chatbot or coding assistant. The Claude Desktop App can become the central hub connecting Claude Code, Claude MCP, Claude Design, and enterprise workflows, while making MCP integrations easier for non-technical users and expanding Claude Code's agentic capabilities into marketing, finance, legal, and operations. A more transparent pricing strategy, predictable usage limits, and a clearer upgrade path across Pro, Team, Enterprise, and API plans would further strengthen its position.

In this episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues, host Vikramsinh Ghatge speaks with Lucy Beaumont, Global SVP Product at SHL, about how organizations can make smarter workforce decisions in an AI-driven world. Rather than focusing on whether AI will replace jobs, the discussion explores how AI is reshaping work itself and what businesses must do to prepare employees for this transformation. Drawing on her expertise in occupational psychology, assessment science, and product leadership, Lucy explains how organizations can build more effective and equitable talent strategies.

The conversation highlights the shift from traditional, point-in-time assessments toward continuous talent intelligence. Instead of using assessments solely for hiring, organizations are increasingly leveraging workforce data to understand employee skills, potential, career mobility, and development opportunities. Lucy also notes that while hiring decisions have become more data-driven, many internal decisions—such as promotions, leadership development, and career progression—still rely heavily on subjective judgment, creating opportunities for more objective, evidence-based approaches.

Lucy emphasizes that talent intelligence should be embedded into everyday workflows rather than confined to HR systems or dashboards. She also stresses that successful AI adoption depends as much on workforce readiness as on technology investments. Organizations need strong collaboration between HR and technology leaders to identify skills gaps, support employees through change, and ensure AI is adopted responsibly across the business.

Buying a capable smartphone no longer means paying flagship prices. Today’s best budget devices offer fast 5G connectivity, reliable performance, long software support, and features that were once exclusive to premium models. TechDogs has rounded up the best 5G phones that deliver excellent value without compromising on the essentials.

The list includes options for every type of user. Apple’s iPhone 17e brings flagship-level A19 performance and MagSafe to its most affordable current iPhone, while Google’s Pixel 10a stands out with an exceptional camera and seven years of software updates. Samsung offers two compelling choices: the Galaxy S25 FE for near-flagship performance and AI features, and the budget-friendly Galaxy A17 5G with an impressive six-year software commitment. Motorola’s Moto G 5G (2026) focuses on battery life and everyday reliability, Nothing Phone (4a) Pro impresses with a rare periscope zoom camera, and the OnePlus 15R delivers flagship-grade power at a mid-range price.

The roundup also highlights a bonus pick for flip-phone enthusiasts with the Motorola Razr (2025), proving that foldable-style devices are becoming more accessible. While each phone excels in different areas—whether it's photography, gaming, battery life, or software longevity—they all share one thing in common: delivering a balanced smartphone experience at a more affordable price.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people search for information and create content, and Meta is bringing both experiences directly into Facebook with its latest AI-powered updates. Instead of switching between multiple apps to find recommendations, edit photos, and share posts, users can now do much of it within a single platform. Meta AI introduces a conversational search experience that draws insights from public Facebook posts, Groups, and Reels, delivering natural-language answers based on real community discussions while making content discovery faster and more intuitive.

Beyond improving search, Meta is also expanding Facebook's creative capabilities with AI-powered editing features. Users can enhance photos, create collages, edit videos, and receive content suggestions without requiring advanced editing skills. By combining discovery, creation, and sharing in one place, Meta aims to make Facebook a more useful everyday platform for casual users, creators, and businesses alike, while keeping AI-powered recommendations and editing tools optional through opt-in controls.

The new Search And Editing Tools highlight Meta's vision of transforming Facebook into an AI-first social platform. Conversational search helps users uncover community-driven recommendations instead of relying solely on traditional web results, while AI editing simplifies content creation with automated enhancements, creative suggestions, and faster publishing. These features reduce the need for third-party search engines and editing apps, allowing users to move seamlessly from finding information to creating and sharing engaging content.

Artificial intelligence has transformed search from a race for keyword rankings into a competition for AI-generated recommendations and citations. In 2026, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) have become essential as AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews increasingly shape how users discover brands. Google's rollout of dedicated Generative AI performance reporting in Search Console further highlights this shift, giving marketers new ways to measure visibility beyond traditional organic rankings.

To help businesses understand their presence in AI-generated answers, a new category of GEO and AEO platforms has emerged. Leading solutions include Profound, Peec AI, OtterlyAI, AthenaHQ, Scrunch AI, Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit, Ahrefs Brand Radar, Writesonic AI Visibility Tracker, SE Ranking AI Search Toolkit, and HubSpot AEO. These platforms enable organizations to monitor prompt-level visibility, AI citations, brand sentiment, competitor performance, and share of voice across multiple AI search engines. The strongest platforms combine citation tracking with actionable insights, allowing teams to identify content gaps and improve their AI visibility strategy.

Unlike traditional SEO tools that focus primarily on search rankings, GEO & AEO tools repeatedly test prompts across AI engines, measure how often brands are mentioned or cited, compare results against competitors, and calculate AI share of voice. Since AI-generated responses are dynamic and can vary between identical queries, marketers should treat these metrics as directional indicators rather than absolute values. Combining AI visibility data with conventional SEO analytics provides a more complete picture of online discoverability.

AI hardware has evolved far beyond smartphones, bringing intelligent assistance directly into everyday wearables. From smart glasses and AI-powered earbuds to health-tracking rings and voice-first assistants, these devices are designed to deliver practical, hands-free experiences that enhance productivity, communication, wellness, and convenience. Rather than being futuristic concepts, AI wearables have become useful tools that fit naturally into daily life.

Leading devices such as the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, Apple AirPods Pro 3, Plaud NotePin S, Rabbit R1, Oura Ring Gen 4, Samsung Galaxy Ring, Bee Wearable, Even Realities G2, ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova, and Amazon Echo Hub demonstrate how AI is transforming personal technology. Whether it's real-time translation, health monitoring, meeting transcription, AI-powered PC control, immersive gaming audio, or smart home management, each product delivers capabilities that go beyond what a traditional smartphone can offer.

The 10 Insane AI Devices guide provides a comprehensive look at pricing, standout features, ideal use cases, and key considerations before purchasing. It compares today's most innovative AI-powered gadgets, helping consumers and professionals identify the best wearable and smart AI technologies available in 2026 while also highlighting important factors such as ecosystem compatibility, subscription costs, and data privacy.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, businesses can no longer rely on traditional perimeter-based security to protect their systems. With remote work, cloud adoption, and third-party access expanding attack surfaces, organizations need a security model that verifies every user, device, and application before granting access. Zero Trust has emerged as the preferred approach by enforcing continuous authentication, least-privilege access, and real-time monitoring to minimize security risks.

To help businesses evaluate their options, TechDogs has identified the Top 5 Zero Trust Security Solutions of 2026: Zscaler Internet Access, ThreatLocker Platform, FortiClient, Prisma Access, and Trend Vision One. Each platform addresses different organizational priorities, from cloud-native security and endpoint protection to enterprise-scale access management and AI-powered threat detection. These solutions help organizations strengthen their security posture while simplifying the management of increasingly distributed IT environments.

Whether you're looking for cloud-first security, advanced endpoint controls, or AI-driven threat intelligence, choosing the right Zero Trust Security Solution depends on your organization's unique requirements. Comparing features, pricing, integrations, and scalability can help businesses identify the platform that best aligns with their cybersecurity strategy and long-term security goals.

In this episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues, host Vikramsinh Ghatge is joined by Rishi Kaushal, CIO at Entrust, Diana Cano, CIO at Cambium Learning Group, Raghu Pavan, CIO at Canarys Automations, and Carl Froggett, CIO at Deep Instinct for an engaging roundtable on how the CIO role is evolving in the AI era. The discussion explores how modern CIOs have expanded their responsibilities beyond IT operations to become strategic leaders driving innovation, AI adoption, cybersecurity, enterprise risk management, and business growth.

The panel discusses why maintaining strong foundations—including security, compliance, resilience, and operational reliability—remains just as important as embracing digital transformation. They also examine modernization strategies that go beyond a cloud-first mindset, highlighting the need to manage technical debt, govern AI initiatives responsibly, and ensure technology investments deliver measurable business value. The conversation further emphasizes that successful AI adoption depends on combining technical expertise with deep domain knowledge.

The episode also explores how CIOs are aligning IT performance with business outcomes, reshaping organizational structures, and leading enterprise-wide change initiatives. Through practical insights and real-world experiences, the panel explains why technology leaders must balance innovation with accountability while preparing their organizations for the next wave of AI-driven transformation.

Artificial intelligence is evolving beyond a technological competition into a race for digital sovereignty, cultural representation, and economic independence. For India, this means creating AI systems that truly understand the country's linguistic diversity, regional contexts, and unique societal needs rather than relying solely on models built around English-first and Western-centric datasets. BharatGen represents this vision by laying the foundation for an indigenous AI ecosystem designed specifically for India.

Led by IIT Bombay in collaboration with leading academic and industry partners, BharatGen is India's first sovereign generative AI program. It focuses on developing multilingual and multimodal AI models for text, speech, translation, document understanding, and real-world applications. Supported by initiatives such as Bharat Data Sagar, the project aims to build high-quality India-centric datasets that enable AI to better understand local languages, voices, documents, and cultural nuances while reducing dependence on foreign AI platforms.

As India's AI Initiative continues to evolve, BharatGen has the potential to transform sectors including healthcare, education, agriculture, finance, governance, and small businesses. By delivering accessible, multilingual AI solutions, it can improve public services, empower citizens, and help organizations leverage AI in ways that are relevant to India's diverse population.

Modern enterprises depend on fast, secure, and resilient networks, making network intelligence platforms an essential part of IT operations. These solutions collect and analyze network telemetry, traffic flows, and performance data to provide real-time visibility into complex hybrid environments. By identifying bottlenecks, detecting anomalies, and uncovering the root causes of issues, they help organizations improve reliability, strengthen security, and deliver better digital experiences.

Among the leading platforms in 2026, Kentik stands out with its AI-powered Advisor that enables natural-language investigations and advanced traffic analytics. Cisco ThousandEyes excels in end-to-end path visualization and synthetic monitoring across distributed environments, while Progress WhatsUp Gold combines interactive topology mapping with network detection and response capabilities. SolarWinds Observability delivers unified, full-stack visibility with machine learning-driven alert prioritization, and Datadog simplifies hybrid infrastructure monitoring through integrated cloud, device, and traffic insights.

As businesses continue to embrace hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, Network Intelligence Software has become indispensable for proactive network management. These platforms empower IT teams with AI-driven analytics, automated monitoring, and actionable insights that reduce downtime, accelerate troubleshooting, optimize resource utilization, and improve overall operational efficiency.

Artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity operations across Indian enterprises, and Diwakar Dayal, Managing Director & Area Vice President for India & SAARC at SentinelOne, explains why traditional Security Operations Centers (SOCs) must evolve to keep pace with AI-powered cyber threats. He highlights how modern SOCs are shifting from manual, alert-driven workflows to AI-led operations that unify visibility across endpoints, cloud environments, identities, and applications. By automating routine investigations and responses, organizations can enable security teams to focus on high-priority threats while strengthening resilience against increasingly sophisticated attacks.

Dayal also emphasizes that AI is changing the role of cybersecurity professionals rather than replacing them. As autonomous SOCs become more common, analysts will spend less time triaging alerts and more time supervising AI systems, refining security playbooks, ensuring data quality, and managing AI governance. He notes that Indian enterprises must address technology debt, fragmented security stacks, governance gaps, and workforce upskilling to fully realize the benefits of AI-driven cybersecurity while staying ahead of machine-speed attacks and identity-focused threats.

The payments industry has evolved significantly, moving from cash-driven transactions and magnetic stripe cards to advanced payment ecosystems powered by EMV technology, virtual cards, mobile wallets, tokenization, embedded finance, and UPI. In this discussion, Naresh Rao, VP & Sales Head Issuance Products at Giesecke & Devrient India, explains how changing customer expectations continue to shape the future of financial services. He emphasizes that successful payment innovation is not just about adopting new technologies but about making transactions more secure, convenient, and accessible for users.

A major theme of the conversation is instant card issuance and its role in improving customer engagement. Traditional card issuance processes often involve multiple steps, including onboarding, verification, personalization, production, and delivery before customers can begin transacting. Instant issuance helps eliminate these delays, while virtual cards and digital wallet provisioning allow customers to start using their payment credentials immediately. This faster access improves activation rates, strengthens customer satisfaction, and enhances retention.

The episode of TechDogs Discover Dialogues also explores the growing influence of embedded finance, where payment and credit solutions are integrated directly into the digital platforms consumers use every day. Whether through e-commerce marketplaces, delivery applications, banking platforms, or super apps, financial products are becoming increasingly contextual and available at the point of need. Naresh highlights the importance of collaboration between banks, fintechs, and technology providers to deliver seamless, real-time issuance experiences.