The energy data world is racing toward a milestone that promises less friction and more progress: a vendor-neutral foundation that operators, cloud providers, and innovators can all trust. We invited Stef Jacobs, Chair of The Open Group OSDU® Forum, to unpack the plan to make that real by 2026 and what it means for seismic interpretation, AI readiness, and day-to-day workflows.

We start with purpose—why a reference platform matters—and move into concrete takeaways from The Open Group Houston Summit (November 2025): a community implementation that encodes the standard, a data model designed to support seismic interpretation workflows, and the first steps toward certification. Stef explains the “Journey to Venus,” a landing point where the community delivers a neutral, coded reference that vendors can verify against and innovators can build on without lock‑in. The theme is balance: protect the open standard while encouraging a thriving ecosystem on top.

Governance and execution anchor the story. Stef shares how OKRs align a global community to enterprise-grade outcomes, using a practical example of targeting specific workflows to drive measurable progress. We explore how operators will feel the impact in real terms—cleaner interoperability, smoother AI and machine learning pipelines, and faster path from data to decisions. We also confront the hard part: sustaining the standard, keeping the community implementation evergreen, and operating a credible certification program that boosts trust without stifling innovation.

If you are interested in interoperability, seismic-ready data models, cloud-native adoption, and AI at scale in subsurface domains, this conversation lays out the why and the how. You’ll walk away with a clear picture of what 2026 delivers, why it’s pivotal, and how to get involved through focused working groups and upcoming face‑to‑face sessions.

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AI is racing ahead, and the power bill is coming due. We sit down with Forrester Senior Analyst Abhijit Sunil to unpack how energy, climate risk, and circularity now shape every serious IT roadmap—from where to place AI workloads to how to buy, refresh, and retire hardware without blowing the grid or the budget.

We trace key signals from New York Climate Week: services firms positioning tech as a decarbonization catalyst, sustainability platforms moving beyond compliance into operational decision‑making, and climate risk analytics becoming essential for business continuity. Abhijit breaks down why fragmented regulations—CSRD changes in Europe, climate disclosures in California, and emerging rules across APAC—demand better data governance, auditability, and a clear strategy for supplier requests. We dig into the practical: mapping physical and transition risks across IT estates, modeling energy resilience and long‑term capacity, and using renewable energy deals and time‑bound incentives to stabilize costs.

The heart of the conversation is a tough trade‑off many teams face today: upgrade to more efficient systems or extend existing assets to avoid embodied carbon. We offer a simple way to decide—total carbon of ownership—balancing embodied emissions, operational efficiency, grid mix, utilization, and end‑of‑life outcomes. Expect actionable insights on liquid cooling and PUE, AI workload placement across cloud and hybrid, product carbon footprint methods, and how take‑back programs can turn waste into value. We also spotlight the human side: cross‑training architects in lifecycle assessment, giving sustainability leaders fluency in cloud and chips, and making climate risk a standard gate in architecture decisions.

If you’re steering AI adoption, optimizing data centers, or preparing for sustainability audits, you’ll leave with a sharper plan and the language to win support across finance, facilities, and procurement.

Revisit our previous episode with Abhijit (from Season 1) here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2112772/episodes/13787229-open-comments-episode-14-unleashing-the-power-of-it-sustainability-a-dialogue-with-abhijit-sunil

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The ground under cybersecurity is always moving, but the smartest teams aren’t chasing shiny tools—they’re changing how they think. We sit down with John Linford, Forum Director of the Security Portfolio at The Open Group, to revisit zero trust, quantitative risk, and the education efforts that turn strategy into daily behavior. What’s different since we first decoded zero trust? A lot: AI is now a core variable on both sides of the fight, boards demand cyber risk in dollars, and supply chain assurance has become the backbone of resilience.

We unpack zero trust as a mindset shift that rejects quick-fix products and leans into continuous verification, least privilege, and measurable progress. John explains how organizations are adopting CRQ and The Open FAIR™ Body of Knowledge to translate likelihood and loss into language the board already understands, making security decisions comparable to finance and operations. We also talk about the rise of role-based security education, with new standards for security roles and glossaries that help every employee—from engineering to procurement—know what “secure” looks like in their day-to-day work.

From AI governance and data protection to SBOMs, secure-by-design practices, and trustworthy technology providers, we explore how open standards and reference models guide real-world implementation. You’ll hear where The Open Group is headed next: evolving the Zero Trust Reference Model, integrating security risk into enterprise risk management, and expanding the dependability framework that ties architecture and assurance together. If you care about scaling security without the hype, this conversation offers clear patterns, practical language, and concrete next steps.

Listen to the previous episode with John Linford from Season 1 here.

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Copyright © The Open Group 2023-2025. All rights reserved.