The Irish Tech News Podcast

We are now living in a COVID-19 world and the perfect storm that it has created has brought up lots of issues including economic ones, and Identity Governance is now being seen as one of the main solutions. I talk to Ben Bulpett the EMEA marketing Director of SailPoint about this, what the future landscape will look like and more.

Managing in a crisis within a crisis is something we are doing now because of COVID-19. So how do we go about doing this and what should we be looking out for? Ronan talks to Chris Greany Managing Director InfoSec at Templar Executives about this and more.

COVID-19 has changed the way we do our grocery shopping, so how will technology help with this? Ronan talks to Eamon Breen the founder of Roadrunner, a new app that can get your groceries delivered in a tap. Eamon talks about his background, how Roadrunner started, and why COVID-19 made them pivot. Eamon also talks about their expansion into Belfast, their plans to expand into Dublin and other parts of Ireland, getting their suppliers onboard, how COVID-19 has an increase in usage of Roadrunner and their competitors and the impact COVID-19 has had on them and their suppliers.

Simulators are now an important tool in the fight against COVID-19 and the Insititute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan have developed a very accurate simulator. They have decided to release the source code online so that anyone can use it and Ronan talks to Aknur Karabay who is one of their researchers. Aknur explains how the simulator was created, the four simulation scenarios they ran when testing it, why they released its source code online and where you can find it.

COVID-19 has caused havoc in the hospitality sector, so how can pubs, and restaurants safely comply with social distancing? Ronan talks to Anthony Cronin the Co-founder of Ordee, an app designed to help the hospitality sector comply with social distancing safely and securely. Anthony talks about what Ordee does, how it works, and their plans for the future. Anthony also talks about how the Restaurants Association of Ireland are backing them and urging their members to use it, and the LEO grant that businesses can avail of reducing the cost of buying Ordee.

How has the fintech sector in Northern Ireland coped with COVID-19 and will remote working be a permanent fixture? Ronan talks to Alex Lee, the director at Fintech NI. Alex talks about what Fintech NI does, how COVID-19 has impacted them, the opportunities and challenges COVID-19 has created, including launching their first Map of the FinTech Ecosystem in Northern Ireland and. Alex also talks about remote working in the Northern Ireland Fintech sector, why Northern Ireland is a popular location for the Fintech sector and the impact COVID-19 will have, and how collaboration between the Northern Ireland Southern Fintech ecosystems can be improved.

Our mental health is something that gets our top priority during normal times, but as we are living in COVID-19 world, how do we look after it and how do we manage Zoom fatigue? Ronan talks to Baya Salmon-Hawk a qualified psychotherapist from feel normal again about this, her tips on how to stay positive, and her online courses on feeling normal again.

Secure Access Service Edge also know as SASE is an emerging cybersecurity concept that is really taking off now thanks to COVID-19. Ronan talks to Stephen Bowes Global Practice Director for Information and Security Technologies at BSI Consulting Services. Stephen explains what SASE is, why remote working has facilitated an increase in SASE usage and why COVID-19 has ensured that its time is now. Stephen also talks about why SASE is seen as the future of network security in the cloud, security tips that remote workers should heed, and how COVID-19 changed how BSI Consulting Services works.

COVID-19 has changed the way conferences are run, so how can they be run now and in a post-COVID-19 world? Ronan talks to John McGarry the man behind the Social Selling Summit. John talks about his background, how he helps people to use Linkedin effectively, and how he came up with the Social Selling Summit. John also talks about how COVID-19 has changed how he does business, and what virtual summits are.

In this COVID-19 world, how do businesses do remote working amid the challenges of security, privacy, compliance, GDPR and more? Ronan talks to Brendan Kiely, Managing Director and co-founder of ThinScale Technology who helps keep businesses running smoothly as they remote work. Brendan talks about what ThinScale Technology does, the increase in usage of their software, why remote working will become a permanent of our lives. the benefits of remote working and where their biggest markets are.