Can Your Network Handle AI Agents? (EP 1089)
Before you buy another AI tool or help a client deploy agents, take a hard look at the environment supporting them. Recording from Greenville, South Carolina, I talk with Joseph Vlajcic about what happens when businesses chase individual AI use cases without considering how those systems will work together. We discuss why disappointing returns can come from more than choosing the wrong tool. Sometimes the surrounding infrastructure needs attention first.
Joseph walks through AI running in the data center, public cloud, and at the edge, with the network connecting all three. That brings up questions MSPs need to ask about traffic, access, security, and visibility. I also raise something we haven’t spent enough time discussing: we’re watching AI-driven threats coming in, but what about the activity our own AI tools generate going out?
We wrap up with the business conversations that can be harder than the technical work. How do you handle clients who want AI but resist your recommendations? What belongs in the discussion around service agreements? And what should you never promise about an AI future nobody can fully predict? Joseph brings it back to segmentation, identity, patching, and making investments that support the use case in front of you.
=== Guest: Joseph Vlajcic, TD SYNNEX
- Title: Vice President, Cisco.
- Website: https://www.tdsynnex.com/na/us/cisco/sso/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-vlajcic-6099136
=== Companies / Vendors / Products / Books
- TD SYNNEX: https://ir.tdsynnex.com/overview/default.aspx
- Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/
- FinOps Fusion: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261008565728/en/TD-SYNNEX-Introduces-FinOps-Fusion-to-Optimize-AI-Token-Spend-Across-Cloud-and-Core-Infrastructure
- Amazon Bedrock: https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/
- Claude Mythos Preview: https://www.anthropic.com/glasswing
=== Resources / Training / Initiatives
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA): https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/certifications/enterprise/ccna/index.html
- Project Glasswing: https://www.anthropic.com/project/glasswing
=== Events / Conferences
- TD SYNNEX Inspire: https://www.tdsynnex.com/na/us/inspire/
=== SPONSORS:
- Technology Partner, NetAlly: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/netally/
- Technology Partner: Bvoip: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/bvoip
- Travel Partner: TruGrid: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/trugrid
- Digital Partner, Designer Ready: http://itbusinesspodcast.com/designerready
=== SHOW MUSIC:
- Item Title: Upbeat & Fun Sports Rock Logo
- Item URL: https://elements.envato.com/upbeat-fun-sports-rock-logo-CSR3UET
- Author Username: AlexanderRufire
- Item License Code: 7X9F52DNML
=== Connect with Uncle Marv
🌐 Website: https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/
🎙 Host: Marvin Bee
🛒 Uncle Marv’s Amazon Store (gear & tools I recommend): https://amzn.to/3EiyKoZ
☕ Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/itbusinesspodcast
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Vice President, Cisco
Joseph Vlajcic is Vice President, Cisco at TD SYNNEX, where he leads business development within the Cisco practice. A former partner himself, he understands the challenges MSPs face when turning technology into services they can deliver and support. He works with partners on secure networking, professional services, managed services, and preparing infrastructure for AI. Joseph also teaches Cisco courses, including CCNA, bringing a practical perspective to the fundamentals that businesses sometimes overlook: segmentation, identity management, patching, and building a secure network before adding more complexity.
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