Conversations from the Show Floor

Nutanix’s Sush Kajaria On Building Predictable, Reliable Hybrid Infrastructure

What does resilience look like when your business depends on infrastructure that never gets to take a day off? In this Conversations From The Showfloor episode, recorded live at IGEL’s Now and Next event in Frankfurt, I sat down with Sush Kajaria, who leads ISV partnerships at Nutanix across EMEA, to talk about what “predictable and reliable” actually means in a hybrid, multicloud world. Sush walked me through Nutanix’s mission to simplify how organizations build and run modern applications anywhere, from the data center to the cloud to the edge. We talked about why the partnership between Nutanix and IGEL matters right now, especially for IT teams trying to bring endpoint security and cloud-ready virtualization into the same conversation. You will hear how Nutanix’s platform approach, including AHV, workload mobility, unified management, and security controls at the infrastructure layer, complements IGEL’s prevention-first direction at the endpoint. We also spent time on what tends to get missed in infrastructure discussions, the people doing the work. Hybrid work realities, compliance pressure, Windows 11 migrations, and AI adoption are all reshaping how IT teams operate and what employees expect. This episode captures the practical side of transformation, where reliability has to coexist with flexibility, and where ecosystem collaboration often decides whether a strategy holds up in the real world. So as you look toward 2026, do you feel hybrid multicloud is finally delivering simpler operations, or are we still stitching together complexity and calling it progress? I would love to hear what you think after listening, and what you are seeing inside your own organization.

From Frankfurt To The Factory Floor: Why IGEL’s Klaus Oestermann Says Endpoint Resilience Is The New Front Line In Cybersecurity

Recorded live at the Now and Next event in Frankfurt, I sat down with IGEL CEO Klaus Oestermann to explore a question that many digital transformation strategies still overlook. What happens when the endpoint fails? In a world obsessed with cloud, data centers, and AI, Klaus makes the case that the device in front of every employee remains the weakest and most underestimated link in enterprise security and business continuity. In our conversation, Klaus explains why the long-standing detect and respond mindset is no longer enough in an era of relentless ransomware and operational disruption. He shares how a prevention-first approach, combined with IGEL’s dual-boot recovery model, is enabling organizations to restore thousands of compromised devices in minutes rather than weeks. We also unpack the financial argument that is turning heads in the boardroom, including the research pointing to major reductions in endpoint costs and how those savings are being redirected into Zero Trust, AI initiatives, and wider cyber resilience strategies. This discussion also captures the energy of the show floor itself. From Audi’s production environments to national critical infrastructure, Klaus outlines how ecosystem partnerships, containerized application delivery, and the emerging AI Armor concept are reshaping what a secure, adaptive desktop looks like. The result is a vision of modern work where resilience begins at the edge and innovation is driven by collaboration across the entire security stack. So after hearing how quickly an organization can be taken offline when endpoints are ignored, the real question becomes this. Has the industry been protecting the wrong layer all along, and are we finally ready to rethink the role of the endpoint in the future of secure work?

Estonia’s Space Office And The Business Of Turning ESA Into Growth

What does it take for a country of 1.3 million people to build real momentum in the European space sector? In this episode of Conversations From The Showfloor, recorded in Tallinn, I sit down with Madis Võõras, Head of the Estonian Space Office at Enterprise Estonia. We talk about how Estonia is earning its place in the space economy through software strength, targeted public investment, and partnerships that translate into contracts, credibility, and eventually commercial growth. Madis explains the practical role his team plays as the connector between Estonian industry and the European Space Agency. A big part of the mission is making sure the money Estonia invests into ESA finds its way back into local companies through real projects. But he is clear that an ESA contract should never be the finish line, it should be proof you can deliver in a demanding environment, then take that capability to the wider market. We dig into Estonia’s sweet spot and why software sits at the center of so many space programs now. Madis shares how Estonia’s digital public infrastructure became a reference point that ESA wanted to understand, study, and learn from. It is a reminder that “space” is often data, identity, trust, security, and systems that need to work flawlessly under pressure, not just rockets and hardware. Madis also gets candid about the gaps. Estonia has hardware success stories like the camera company Crystalspace, but he wants deeper capability in electronics and manufacturing. He talks about the reality that international cooperation is often the fastest route to scale, and why smaller nations need to be smart about where they play, especially as European projects grow more complex and competitive. There are some standout examples of how space investment can ripple into the real economy. Madis walks through Estonia’s Earth observation data distribution center and a space business incubator that has helped dozens of companies move from idea to jobs, revenue, and outside investment. He also shares a story about how early institutional contracts can change how investors see a company, even if that company later decides Earth-based markets move faster. We end by looking forward. Madis sees AI as the biggest near-term driver of value, while staying cautious about hype around immature technologies. He also points to optical communications projects, including work aimed at connecting Tallinn and Helsinki, as a practical response to the new reality of infrastructure vulnerability. If you want a grounded conversation about how space policy meets startup execution, and why ESA partnership works best as a catalyst for wider growth, this episode is for you. What should Estonia prioritize next to punch above its weight, and where do you see the biggest opportunities for software and AI in space services, and will you share your thoughts after listening?

Beyond Earth: Building The World’s First Space Cyber Range

Recorded Live In Tallinn Ahead Of The Software Defined Space Conference What does cybersecurity look like beyond Earth’s atmosphere? That is the question at the heart of this special Conversations From The Showfloor episode, recorded in Tallinn on the eve of the Software Defined Space Conference. I sat down with Kristiina Omri, Vice President of Special Programs at CybExer Technologies, and Aare Reintam, the company’s COO, to explore how Estonia, in collaboration with European Space Agency, is shaping the future of space cybersecurity through the world’s first Space Cyber Range. The origin story is unexpected. For Aare, fascination with space began as a child in the Soviet era, eating marmalade from a tube like the kind sent to astronauts in orbit. Decades later, that early spark evolved into a partnership with ESA focused on securing the increasingly software-driven systems that now power life in space. At the center of our discussion is the Space Cyber Range, a digital testing environment that allows satellites, ground stations, and communication protocols to be stress-tested long before launch. Using digital twins and immersive simulation, CybExer recreates mission control systems so realistically that engineers and operators cannot distinguish training from reality. Under simulated attack conditions, defenders face adversaries who are allowed to push systems to their limits, revealing vulnerabilities that would be too risky or too expensive to test in orbit. We explore why this matters now. Satellites underpin GPS navigation, air travel, agriculture, banking, climate monitoring, and global communications. Yet many long-life orbital systems were designed decades ago, before today’s threat landscape. As commercial space missions multiply and low-earth orbit grows crowded, the consequences of a cyber breach could ripple far beyond space, from disrupted harvests to grounded aircraft and financial instability. Kristiina explains the widening skills gap at the intersection of space engineering and cybersecurity. Universities may produce cyber specialists and aerospace engineers, but professionals fluent in both domains remain rare. In response, new educational initiatives are emerging in Estonia to combine these disciplines, reflecting the urgent demand for hybrid expertise. We also examine the strategic dimension. As quantum computing capabilities evolve and cyber and kinetic threats converge, simulation environments become essential. Digital twin technologies allow nations and companies to rehearse worst-case scenarios without triggering real-world damage. From encrypted satellite commands to orbital collision risks, the stakes extend well beyond technical failure to societal trust itself. By the end of our conversation, one theme stands out clearly. Cybersecurity is no longer confined to data centers and enterprise networks. It now extends into orbit, where resilience, interoperability, and trust must be engineered from the ground up. Conversations From The Showfloor is your front-row pass to the most important conversations happening in enterprise technology today. Recorded live at global conferences, each episode captures candid discussions with leaders shaping the future of business, infrastructure, and security. Search “Tech Talks Network” to discover other shows in the series and follow to hear new episodes as they drop from events around the world.

Securing Space At The Software Defined Space Conference

What role does cybersecurity play when the battlefield extends beyond Earth’s atmosphere? In this special episode of Conversations From The Showfloor, recorded live in Tallinn for the fifth anniversary of the Software Defined Space Conference, I sit down with Kalev Koidumäe, CEO of the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association. We explore how a nation of just 1.3 million people has built global credibility in cyber resilience, defense technology, and space innovation. Estonia’s journey, shaped in part by the 2007 state-level cyberattack, has forged a culture where digital readiness is embedded across government, industry, and education. Cyber hygiene is taught in schools. Reserve officers bring operational insight into business. Public and private sectors collaborate with shared purpose. Kalev explains how space has become a core defense domain within NATO, alongside land, sea, air, and cyber. Satellites now underpin operational planning, navigation, weather intelligence, targeting systems, and communications. In modern conflict, space infrastructure and cybersecurity are inseparable. Protecting software-defined systems has become as important as defending physical territory. Our conversation also examines how lessons from the war in Ukraine are accelerating innovation across Europe. From AI-enabled battlefield analytics to autonomous systems and advanced sensor technologies, Estonia’s companies are carving out specialist roles within global supply chains. Smaller nations may not build the largest platforms, but they can provide highly specialized subsystems, software, and cyber capabilities that strengthen collective defense. We also discuss the balance between sovereignty and collaboration. Estonia’s reserve army model, growing defense investments, and expanding industrial ecosystem reflect a society that sees innovation as a civic responsibility. Domestic resilience strengthens international partnerships. And as defense budgets rise across Europe, Estonia is positioning its ecosystem to contribute both locally and globally. This episode offers a grounded, strategic look at how software, cyber readiness, and space technologies are reshaping modern defense. It also raises bigger questions about education, automation, AI, and the next generation of digital-native citizens who will inherit this rapidly evolving landscape. So what can larger nations learn from Estonia’s approach to readiness, innovation, and collective security? And as space becomes increasingly software-defined, how should leaders rethink the relationship between cyber resilience and national defense? Conversations From The Showfloor is your front-row pass to the most important conversations happening in enterprise technology today. Recorded live at global conferences, each episode captures candid discussions with leaders shaping the future of business, infrastructure, security, and innovation. Search “Tech Talks Network” to discover other shows in the series and follow to hear new episodes as they drop from events around the world.