Finding the Right Room: Lessons from AI // Forward Conference
For years, as a MSSP leaeder, I’ve been comfortable in rooms where IT and security professionals gather—talking about Azure deployments, security stacks, and compliance frameworks. But attending the AI Forward conference in Charlotte on October 27–28, 2025, made me realize something crucial: I needed to be in different rooms in this new AI-era.
The rooms I needed were filled with business leaders, innovators, and people who see AI not as a security challenge to be managed, but as a transformational tool to be embraced. Because here’s the truth I’ve come to understand: AI doesn’t primarily serve IT and Security. It serves people and businesses. And if we’re going to build something meaningful in this space, we need to be where those conversations are happening.
The IT Evolution: Beyond Infrastructure
In security circles, there’s a lot of hesitation around AI—and rightfully so. There’s governance to consider, data loss prevention policies to implement, and new attack vectors like LLM prompt injection to defend against. These are real concerns that can’t be dismissed.
But we’re entering a world where IT for an organization must evolve beyond backend infrastructure like Azure, AWS, and Office 365. It must go beyond the security stack of EDR, Firewalls, and Data Loss Prevention. The future of IT is about understanding how technology can serve the business itself—driving innovation, growth, and creativity while bringing employees along for the journey, not leaving them behind in fear.
That’s why I was thrilled to join All Things AI and Cognify’s AI Forward conference. It was exactly the kind of event I needed—the conversations I’d been searching for, with people who get it.
Validation, Feedback, and Real Conversations
At AI Forward, I arrived eager to share ideas and learn from other innovators. What I received was beyond my expectations: validating feedback from leaders in the space and constructive insights that will shape how I think about AI strategy moving forward.
Joseph Hanna: The AI Fund Validation
One of the highlights was my conversation and session observations with Joseph Hanna, Founder in Residence at AI Fund. Joseph’s presentations—“From Add-On to All-In: +AI is Dead. Long Live AI+” and the AI Talent panel—weren’t just informative; they were transformative.
His “Five Commandments” framework resonated deeply:
Data: It’s not about having proprietary data; it’s about making connections others don’t see.
UX: Human–machine collaboration is greenfield territory—your UX will differentiate as much as your intelligence.
Democratization: Build for the 80% who need it, not the 20% who can DIY with ChatGPT.
Niche Focus: Go deep in specialization for repeatability and defensibility.
Foresight: Move from insights to prescriptive strategy.
“Bigger, smarter is not the future of AI. The future of AI is better loop.”
This insight crystallized something powerful: the future of AI systems isn’t just about orchestrating workflows or automating tasks—it’s about creating feedback loops that make those systems smarter over time. Hanna emphasized that repeatability is customers’ second-biggest concern (after security)—and that’s a guiding principle for building lasting, reliable AI tools.
Greg Boone: The Human Edge Formula
Greg Boone’s presentation for Walk West on “AI With a Soul” delivered perhaps the most important framework for AI success:
The Human Edge = AI + Adoption + Acceleration
The revelation? Technology capability alone means nothing. Adoption is where most AI initiatives fail. Greg’s key insight cut through the noise:
“You can’t keep focusing just on your business outcomes. You have to tell people where they fit into the story arc. In the absence of information, we as humans go to the negative. When they hear nothing but your business outcomes, what they really hear is: AI’s gonna replace me.”
This is why Walk West implemented a structured 90-day AI learning challenge with their team—complete with certifications, gamification, and celebration of wins. They didn’t just deploy AI; they brought people along. The result? Trust. Trust that they could adapt. Trust that they wouldn’t be replaced. Trust that leadership cared about their growth.
The Governance Gap: Not Glamorous, But Critical
Here’s something I noticed throughout the conference: security and governance are often an afterthought. It’s not glamorous. It goes over most people’s heads. And frankly, most don’t want to talk about it.
There was even a moment when Mark Hinkle, during a presentation, ran out of time and asked the audience what they wanted to discuss: AI Governance or AI Pilots. The audience overwhelmingly chose AI Pilots. Everyone laughed, but it revealed a fundamental truth about where the industry’s attention is focused.
And I get it. Governance isn’t sexy. But it’s essential. Especially when Gartner research (shared by Celestine Pressley, former White House CIO) shows that 45–47% of AI initiatives fail to deliver expected returns, and projects can experience cost overruns up to 700% when organizations commit too early without proper governance and proof-of-value.
Moving Forward: The Right Rooms, The Right Conversations
AI Forward wasn’t just a conference for me—it was a pivotal moment. It confirmed that addressing governance and adoption challenges isn’t optional; it’s foundational. It validated the importance of putting security and human trust at the center of any AI initiative. And it challenged me to think even more deeply about adoption, UX, and the human element.
The conversations I had with Joseph Hanna, Greg Boone, Mark Hinkle, and dozens of other innovators and business leaders showed me that I’m finally in the right rooms—where AI is viewed as a tool for human empowerment, not replacement. Where security and governance aren’t barriers but enablers. Where the focus is on sustainable value, not hype.
These lessons will continue to guide how we build Flowchestra—our AI Operating System enabling natural workflow and agent orchestration —focusing on security, repeatability, and human-in-the-loop design. Because the future of AI isn’t about replacing people; it’s about empowering them.
About the Author
Raum Sandoval is CEO & Co-Founder of Flowchestra, the world's first AI Operating System, and Founder of Bakari Intelligence, a strategic consulting firm specializing in cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation. With 20+ years in managed services and cybersecurity, Raum helps businesses adopt AI securely while empowering everyday employees and supercharging productivity.
About Flowchestra: Flowchestra empowers businesses to adopt AI securely—with guided workflows, built-in governance, and real-time ROI tracking. Production-ready in days, not months. Learn more at flowchestra.com.
About Bakari Intelligence: Bakari Intelligence provides strategic consulting at the intersection of IT, cybersecurity, AI, and automation—helping MSPs, MSSPs, and mid-market businesses design and implement scalable, secure solutions. Learn more at bakari.ai.