What happens when backup data stops being a passive insurance policy and becomes an active intelligence engine for cybersecurity, compliance, and AI resilience?

In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, we sit down with HYCU founder and CEO Simon Taylor to unpack one of the most ambitious product announcements we have heard in the data protection space for some time. HYCU has built its reputation on SaaS data protection through its rCloud platform, protecting more than 103 SaaS, cloud, and on-prem data sources for thousands of customers worldwide. But now the company is pushing far beyond backup and recovery.

At the center of this conversation is the launch of HYCU aiR, a new AI-powered resiliency platform that lets organizations interact with their backup data using natural language. Simon explains how HYCU spent the last two years building a contextual AI engine capable of analyzing backup data across entire organizations to identify insider threats, data exposure risks, identity drift, compliance gaps, and operational vulnerabilities. Instead of having backup data sit untouched until disaster strikes, HYCU wants enterprises to actively interrogate and learn from it every day.

Throughout the discussion, Simon explains why he believes the cybersecurity industry is entering a machine-speed era in which human-led defenses alone can no longer keep pace with AI-powered threats, ransomware automation, and rogue agents operating across SaaS ecosystems. The conversation also explores why mid-market companies are increasingly overwhelmed by fragmented security tooling and how HYCU sees an opportunity to consolidate visibility, compliance, and resilience into a single platform extension layered on top of existing backup investments.

We also discuss early customer reactions to HYCU aiR, including examples of organizations uncovering previously invisible regulatory exposure and risky user behavior within days of testing the platform. Simon explains how channel partners are now reframing backup conversations around cybersecurity posture, governance, and AI readiness rather than focusing solely on recovery workflows.

Elsewhere in the episode, the team explores the wider implications of AI within enterprise infrastructure, the growing importance of context-rich datasets, and why Simon believes the future of cybersecurity will depend on connecting protection, detection, visibility, and recovery into a single intelligent ecosystem.

From Dell Tech World announcements to insider threat analysis and AI-native backup experiences, this episode offers a fascinating look at how one company is attempting to redefine the role of backup data in the AI era.

If you enjoy conversations like this, remember to subscribe to Across the Tech Pond, leave a review, and connect with us on LinkedIn. And if you spot one of us at a tech conference somewhere around the world, come and say hello.

How do you rethink endpoint security when the threat landscape keeps shifting faster than most organizations can respond?

In this special episode of Across the Tech Pond, I sat down with Klaus Oestermann, CEO of IGEL, alongside co-host Anthony Savvas, live from IGEL Now and Next in Miami. With the backdrop of a fast-moving cybersecurity landscape, this conversation goes straight to the heart of a question many CIOs and CISOs are still grappling with. Are we solving the right problems, or simply reacting to them?

Klaus introduces IGEL’s Adaptive Secure Endpoint Platform and explains why he believes the industry has been stuck in a cycle of monitor, detect, mitigate, and remediate for far too long. Instead, he makes the case for a prevention-first model built on an immutable operating system. It is a shift that challenges long-held assumptions about endpoint security, especially in a world where ransomware recovery times can stretch into weeks, while regulatory expectations are measured in hours.

We also explore the real-world implications of this approach. From reducing endpoint costs by as much as 65 percent to enabling near-instant recovery through what IGEL calls its “911 moment,” the conversation moves beyond theory into practical outcomes. Klaus shares how this model is already being adopted across governments, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where downtime is measured in far more than lost revenue.

There is also a broader discussion around Zero Trust, which many still see as complex and difficult to implement. Klaus argues that the missing piece has always been the endpoint, and that by addressing it properly, the rest of the architecture becomes far more achievable. It is a perspective that invites both agreement and skepticism, especially from organizations heavily invested in traditional security models.

As the episode unfolds, one theme keeps surfacing. Endpoint security has often been treated as a secondary concern, even though it is where most attacks begin. That disconnect raises an uncomfortable question for many leaders. If the endpoint is the front door to your entire organization, why is it still so often left unlocked?

So as you reflect on your own security strategy, are you still preparing to respond to attacks, or are you ready to prevent them in the first place?

Across the Tech Pond is a transatlantic conversation shaped by what we see, hear, and question on the conference floors where enterprise technology decisions are taking shape. In this episode, we reflect on Dynatrace Perform in Las Vegas, one of the industry’s most closely watched gatherings for observability, AI, and security leaders, and unpack what it reveals about where modern IT operations are heading next.

Recorded shortly after the event, the discussion brings together perspectives from the US and Europe to explore how observability has moved well beyond traditional monitoring. Our guest, Bob Wambach, Vice President of Portfolio and Strategy at Dynatrace, offers a grounded view of how causal AI, real-time context, and automated root cause analysis are shaping a new operational baseline for large, complex environments. Rather than focusing on abstract promise, the conversation stays rooted in how global organizations are already using these capabilities to reduce friction, respond faster, and connect technical signals directly to business outcomes.

A central theme of the episode is trust in AI at scale. As enterprises experiment with agent-based systems and increasingly autonomous workflows, visibility into what those systems are doing, why they are acting, and what impact they create becomes non-negotiable. We examine how observability supports that confidence, particularly as AI introduces non-deterministic behavior that traditional tools were never designed to explain. The discussion also touches on why ecosystem partnerships with hyperscalers and platforms like ServiceNow are becoming more important as customers push for fewer handoffs and clearer accountability.

The episode closes by looking ahead. As AI adoption accelerates and operational complexity continues to grow, the ability to understand systems in context, prioritize what matters, and act with clarity will separate progress from noise. Whether you attended Dynatrace Perform or followed the announcements from afar, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at what observability means in an AI-driven world, and why getting it right now will shape how organizations operate in the years ahead.

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