Mallow Podcast: Why Foundations Matter in the Age of AI

In the fourth episode of the Mallow podcast, we literally go back to the roots. CEO Jaakko Karhumaa and COO Teemu Tapanila are joined by the newest addition to the Mallow team, Juhana, who brings a long track record in Azure infrastructure and solution sales.

Although AI dominates the conversation everywhere, recent client activity has revealed an interesting trend: fundamentals like migrations, security, and cloud governance are back in the spotlight.

The return of hybrid cloud and local data centres

One of the episode's most notable observations is the return of hybrid cloud thinking. Where the goal was once "Cloud First" or even "Cloud Only", many companies are now taking a more realistic view.

Key factors driving this shift:

• Geopolitical instability: Companies want to ensure resilience under all circumstances.
• Data location and compute power: AI demands massive computing power, and sometimes it's more cost-effective to bring compute close to on-premise data.
• New data centres in Finland: Microsoft's investments in Espoo and Kirkkonummi remove many barriers for organisations that previously hesitated to move to the cloud.

Landing zones and managed growth

A few years ago, "landing zones" were often seen as a necessary chore. Now their importance has resurfaced. For an organisation to leverage data, security, and AI solutions, the foundation must be solid. Without a robust landing zone, manageability and costs spiral out of control.

Automation: It's not about saving — it's about speed

Teemu Tapanila makes an important point about automation: the goal is usually not to reduce headcount, but to shorten lead times and improve consistency.

With automation, a project kickoff that previously took weeks waiting for access rights and environments can be handled in as little as an hour. Eliminating this waste is critical for testing business value quickly.

Does the emperor have clothes? AI demands modern infrastructure

AI is ruthless at exposing weak foundations. If development processes, testing, or environment management are manual, the speed that AI brings to coding is wasted on waiting.

"If the foundation isn't solid, it will be exposed." — Jaakko Karhumaa

Modern infrastructure is a prerequisite for getting real value out of AI tools.

Mallow's "Toyota Hilux" philosophy

Towards the end of the episode, the discussion turns to resilience. Teemu compares the platforms Mallow builds to a Toyota Hilux — things that survive the end of the world. Mallow leverages self-healing systems that ensure critical services stay up and updates can be deployed without downtime.

This is made possible by Mallow's exceptional expertise. Despite being only four years old, the company has achieved Microsoft's highest specialisation level — a rarity for a firm this size. The team's seniority runs deep: even the most junior members have 10 years of experience, while the most seasoned bring up to 30 years.

Mallow's promise to clients is clear: they are not just "extra hands", but experts who dare to challenge the client and ask the hard questions to achieve the best outcome. Get in touch to continue the conversation.