About Things. Reasons.
The inside
track to
Australian I.T.
The conversation after the meeting — where scripts are dropped, vendor theatre is called out, and the real story comes out.
About the Show
Beyond the headlines.
Things. Reasons. is a podcast for people working in — and shaping — the Australian IT industry.
Every episode looks beyond the headlines to unpack what's really happening across technology leadership, cloud, AI, vendors, talent and enterprise transformation. But more importantly, it explores the reasons behind the decisions.
Why companies make the calls they do. Why projects succeed — or fail. And what leaders on the front lines are learning along the way.
Because the most interesting conversations in technology rarely happen on stage.
They happen after the meeting — when the script drops.
The Format
Four segments.
One honest conversation.
Each episode combines industry insight with real-world experience from leaders who have built, scaled and transformed technology organisations.
Things
What's happening right now that matters — the news, shifts and signals worth paying attention to.
Reasons
The real-world motivations, decisions and pressures behind those developments. Not the press release — the reality.
Subscriber Question
A sharp question from the audience about leadership, delivery or strategy — answered without the corporate polish.
Quick Fire Three
Three rapid questions that reveal how experienced leaders actually think when there's no time to overthink.
Where It Came From
Built from a long-running conversation.
Things. Reasons. grew out of decades spent working inside Australia's enterprise technology ecosystem — and a shared frustration with how those conversations were being had in public.
The Pattern
Having worked closely with CIOs, vendors, cloud providers and technology partners, Jono and Naran saw the same thing repeatedly: public conversations about IT were often polished, filtered and vendor-driven.
The Problem
The most valuable insights were happening privately between leaders — but never making it to the people who needed to hear them most.
The Goal
Create a space where those real conversations could happen publicly. Not as panels. Not as marketing. But as honest discussions between people who have actually done the work.
Meet the Hosts
Experience,
not slides.
Between them, Jono Staff and Naran McClung bring over 40 years of experience in Australian enterprise technology — cloud, cybersecurity, managed services, AI and commercial leadership.
Some conversations are strategic. Some controversial. Many unexpectedly funny. But they all aim to answer the same question.
(Jono) Staff
With over 20 years of experience in cloud infrastructure, managed services and commercial leadership, Jono drives ASE's growth in cloud, cybersecurity and AI. A straight-talking commercial leader who speaks from experience, not from slides.
Co-host · Things. Reasons.
McClung
With over 20 years in IT and cloud solutions, Naran leads Australia's fastest growing and most sophisticated Azure managed services practice at Macquarie Cloud Services. Deeply embedded in the enterprise technology ecosystem — and not afraid to say what others won't.
Co-host · Things. Reasons.The Audience & Guests
Practitioners.
Decision-makers.
People doing the work.
Things. Reasons. is listened to by a growing community of Australian technology leaders — CIOs, CTOs, cloud architects, technology executives and senior managers. The show regularly features guests from across the enterprise technology ecosystem.
What People Say
Heard from the front lines.
Loved the podcast! You and Naran bounce off each other so well — super insightful. Working in the Microsoft space, this is spot on with the insights and how to work with them to open levers and programs.
Love the expertise on display here. Great session for those Australian leaders seeking understanding and guidance in Cloud.
I stumbled upon the podcast and found it quite interesting — it succinctly gave me good insights into cloud I would not normally see as a CTO.
Naran & Jono — great podcast guys. Couldn't agree more with many of the salient points in this talk. Loved the frank, honest, mature discussion and look forward to the next episode!
Join the Conversation
Want to be a guest?
Things. Reasons. regularly features leaders from across the Australian enterprise technology ecosystem. If you have a genuine perspective to share — on cloud, AI, leadership, strategy or what's actually happening in the market — we'd like to hear from you.
Pitch yourself or someone worth hearing.
No vendor pitches. No marketing scripts. Just people who have done the work and have something real to say.
The conversation worth having. Fortnightly.
Subscribe wherever you listen, or get in touch about sponsorship.
