The market is converging.

Networking, security, and cloud operations are no longer separate conversations. They are colliding at the operational layer, driven by hybrid environments, AI driven operations, and growing pressure to reduce complexity without losing control.

In this episode of ClearTech Loop Market Perspective, Jo Peterson sits down with Dan DeBacker, Chief Product Officer at Extreme Networks, to explore what this convergence looks like in practice and why simplicity, unified policy, and cloud design are increasingly inseparable decisions.

Dan shares how enterprises are grappling with operational friction created by multiple control planes and fragmented policy engines, and why the market is responding by collapsing domains into platforms. The conversation examines convergence not as a trend, but as a response to real operational pressure.

Through the lens of AI Enhanced Cloud Operations, the discussion focuses on how AI is tightening feedback loops, exposing hidden complexity, and forcing organizations to rethink how visibility, policy, and control operate across cloud and on premises environments.

If you’re navigating hybrid operations, policy sprawl, or the growing pressure to simplify without sacrificing sovereignty, this episode brings clarity to where the market is headed.

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Key Quotes

“If you have to integrate and manage multiple UI experiences, multiple policies, multiple ways of doing things… that’s complexity. Our goal is to reduce friction by bringing those together.”
— Dan DeBacker

“When you talk about NAC policy, VPN policy, Zero Trust policy ideally they should not live in silos. The next evolution is a unified policy engine.”
— Dan DeBacker

“AI doesn’t tolerate fragmentation. The more intelligence we embed into operations, the more exposed complexity becomes.”
— Jo Peterson

Three Big Ideas from This Episode

1. Convergence is an operational reality, not a future state

The collision of networking, security, and cloud operations is happening because fragmented environments cannot keep up with AI driven decision cycles.

2. Policy is becoming shared operational infrastructure

Unified policy models are emerging as the connective tissue across access, security, and network operations, replacing siloed controls that slow response and increase risk.

3. Cloud and on premises now function as a continuum

Organizations are designing for flexibility and sovereignty by treating cloud as an experience rather than a location, applying consistent control across environments.

Episode Notes

🎧 Listen in player
▶ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/75DciQR03DY
📰 Subscribe to the ClearTech Loop Newsletter:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7346174860760416256/

Resources Mentioned

Extreme Platform ONE Security: Accelerating Zero Trust and Simplifying Operations for Network Leaders
https://www.extremenetworks.com/resources/blogs/extreme-platform-one-security-accelerating-zero-trust-and-simplifying-operations-for-network-leaders

Gartner: AI Enabling Cloud Services Are the Future of Cloud

Security teams have spent years operating in reaction mode. Alerts fire, analysts scramble, and incident response often moves at human speed while adversaries move faster.

In this episode of ClearTech Loop, Jo Peterson sits down with Evan Kirstel to talk about how generative AI is changing that reality. Evan shares practical examples of how AI powered triage is shrinking incident response timelines from hours to minutes and why speed, when paired with better analysis and guidance, can fundamentally change outcomes.

The conversation goes beyond faster detection and digs into what this shift really means for security teams and CISOs:

AI is enabling analysts to move from reacting after the fact to predicting threats as they emerge.

Entry level SOC teams are being up leveled with remediation paths and decision support, not just alerts.

Security and privacy controls can be embedded into AI development early without slowing innovation, and in many cases, actually accelerating it.

And CISOs are being pushed into a broader governance role as AI becomes both a critical capability and a growing threat surface.

If you’re trying to understand how AI is reshaping security operations today and what leaders need to be thinking about next, this episode brings clarity to the conversation.

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https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7346174860760416256/

Key Quotes

“They can cut incident response times from hours to minutes. Just like an emergency room, minutes matter.” — Evan Kirstel

“I think this gives us a chance to really up level our more entry level SOC folks, and it gives them remediation paths. It doesn’t just find things, it gives solutions to the problem.” — Jo Peterson

Three Big Ideas from This Episode

1. AI powered triage changes the math of incident response

AI is compressing detection, analysis, and decision cycles. When response moves from hours to minutes, outcomes change and teams gain back control during critical moments.

2. Proactive security starts with better guidance, not just faster alerts

AI is helping teams predict and prepare, not just react. By offering remediation paths and context, it allows SOC analysts to make smarter decisions under pressure.

3. Governance becomes a core CISO responsibility in an AI driven world

As AI adoption accelerates, CISOs must balance speed with guardrails. Embedded security, privacy by design, and clear governance frameworks are now essential to maintaining trust and reducing risk.

Episode Notes / Links for Suzie to Fill Out

🎧 Listen: in the player above
▶ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BFkpNCOQfnw
📰 Subscribe to the ClearTech Loop Newsletter:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7346174860760416256/

Resources Mentioned

• NIST AI Risk Management Framework https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
• The Evan Kirstel Show https://www.youtube.com/@EvanKirstel
• ClearTech Research Insights https://cleartechresearch.com

AI has erased the perimeter. Security teams are no longer guarding walls — they’re managing airspace.

In this episode of ClearTech Loop, Jo Peterson sits down with Deputy CISO Aby Rao to unpack what AI security really looks like when threats move through models, APIs, agents, and identity flows instead of firewalls and fences.

Aby explains why security teams are at an inflection point:

• No code and low code tools now let cyber teams build automation and identity workflows without relying on vendors.
• AI development is outpacing AI literacy, creating a widening gap between capability and understanding.
• And CISOs can no longer operate as castle guards — they must become bridges between high-velocity development and the governance functions responsible for responsible AI.

If you want to understand how CISOs should adapt to a boundaryless threat landscape — and what “air traffic control” for AI security actually means — this episode gives you the clarity you’re looking for.

👉 Subscribe to ClearTech Loop on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7346174860760416256/

Key Quotes

“We have to break out of this castle guard mindset and think of us as air traffic controllers.” — Aby Rao

“The pace at which AI development is taking place, it has outgrown AI literacy and AI education.” — Aby Rao

“If you’re not actively involving your CISO, you really need to. You’re short-changing yourself.” — Jo Peterson

Three Big Ideas from This Episode

1. AI gives cyber teams new power — and new ownership.
With no code and low code tools, teams can now build custom workflows and agentic processes on their own data. That freedom comes with long-term responsibility.

2. Security by design only works if AI literacy exists first.
You can’t embed privacy, fairness, transparency, or explainability if the team doesn’t understand AI fundamentals.

3. CISOs must become the bridge.
They now sit between fast-moving developers and governance leaders in legal, audit, privacy, fairness, and ethics — translating risk and keeping the entire airspace safe.

Episode Notes / Links for Suzie to Fill Out

🎧 Listen: on player above
▶ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7OSuAiLZCgo
📰 Subscribe to the ClearTech Loop Newsletter:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7346174860760416256/

Resources Mentioned:

• NIST AI Risk Management Framework: https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
• CSA Trusted AI Course Materials: https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/education
• “Pack a Room Full of Governors” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abyrao_pack-a-room-full-of-governors-standing-activity-7401658932416528384-PFxH/
• Previous Episode: AI Safety with Dutch Schwartz: https://cleartechresearch.com/bumpers-not-brakes/