How do you create a thriving team culture when colleagues are spread across time zones and may never share a room? At the X4 Summit in Salt Lake City, I caught up with Molly Sands, Head of the Teamwork Lab at Atlassian, and Emma Crockett, Head of People Insights, to explore how one of the world’s most data-driven companies approaches this challenge head-on.

In this episode, we examine the intersection of behavioral science, workplace design, and people analytics. Molly and Emma explain how Atlassian builds distributed work environments that prioritize both performance and connection. They share real-world strategies for setting clear goals, improving asynchronous communication, and designing physical workspaces that actually support modern team dynamics.

We also dig into Atlassian’s scrappy approach to experimentation, including how they test workplace ideas using behavioral data, and why a rotating role called "Chief Vibes Officer" helps drive psychological safety in distributed teams. Their approach blends evidence and empathy, challenging the idea that employee experience is either gut instinct or just another survey score.

From the role of transparency in reducing friction, to why AI struggles without structured information systems, this conversation touches on the deeper layers of modern collaboration. We also unpack the common mistakes teams make—such as clinging to Zoom fatigue rituals—and how Atlassian avoids them by focusing on better information flow.

If your organization is navigating hybrid or remote work and looking for practical, human-centered strategies, this episode offers lessons rooted in real research and tested at scale.

Recorded live at the X4 Summit in Salt Lake City, this episode features a compelling conversation with Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at the Qualtrics XM Institute.

With a deep background in experience management and a passion for helping organizations translate strategy into results, Isabelle shares new insights from recent research in partnership with McKinsey, revealing how AI could unlock as much as $860 billion in customer experience (CX) impact—possibly more.

We unpack why just 12 percent of organizations have a company-wide AI strategy and explore the very real gap between potential and implementation. Isabelle describes the common trap of "pilot purgatory," where teams experiment with AI in isolated silos but fail to scale efforts across the business. Her message is clear: companies must shift from scattered tests to strategic, outcome-driven action.

Throughout the conversation, we explore how AI can drive measurable business improvements in three key areas: workforce productivity, revenue generation, and operational efficiency. Isabelle also introduces the concept of Agentic AI, a new phase of automation where AI takes on full workflows instead of just assisting humans. She offers real-world examples of companies like Fiserv that are already applying AI to reduce churn, personalize experiences, and generate new revenue streams.

From debunking myths about needing perfect data to outlining how AI success depends on leadership support, governance, and imagination, this episode provides both strategic direction and practical takeaways. As regulatory pressure grows and competition accelerates, organizations that move decisively will gain the most ground.

What will it take to stop running pilots and start delivering impact? Tune in to find out.

What does the future of observability, AI, and security look like in an increasingly complex digital world? In this special episode of Conversations from the Show Floor, we are live from Dynatrace Perform in Las Vegas with Steve Tack, Chief Product Officer at Dynatrace. A familiar voice to longtime listeners, Steve joins us in person for the first time to explore how Dynatrace is helping enterprises move from reactive IT operations to a proactive, autonomous future.

Steve shares insights into the company's major announcements from the event, including advancements in AIOps, predictive AI capabilities, and the evolution of cloud security posture management. As AI continues to reshape enterprise strategies, we unpack how businesses are adapting their IT operations to embrace AI-powered automation while maintaining scalability, security, and resilience.

We also explore how observability and AI are converging, not only to detect anomalies faster but to predict and prevent issues before they impact the business. Steve discusses the growing importance of runtime context in cloud security and the critical role Dynatrace plays in unifying data streams across metrics, logs, traces, and business metadata to deliver real-time answers.

Beyond the keynotes and product announcements, Steve shares trends directly from the show floor conversations—how businesses are restructuring for greater agility, why platform engineering is becoming a central theme, and what the rise of AI-native architectures means for development teams.

If you’re wondering whether fully autonomous IT operations are within reach or how enterprises are turning AI observability from concept into practice, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Steve’s passion for customer-driven innovation shines throughout, offering a glimpse into where enterprise IT is heading—and what leaders need to consider as they navigate this next wave of transformation.

How are you preparing for an era of predictive, autonomous, and secure digital operations? Join the conversation and let us know your thoughts.

DXC and AI-Powered IT Enhancing Performance, Security, and Efficiency

How can enterprises modernize IT without interrupting mission-critical operations? What happens when automation, observability, and AI converge to shape the future of enterprise infrastructure?

In this Conversations from the Show Floor episode, I join Howard Boville, Executive Vice President at DXC, live from Dynatrace Perform in Las Vegas. With a global team of 50,000 engineers, DXC is helping some of the world's largest organizations rethink how they approach performance, security, and efficiency in a digital-first economy.

Howard shares insights into the 15-year partnership between DXC and Dynatrace, explaining how AI-powered observability is vital in transforming IT from a reactive service to a predictive, business-aligned function. With thousands of interconnected applications and growing expectations for always-on performance, the ability to detect issues before they become failures is more important than ever.

The conversation also explores the rise of digital twins in enterprise IT—how virtual models of technology ecosystems are helping businesses experiment with AI, streamline cloud migrations, and understand the real-world impact of changes before they're made. Initially rooted in manufacturing, digital twins are becoming essential in complex IT environments where optimization and risk management go hand in hand.

We also discuss DXC's role in helping businesses prepare for the era of quantum computing, where existing encryption methods will no longer be secure. Howard offers a clear-eyed perspective on why organizations need to start planning now and how tools like Dynatrace are helping identify vulnerable systems before it's too late.

From AI-driven transformation to the practical realities of digital modernization, this episode offers a grounded, candid look at the future of IT services. Whether you're exploring automation, measuring ROI, or planning for emerging security threats, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Search Tech Talks Network to discover more shows in the series, or follow Conversations from the Show Floor to catch future episodes from tech events worldwide.

What happens when the biggest names in enterprise tech gather in Vegas to talk AI, observability, and the future of digital operations?

In this first episode of Conversations from the Show Floor, I finally meet Dynatrace Chief Product Officer Steve in person at Dynatrace Perform. We’ve shared many conversations remotely over the years, but this time we’re on the ground, surrounded by the buzz of live demos, keynote announcements, and behind-the-scenes insights from some of the industry’s most forward-thinking leaders.

Steve walks us through the major announcements from Dynatrace Perform, including how AI and observability are converging to reduce alert fatigue, improve incident response, and enable more proactive IT strategies. He also shares how Dynatrace is evolving its AI offerings—from expanding AIOps capabilities to contextualizing security posture and workload observability for enterprise adoption.

We also reflect on the big shift from proof-of-concept to production when it comes to generative AI, and why runtime context is key for real business outcomes. You’ll hear about platform engineering, the evolution of enterprise architecture, and the importance of cross-functional collaboration when innovation is happening at speed.

So whether you're tuning in on your commute or catching up from a few time zones away, this conversation brings the energy of the show floor directly to your ears.

Which announcements from Dynatrace Perform are you most interested in, and how do you see AI reshaping your IT strategy? Let me know what stood out to you.