The U.S. mortgage sector is at a crossroads. For decades, the process of getting a home loan has been synonymous with paperwork, stress, and a lack of transparency. But the convergence of artificial intelligence, rising consumer expectations, and housing market volatility is forcing the industry to evolve. With affordability challenges mounting and younger, tech-savvy buyers entering the market, lenders are being pushed to rethink not just how they operate—but why.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the enterprise technology landscape, industry leaders are rethinking modernization strategies to balance agility, security, and compliance. That was the key takeaway from a recent CIO Magazine roundtable, co-hosted by Skyla Loomis, Vice President of IBM Z Software, and John Currie, Partner, Mainframe Application Modernization at IBM.

Chris Miller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ATB Technologies, brings firsthand perspective on how SMBs are navigating this transformation. As a managed services provider (MSP) with deep roots in manufacturing, engineering, and nonprofit sectors, ATB is working on the front lines to help organizations adopt AI in ways that are responsible, practical, and tailored to their specific needs.

The AI revolution is no longer confined to the Fortune 500. With copilots, chatbots, and machine learning tools becoming increasingly accessible through mainstream productivity suites and cloud platforms, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are confronting a new set of strategic, operational, and technological decisions—many without the internal expertise typically found in enterprise environments.

From dental clinics to moving companies, SMBs are deploying AI-powered phone agents to manage calls, qualify leads, and schedule appointments—automating front-office tasks that were once exclusive to large contact centers. So said Lyle Pratt, founder and CEO of Austin-based AI startup Vida in a recent BizTechReports vidcast interview for journalists.

Small and midsize businesses are undergoing a quiet transformation as AI phone agents reshape how they handle calls, schedule appointments, and engage customers—bringing automation once reserved for large enterprises into the SMB mainstream. From dental clinics to moving companies, SMBs are deploying AI-powered phone agents to manage calls, qualify leads, and schedule appointments—automating front-office tasks that were once exclusive to large contact centers.

In this conversation with BizTechReports, Francesca Axam-Frederick, CEO and Co-founder of Grantyd, explores how artificial intelligence, automation, and digital workflows are reshaping the grant writing process. From solo fundraisers to institutional teams, the question is no longer whether to modernize, but how to do so without compromising mission, ethics, or voice.

As digital demands intensify across every sector of the economy, data centers are emerging as both vital infrastructure and operational bottlenecks. The exponential growth of AI, cloud services, and high-performance computing has placed new strains on power availability, cooling capacity, and skilled labor—forcing a rethinking of what it means to be “future-ready.”

As government grants shrink and private funders raise the bar on accountability and responsiveness, nonprofit organizations are navigating a complex new funding landscape—one where operational capacity, not just mission alignment, increasingly determines outcomes.

During a recent BizTechReports executive vidcast, data center infrastructure expert Cliff Federspiel offered a strategic lens into how the market is adapting. As founder, president, and CTO of Vigilent, a firm specializing in AI-powered data center management systems, Federspiel’s perspective reflects the pressures and priorities shaping investment decisions from hyperscalers to mid-sized enterprises.

Fueled by rising cybersecurity demands, vertical compliance requirements, and rapid advances in automation and AI, MSPs are evolving from reactive tech support shops into full-scale IT partners. But not all MSPs are keeping up with the pace of change.

As sports and entertainment venues across Europe prepare for a new era of digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), IP video technologies, and sustainability initiatives are poised to redefine fan experiences, operational efficiency, and long-term profitability.

In a time when enterprise IT leaders are facing a perfect storm of endpoint complexity, cloud sprawl, and heightened security risks, a new vision for the digital workspace is emerging. Omnissa, the end-user computing spinout from VMware following its acquisition by Broadcom, is aiming to redefine how organizations manage performance, productivity, and policy enforcement. 

As enterprises race to modernize their IT infrastructure, the need to unify end user computing (EUC) strategies is emerging as an increasingly critical priority, according to Christopher Reed, Chief Technology Officer for the Americas at Omnissa. In a recent BizTechReports executive vidcast interview, Reed urged technology leaders to rethink fragmented endpoint management approaches and move toward an autonomous workspace model capable of reducing risk, enhancing performance, and improving user experience.

In today’s serverless, hybrid, and cloud-native enterprise environment, the traditional focus on perimeter and endpoint security is rapidly becoming outdated. As data moves freely across SaaS platforms, multi-cloud architectures, and decentralized workforces, data must become the core of the enterprise security model, according to Karthik Krishnan, CEO and founder of Concentric AI, in a BizTechReports executive vidcast interview.

As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, IT leaders are confronting a stark reality: the old rules no longer apply. The traditional debate about “build vs. buy” has collapsed under the weight of complexity, speed, and scale. CIOs today must now manage hybrid ecosystems composed of SaaS platforms, legacy systems, custom apps, and rapidly evolving AI technologies.

In this vidcast interview with BizTechReports, Tiago Azevedo, CIO of a leading global software company, explains how integration, not ownership, has emerged as the new core competency.

The DVB Project, known for its leadership in establishing technical standards for digital television, is once again pushing the boundaries of video technology with the integration of Versatile Video Coding (VVC) into its framework.

Financial trading floors are built on speed, but many firms are relying on outdated video technology that may be costing them millions.

As markets move in fractions of a second, legacy video systems introduce costly delays, limit access to critical data, and complicate compliance with financial regulations. Experts say modern internet protocol (IP) video solutions offer a way forward, enabling real-time decision-making, improved transparency, and scalable global operations.

As financial services continue their digital acceleration, U.S. credit unions are reassessing their competitive position in a market dominated by larger, tech-savvy institutions. While these member-owned cooperatives have long differentiated themselves through personalized service and community orientation, industry experts say maintaining relevance will increasingly depend on strategic investments in cloud-based technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and modern service infrastructure.

“Credit unions are still known for knowing their members by name,” said Matt McKernan, Senior Vice President of the Americas at Content Guru, cloud customer experience (CX) provider, in a vidcast interview with BizTechReports.

With artificial intelligence, edge computing, and real-time analytics continuing to push the capacity of digital infrastructure, mid-market enterprises are often caught between consumer-grade cloud services and enterprise-scale solutions to meet the emerging demands of their business requirements. Long considered secondary targets for infrastructure providers, leaders in these organizations are now confronting the limitations of one-size-fits-all cloud models and rediscovering the strategic relevance of regional data centers. 

The shift is not a matter of nostalgia or resistance to modernization. Rather, it reflects a deeper understanding of cost structures, accountability, and the practical realities of operating hybrid environments in an era of ballooning cloud bills and increasingly fragile IT control. So says NYI Co-founder and COO Philip Koblence.