Advertise on podcast: The DEX Show: A Show for IT Change Makers

Experience 26 was the biggest and best yet, and this special double bill relives both the event itself and the DEX Show’s own contribution to it. Tom is joined by returning guest Laura Reeves for a lively recap of the people, ideas and customer stories that stood out in Orlandano. Then it’s time for the full, exclusive IT Nerd Mastermind, featuring specialist rounds on X-Men, Star Wars, European football, Pokémon and poker, followed by a fiercely contested general knowledge final. Plus, news of the Best of Experience 26 webinar. Register for 'Best of Experience ‘26: Agents of Change in Action' (ft. Dru Yamagiwa, Suntory Global Spirits) below:  CET (Thursday, November 12th, 11:00 am): register here EST (Thursday, November 12th, 12:00 pm ET): register here

Kelly Monahan returns to The DEX Show on launch day for her new book, Reclaim the Plot. The future of work advisor and co-founder of Beyond the Desk explains why organisations are racing towards AI without knowing what they want it to achieve, and why transformation must be shared across IT, HR, legal and operations. Kelly introduces her PLOT framework, explores the risks of uncontrolled agentic AI, and asks what happens when humans train their own replacements. She also discusses AI fluency, education, Silicon Valley parenting, Walmart, Reddit, vibe coding, and why software itself may be becoming a serious constraint. Check out Kelly's AMA (and the Nexthink subreddi) here Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What does it take to become a successful DEX practitioner? Marta Sukhno, Nexthink’s Certification Program Manager for Enablement, joins Tom and Dina to explore the skills, mindsets and responsibilities shaping DEXOps as an emerging professional discipline. Marta explains how her background in teaching informs her work, why communication and change management matter as much as technology, and how the first DEXOps certification cohort is helping define what “good” looks like across the industry. The conversation also looks ahead to Experience 26 in Orlando, where more than 400 practitioners will take part in hands-on DEXOps training across Core, Strategist and Technologist tracks. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What happens when the legendary author of The No A*****e Rule meets The DEX Show? Stanford professor and organisational psychologist Bob Sutton joins Tom McGrath for a wide-ranging conversation about toxic workplaces, good and bad friction, and the human problems created by AI. Bob explains why assholes are contagious, how pressure and sleep deprivation can turn decent people into temporary jerks, and why leaders should treat themselves as trustees of other people’s time. They discuss algorithmic bosses, lonely AI-powered startups, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Slack, savoring, power, and the dangers of making work more efficient while making it less human. Check out all Bob's wonderful books here Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

Increasingly, DEX is about more than measuring performance: it's about changing the way organisations operate. In this episode, Scott Vessey, Technical Services Enablement & Transformation Manager in Nexthink’s Customer Outcomes team, explains how his early career in IT support and years at VMware led him (back) to the DEX space. We explore why VDI solved many problems for IT without necessarily improving life for employees, and why operationalisation remains the hardest part of DEX success. Scott also introduces Nexthink’s Navigator methodology, its five pillars of people, process, technology, value and communication, and how it helps organisations turn DEXOps ambition into practical action. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today Register for Phil Kirschner's AMA here

“Work time is lifetime.” It’s a German saying that perfectly captures Nina Kohl-Haefke’s philosophy (and ours) on Digital Employee Experience: if we spend so much of our lives working, technology should make that experience better. On today’s episode, Nina, Computacenter Solution Manager and WORK IT OUT! podcast host, joins Tom to explore how DEX is evolving from device analytics into a broader operating philosophy for the digital workplace. They discuss proactive IT, employee experience measurement, AI adoption, workplace productivity and the shift from SLAs to XLAs, while explaining why organizations must move beyond healthy devices and start designing healthier, more human ways of working. List to WORK IT OUT! here (German language) Find out more about Computacenter here Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What happens when AI adoption moves faster than IT can govern it? Former Honeywell VP of IT Darren Wright joins Tom for an exclusive look at Bridging the AI Acceleration Gap, a new report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services sponsored by Nexthink. Drawing on his own contribution to the research, Darren explores why employee-led AI adoption is challenging IT’s traditional role, the growing risks around security, governance, complexity and ROI, and why visibility into real-world AI usage has become essential. He also examines how DEX can help IT navigate the transition and what technology careers might look like as AI reshapes IT itself. Download the new report here (https://nexthink.com/resource/bridging-the-ai-acceleration-gap) Register for (or follow) Kelly Monahan's AMA here (and give the subreddeit a follow at www.reddit.com/r/nexthink/) Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What happens when DEX experts work directly with customers to turn complex problems into practical solutions? Bryan Hunter, Consulting Senior Manager in Nexthink Professional Services, joins the show to reveal where the rubber really meets the road. Drawing on his experience both as a former Nexthink customer and now advisor, Bryan explores how Professional Services accelerates time to value and turns customer challenges into innovations. He shares a hardware refresh approach now deployed across dozens of customers, combining device age, experience and personas to predict replacement needs, alongside creative work in software licensing, Flow, Spark and AI—and explains why successful DEX demands experimentation, not perfection. Contact Nexthink Professional Services here: https://nexthink.com/professional-services Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What happens to careers, talent and employee experience when AI starts rewriting the rules of work? Author, analyst and HR thinker Mervyn Dinnen joins The DEX Show to explore the changing relationship between technology and people, from Gen Z entering an increasingly uncertain workplace to older generations working longer and traditional career paths beginning to disappear. They discuss AI's impact on recruitment and HR, the growing importance of human networks, the convergence of IT and people teams, and why continuous learning and curiosity are becoming essential career skills. Above all, Mervyn explains why employee experience matters more than ever in an AI-powered workplace. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

What would the workplace look like if we designed out the pointless meetings, performative busyness and endless administrative work? In this Reality Bites episode, the panel takes a recklessly optimistic journey into “Workplace UTOPIA,” imagining a future where AI removes friction without pretending to be human. They debate the end of PowerPoint, fixed job descriptions and the 40-hour week, while exploring creativity, meaningful work, human communication and the surprising value of boredom. From AI-powered meetings to the Museum of Pointless Work, the conversation asks what we should automate, what must remain human and whether technology can genuinely give us more time to live. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

As organizations race to adopt AI, how do they balance innovation with governance, employee trust and long-term business value? Laura Reeves rejoins the show alongside Simon Sankey, Senior Director of User Experience at Aon, to explore how Digital Employee Experience has become the foundation of Aon's AI strategy. They discuss earning the right to innovate, building an AI-ready organization, measuring adoption beyond support tickets, and why employee experience must remain at the centre of every transformation. The conversation also explores leadership, risk, AI Drive, and how organizations can empower people while embracing one of the biggest technology shifts in decades. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

Qualcomm has long been one of Nexthink's most innovative customers, using Digital Employee Experience data to support everything from proactive IT to the development and rollout of its own Snapdragon-powered devices. In this episode, Senior Staff IT Engineer Christopher Ord explains how Qualcomm has continued to evolve that foundation, using Nexthink telemetry, employee sentiment and AI-powered workflows to improve both employee experience and product development. Joining him is Seth White, CEO of Elllypsys, Qualcomm's Nexthink implementation partner, who discusses how specialist operational expertise is helping organisations extend and operationalise mature DEX programmes through automation, AI and continuous improvement. Download your free copy of Gartner's DEX Magic Quadrant here Register for Christopher Ord's Creative DEX AMA: Beyond the Service Desk here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today

Rising device costs, new AI workloads and changing employee expectations are forcing organizations to rethink how workplace hardware is managed. Scott Pope, Director of Value Advisory Customer Outcomes at Nexthink, returns to explore how DEXOps is replacing rigid three- and four-year refresh cycles with performance-based decisions grounded in experience data. He discusses device telemetry, AI readiness, sustainability, refurbished hardware and the emergence of “Total DEX” across laptops, mobile devices, virtual desktops and meeting-room technology. The conversation reveals why hardware lifecycle management is becoming a strategic business priority, and how DEX teams can reduce costs while improving performance and employee experience. Download your free copy of the fantastic DEX Magic Quadrant here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today Learn more about Nexthink Spark, the personal IT agent for every employee, here

What happens to your digital workplace when millions of employees stream the biggest sporting event on the planet? In this World Cup special, Mike Lovewell and David Adelman unpack Nexthink's exclusive World Cup DEX study, revealing how live football streaming affects network performance, employee experience, and productivity across the enterprise.  The discussion explores why major live events expose hidden digital workplace challenges, how DEX gives IT teams visibility into real user behaviour, and why modern IT is becoming as much about employee experience as technology. Plus, predictions for the tournament and what the future of AI-powered workplace insights might look like. Important note: David and Tom may also have underestimated England 🎉🎉🎉 Register for or read Leslie Beavers' AMA (Weds 8th, 4pm ET) on the Nexthink subreddit here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today Learn more about Nexthink Spark, the personal IT agent for every employee, here

Experience 2026 is heading to Orlando, and this special episode previews what attendees can expect from the year's biggest Digital Employee Experience event. Megan Brake, Head of Content at Nexthink, joins Mitch Trychta, Lead of Digital Employee Experience Programs & Research at Vizient, to discuss this year's "Agents of Change" theme, the evolution of DEXOps, and how AI is reshaping digital workplace strategy. They also explore new conference formats, customer-led sessions, networking opportunities, and why Experience has become a must-attend event for IT and DEX leaders—plus a few entertaining Disney stories to get everyone in the Orlando spirit. Register for Leslie Beavers' AMA on the Nexthink subreddit here Book your ticket for Nexthink Experience 2026 (October 5–7, ⁠JW Marriott Grande Lakes ⁠Orlando, Florida) today Learn more about Nexthink Spark, the personal IT agent for every employee, here