What if the world thought of networking as a utility?

In episode 21 of the Bits and Bites podcast, the hosts welcome guests Adam Kingery, SLED master and Xan Stevenson, Head of Partner Sales at Meter, to discuss how networking has evolved and why it’s being treated as a “fourth utility” that businesses can’t operate without.

They contrast traditional networking—complex bills of materials, large upfront CapEx, multi-vendor tools, licensing tiers, and unpredictable refresh cycles—with Meter’s vertically integrated, outcome-based approach that focuses on uptime, predictable costs, lifecycle management, and simpler procurement.

The conversation highlights challenges in public sector environments like K-12 growth, security camera expansion, bandwidth demands, redundancy, and staffing retirements. They also explore Meter Command, a proactive support and AI-driven interface designed to help manage, troubleshoot, and potentially automate network operations while allowing customers varying levels of control through co-management models.

00:00 Welcome and Guests
00:36 Why Networks Matter
02:22 How Networking Evolved
04:32 Zan’s Meraki to Meter
07:17 Public Sector Network Reality
08:11 BOM Complexity and Costs
09:56 Budgeting and Future Proofing
11:30 Meter Outcome Model
15:34 Co-Managed Operations
20:07 Proactive Support and Integration
22:48 Command and Autonomous Networks
26:11 Unified Network Visibility
26:39 User Experience Troubleshooting
27:30 Autonomy Without Job Loss
28:58 IT Talent Shift Ahead
33:49 Why Meter Is Different
34:39 Vertical Integration Benefits
36:47 Apple Style Subscription Analogy
39:36 All In Pricing Simplicity
43:49 Proving Scale and Credibility
45:35 Traditional Renewal Pain Points
50:07 Right Fit and Wrap Up