From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht
Phil Fersht
31 episodes
4 days ago
As technology rapidly evolves, the world has undergone a significant transformation. Society has shifted from being human-centered to a complex web of digital automation, AI, and human workers who support it. This rapid innovation outpaces regulations and threatens social mobility.
The rise of AI presents a critical challenge: how can businesses and policymakers ensure that AI enhances, rather than hinders, human creativity and innovation? Automating routine tasks could free up people for roles requiring creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, but it demands a focus on continuous learning and digital literacy.
The first season of From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht explores the intersection of AI, work, and society, aiming to shape the future.
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As technology rapidly evolves, the world has undergone a significant transformation. Society has shifted from being human-centered to a complex web of digital automation, AI, and human workers who support it. This rapid innovation outpaces regulations and threatens social mobility.
The rise of AI presents a critical challenge: how can businesses and policymakers ensure that AI enhances, rather than hinders, human creativity and innovation? Automating routine tasks could free up people for roles requiring creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, but it demands a focus on continuous learning and digital literacy.
The first season of From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht explores the intersection of AI, work, and society, aiming to shape the future.
Vijay Tella: It's Time to Rethink Enterprise Orchestration
From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht
22 minutes
3 months ago
Vijay Tella: It's Time to Rethink Enterprise Orchestration
From Recipes to Reasoning: Rethinking Enterprise Orchestration for AI
"We're not futzing around with chatbots anymore. We're bringing AI to the core." — Vijay Tella
In this episode, Vijay Tella joins HFS CEO Phil Fersht to challenge the outdated patterns of enterprise integration. As generative and agentic AI systems demand richer context and execution capability, Vijay explains why orchestration needs a foundational rethink—and what's next for the enterprise stack.
What You'll Hear in 30 Minutes
• Why agentic systems need both rich context and reliable execution
• The mindset shift from "recipe thinking" to goal-based system design
• The rise of enterprise skills as a trust layer for AI
• How to "change the wheels while driving" toward modernization
• Why developers will become essential again—even in a low-code world
Guest Snapshots
Vijay Tella is the CEO and co-founder of Workato, where he pioneered the concept of enterprise orchestration—bringing integration, automation, and AI under one platform. With a background at Oracle and TIBCO, he's spent his career simplifying complexity in enterprise systems. Today, Vijay is focused on enabling agentic AI by building the trusted infrastructure it needs to act, not just advise.
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro: Why Vijay Tella Thinks Integration Needs Reinvention
02:10 — The Origins of Workato & the "Recipe" Approach
05:52 — Are We Solving the Right Problems with GenAI?
08:45 — The Agentic Burn: AI Hype vs. Real Outcomes
10:30 — Recipe Thinking vs. Agentic Thinking
13:47 — Why Enterprises Must Bring All of Themselves to AI
16:16 — Enterprise Skills: The Trusted Execution Layer
20:33 — Workato's New Mission: AI That Can Be Trusted
21:01 — The Hidden Integration Challenge No One Sees Coming
23:23 — How to Modernize and Apply AI in Parallel
25:28 — Why Developers Are About to Get Cool Again
Explore More
🌐 Learn more about Workato: https://www.workato.com/
🔗 Follow Vijay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-tella-1a410a8/
🔗 Follow Phil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pfersht/
From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht
As technology rapidly evolves, the world has undergone a significant transformation. Society has shifted from being human-centered to a complex web of digital automation, AI, and human workers who support it. This rapid innovation outpaces regulations and threatens social mobility.
The rise of AI presents a critical challenge: how can businesses and policymakers ensure that AI enhances, rather than hinders, human creativity and innovation? Automating routine tasks could free up people for roles requiring creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, but it demands a focus on continuous learning and digital literacy.
The first season of From the Horse's Mouth: Intrepid Conversations with Phil Fersht explores the intersection of AI, work, and society, aiming to shape the future.
