You use technology every day. You open your laptop, click on the F drive, jump into SharePoint, open your CRM and get on with your job.

But have you ever stopped to think about what's actually happening behind the scenes?

In this episode of The Technology Translator, we're going back to basics and looking at how business technology evolved from paper and filing cabinets, to individual computers, centralised servers and eventually the cloud.

We break down what a server actually is, why businesses needed them, what local storage and shared drives really mean, how applications can run on servers, and why the rise of cloud fundamentally changed the way businesses operate.

We also get into the stuff business leaders actually need to understand: on-premises vs cloud, cost models, Azure and cloud spend, security and shared responsibility, reliability, scalability, virtual machines, hybrid environments, backups and end-of-life infrastructure.

You don't need to know how to build a server or architect a cloud environment. But if you're being asked to approve the investment, you should understand what you're paying for — and the questions you need to ask.

In this episode:

• How business technology evolved from paper to PCs, servers and cloud
• What a server actually does
• Local storage and shared drives explained
• Why servers became central to business operations
• What "the cloud" actually means
• On-premises servers vs cloud
• CAPEX vs ongoing cloud costs
• Why cloud isn't automatically cheaper
• Cloud security and the Shared Responsibility Model
• Reliability, scalability and internet dependency
• Virtual machines and virtualisation
• Hybrid environments
• Backups and server end-of-life
• The questions business leaders should be asking

Next episode: Networks & Firewalls — how all of this technology actually communicates, and how we control what gets in and out.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.

Everyone is talking about AI.

ChatGPT. Microsoft Copilot. Claude. AI Agents. Agentic AI. RAG. MCP.

But before your business invests in AI, there's a far more important question to answer...

Are you actually ready for it?

In this episode of The Technology Translator, Vic Cole explains why successful AI adoption has far less to do with choosing the right tool and far more to do with understanding your business information.

You'll learn:

• What AI buzzwords like Agentic AI, RAG and MCP actually mean.
• Why AI projects often become data governance projects.
• The five questions every business leader should ask before implementing AI.
• What Shadow AI is and why it's becoming one of the biggest business risks.
• Why data classification, governance and cybersecurity are the real foundations of successful AI.

Whether you're just starting to explore AI or already planning your next project, this episode will help you cut through the hype and focus on what really matters.

Because AI isn't something you buy.

It's something you become ready for.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.

AI is everywhere.

Every software vendor has an AI feature. Every conference has an AI keynote. Every second LinkedIn post seems to promise that AI will completely transform your business.

But what actually is AI?

In this episode of The Technology Translator, Vic cuts through the noise and explains Artificial Intelligence in plain English.

You'll learn:

• Why AI isn't actually as "new" as people think
• The difference between AI, machine learning and Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Why AI hallucinates and why you shouldn't blindly trust it
• How Vic uses AI to create this podcast and save hours every week
• Why AI learns patterns and starts adapting to the way you communicate
• Practical ways businesses can start using AI today
• The risks of uploading sensitive business information into public AI tools
• The questions every business leader should be asking before embracing AI

Whether you're excited, sceptical, or somewhere in between, this episode will help you understand what AI really is, what it isn't, and why human judgement is still your greatest competitive advantage.

Next week, we'll take the next step and explore whether your business is actually AI-ready.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.