Alistair Russell
Co-founder and CTO
29 posts
Operations in practiceIT service desk process: where requests stallSix stages turn an IT request into a closed ticket, and most of the wait sits between systems. Where the IT service desk process stalls, and what to fix first.
Operations in practiceEmployee offboarding: why access outlives the jobSomeone left in March and can still log in to the CRM in June. Why access outlives the employee, and what to fix in the offboarding process.
Executive perspectives5 surprises from Gartner App Summit EMEATwo days on the Tray.ai booth at Gartner Application Innovation Summit EMEA surfaced what enterprises really want from vibe-coded app governance.
Operations in practiceThe 9 best n8n alternatives in 2026, comparedA comparison of n8n alternatives for 2026, with published pricing where it exists, self-hosted and managed options, and a clear sense of where each one fits.
Operations in practiceThe 8 best MuleSoft alternatives in 2026, comparedA comparison of MuleSoft alternatives for 2026, with published pricing where it exists, cloud and hybrid options, and a clear sense of where each one fits.
Operations in practiceThe 8 best Boomi alternatives in 2026, comparedA comparison of Boomi alternatives for 2026, with published pricing where it exists, cloud and on-premises options, and a clear sense of where each one fits.
Operations in practiceThe 7 best Make alternatives in 2026, comparedA comparison of Make alternatives for 2026, with published pricing where it exists, managed and self-hosted options, and a clear sense of where each one fits.
Operations in practiceThe 7 best SnapLogic alternatives in 2026, comparedA comparison of SnapLogic alternatives for 2026, with published pricing where it exists, pipeline-first and orchestration-first options, and where each one fits.
Executive perspectivesThree things stop your app from shippingAI-built apps stall on credentials, hosting, and access control. Here is what it takes to get past them.
Operations in practiceSubscription provisioning: why customers waitA customer signs on Friday and waits until Wednesday for the seats they bought. Why provisioning drifts from the contract, and what to fix first.
NewsEveryone builds now. Almost nothing ships.Less than 5% of AI-built apps ever reach production, and the ones that do ship ungoverned. Tray Helix closes both gaps.
Executive perspectivesThe biggest MCP upgrade yet makes MCP harder to depend onThe new spec is a real step up for MCP. It also deepens the split across the thousands of servers already in use, so what you can rely on barely improves.
Agent development and automationMCP server lifecycle: why changes break agentsA tool changes its inputs on a Friday and every agent that used it fails. Why MCP servers need owners, versions and retirement dates.
Operations in practiceLead deduplication: why duplicates come backA bulk merge clears the CRM, and three months later the duplicates are back. Why exact-match dedupe fails, what it costs, and what to fix first.
Agent development and automationAI agent evaluation: why agents pass the demoOne line changes in the agent's instructions, and it stops escalating. Why AI agents pass the demo and fail the week after, and how to test before each release.
Operations in practiceSalesforce to Snowflake: why the copy driftsThe first load works. Then a field is renamed, records are deleted, and the warehouse disagrees with Salesforce without saying so. Why the copy drifts and what to fix first.
Architecture and integrationReverse ETL vs ETL: what changes, and for whomETL loads the warehouse and reverse ETL sends its answers back out. How triggers, workloads, destinations and builders differ, and when one platform fits.
Architecture and integrationChange data capture: why CDC falls behindA nightly query on a modified date never sees a deleted row. Why change data capture pipelines fall behind production, and what to fix first.
Agent development and automationThe enterprise guide to LLMs: Selection, integration, and architectureLearn how enterprises choose, integrate, and govern LLMs. A practical guide to model selection, RAG, orchestration, and building AI systems that scale.
Agent development and automationA practical MCP governance frameworkThe Model Context Protocol (MCP) accelerates AI agent building, but without governance, it risks data and control. See how to secure it for enterprise use.
Executive perspectivesThe four blockers to AI agent adoption (and how to fix them)AI agent adoption is harder than building agents. Learn the four biggest challenges preventing enterprise AI agent adoption and how to fix them.
Agent development and automationEverything you need to know about MCPMCP standardized the interface, not the security or governance of what runs on it. What the protocol does well, and what production deployment still needs.
Executive perspectivesHow to build AI agents that actually work (not just chat)An agent that only answers questions is a search box. Getting one to reset MFA or provision access takes knowledge grounding, guardrails and real tools.
Executive perspectivesTop 5 must-haves to successfully build and deploy AI agentsIn a survey of more than a thousand enterprise leaders, 79% expected data problems to slow their agent rollout. What a platform needs to reach production.
Architecture and integrationWhat is API integration? A practical guideAPI integration is how your systems share data automatically. What an API is, the common integration patterns, and what building one actually costs.
NewsQ&A Part 3: Ensuring data security with Tray Merlin AIEverything you wanted to know about Merlin, the new natural language automation capability in the Tray platform.
NewsQ&A Part 2: Supercharge automation with Tray Merlin AIMore answers from the Merlin Megacast: Merlin as an automation assistant, data extraction and summarization, workflow creation, and data queries.
NewsQ&A Part 1: Unleashing the power of Tray Merlin AIWhat is the difference between natural language automation and conversational automation? The Merlin Megacast questions we ran out of time to answer live.
- NewsTransforming AI into action: An inside look at Tray Merlin
Discover how Tray Merlin AI is changing the game in automation by transforming Large Language Model outputs into powerful automated workflows.
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