podcasters.spotify.com Open in urlscan Pro
2600:1901:1:7c5::  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

TECH INSIGHTS


BY INFO-TECH RESEARCH GROUP

Welcome to Tech Insights, from Info-Tech Research Group. Join me, Brian Jackson,
and our team of expert analysts as we delve beyond the headlines in the world of
tech. We cut through all the noise and focus on what really matters for
technology leaders.
Listen on Spotify


AVAILABLE ON


Report content on Spotify
HOW ALLIANZ TOOK A BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORM FROM PILOT TO 1 MILLION TRANSACTIONS


TECH INSIGHTSFEB 08, 2022



Share
00:00
34:55
HOW ALLIANZ TOOK A BLOCKCHAIN PLATFORM FROM PILOT TO 1 MILLION TRANSACTIONS

In 2021, Allianz went into live production with a new solution to settle
international auto insurance claims involving its 25 subsidiaries in Europe. The
blockchain-based solution based on Hyper Ledger Fabric has already settled more
than 1 million transactions, automating a process that was painful and slow. In
this episode of Tech Insights, Allianz Chief Architect Bob Crozier shares how
his team went from an exploratory interest in Ethereum smart contracts to
"burning the ships" and retiring their old settlements system to run entirely on
an enterprise blockchain platform. Also, hear Bob's thoughts on whether NFTs
need insurance. This episode is part of our CIO Priorities 2022 mini-series. 

Feb 08, 202234:55

CLOSE CALL WITH RANSOMWARE: A CIO RECOUNTS A NEAR SECURITY NIGHTMARE

We recount the discovery of a ransomware attack that’s staged to execute on the
network of a mid-sized U.S.-based manufacturer. A day-by-day account of what
it’s like to discover ransomware, the severe steps that need to be taken to
contain the damage, the cyber-criminal groups looking to profit from the attack,
and the lessons learned about security needs in the current threat landscape.
Actor Michael Bedford lends a voice to our anonymous CIO in this case study, and
Info-Tech’s Senior Director of Security Workshops Sandy Silk provides analysis.

Feb 07, 202227:14

FRICTIONLESS HYBRID WORKING: HOW THE HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL DID IT

When the pandemic hit, Harvard Business School wanted its students to have an
equally rich education experience whether they were physically in the classroom
or connecting remotely. To design the technology solution that would make it
work, CIO Elizabeth Clark participated in a multi-functional team that put 4K
cameras, huge TV screens, and Zoom rooms to work and defined a process that
could be repeated in various classrooms. The approach to hybrid collaboration
was so successful that Harvard is now adapting their conference rooms so
operational staff can see some of the same benefits. Hear how Elizabeth Clark is
reducing the friction of a hybrid operating model on this episode, part of our
mini-series to highlight Info-Tech's CIO Priorities for 2022. 

Jan 28, 202235:16

HOW A FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY DODGED ‘THE GREAT RESIGNATION’

During the past year, workers have left their jobs at an unprecedented rate. The
mass migration has been dubbed 'The Great Resignation' and it's shone a light on
the importance of employee retention. Especially in IT where there is already a
shortage of technical talent available on the market, companies should make a
serious effort to keep their workers engaged and productive. Jeff Previte, the
executive vice-president of IT at CrossCountry Mortgage knows all about that.
After joining the company in 2019, he worked to address a high turnover rate. By
implementing an employee-first experience, he moved a 60% turnover rate to 10%
in just a few years time. On this episode of Tech Insights, he tells us how to
set priorities to keep your staff. We're also joined by Info-Tech senior
research analyst Nick Kozlo. This episode is part of a mini-series for
Info-Tech's CIO Priorities 2022 report.

Jan 21, 202229:43

CVS HEALTH CHAIRMAN DAVID DORMAN ON HEALTHCARE'S HYBRID FUTURE

David Dorman is no stranger to being in the captain’s chair amid a crisis.

Previously the CEO at storied telecommunications firm AT&T, Dorman shepherded
the firm through the disruption to the industry in the early 2000s. He
repositioned the firm in a rapidly modernizing environment and ultimately
delivered on selling the firm in 2005 for $16 billion.

Today Dorman is the chairman of CVS Health, a firm that owns a network of retail
locations within a 10-minute drive of 85% of the U.S. population. The pharmacy
has played a crucial role in improving Americans’ collective health during the
pandemic, delivering more than 41 million COVID-19 tests and more than 50
million vaccines. In addition to its vaccine delivery program, CVS Health has
accelerated its digital initiatives to push out services through mobile apps and
websites.  It further integrated Aetna, a health insurance firm it acquired in
2019 and launched a new virtual care platform with the brand. It also furthered
its corporate social responsibility strategy, “Transform Health 2030” and took
the lead in mandating vaccines for its own frontline staff.

A special interview with CVS Health Chairman David Dorman, joined by Info-Tech
Research Group Research Fellow Ken McGee.

Jan 14, 202242:11

RAINE MAIDA DEFINES 'PROOF OF FANDOM' FOR WEB3 WITH DRROPS LAUNCH

Can being present for an epic concert define your relationship with your
favorite artists? Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida is kicking off another web3
project with Drrops, an app that allows concert-goers to connect directly with
artists and collect unique digital collectibles. Raine helms the company as CEO,
and says big things are in store for the platform in 2022. It's his second web3
project targeting musicians after launching NFT platform S!NG earlier this year.
We speak with Raine the day after his concert in New York City at Gramercy
Theatre to debut the Drrops app. 

Jan 07, 202223:51

ENHANCING HEALTHCARE WITH DATA PLATFORMS

We live in the era of the quantified self, awash in different metrics about our
health. Yet barriers stand in the way of using health data in research studies
because of the privacy requirements around sensitive medical information and the
highly technical skills needed to use data science approaches to yield results.
Software vendor SAS is looking to supercharge healthcare efforts with its data
platform, SAS Viya, and research hospitals are already using it to investigate
big questions like the root cause of multiple sclerosis. Special guest Greg
Horne, the global principal in health care at SAS and host of The Health Pulse
podcast joins us, as does Jennifer Jones, Info-Tech's industry analyst for
health care. 

Check out The Health Pulse:
https://www.sas.com/en_us/explore/health-pulse-podcast-series.html

Nov 01, 202127:12

MICROSOFT ON THE 'PARADOX OF HYBRID WORK'

The pandemic changed the way we work, for better or for worse. At Microsoft, a
recently published study in Nature details how remote work created more
flexibility for employees, but also created more friction communicating between
different groups within the office and hindered innovation. We talk with Jason
Brommet, Head of Modern Work and Security Business Group at Microsoft about how
Microsoft's first-hand experience during the pandemic led to new product
approaches, including new features in Microsoft Teams and the new Microsoft Viva
platform for digital employee experience.

Oct 25, 202136:44

ZOHO'S CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER ON UNIQUE APPROACH TO HYBRID COLLABORATION

Zoho Corp.'s headquarters are Chennai, India and it operates remote offices in
the southern rural regions of India as well. The company's flexible approach to
work and employee-centric view helped it quickly pivot during the pandemic, and
continues to inform the software vendor's approach to its own operating model.
In an interview, Chief Strategy Officer Vijay Sundaram shares Zoho's experience
through the pandemic and how it's shaping its products to help companies
navigate a world that's mixing both remote work and office work. 

Oct 15, 202136:16

CLIO DRIVES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TO REDEFINE THE LEGAL INDUSTRY

Clio describes itself as the operating system for the legal industry. A Software
as a Service suite that is packed with all the tools a law office could want,
Clio's founders had the foresight to build their company with the capability to
expand its usefulness. By using an open API approach, Clio acts as a platform
that can integrate with other software products used by its clients. Clio's seen
its API adoption - and its client base - expand during the course of the
pandemic as legal officers were forced to adapt to remote work conditions. A
discussion with Mik Learnout, VP of Product, Clio.

Sep 27, 202128:37

NEW DISCOVERY OF THE GOLDEN RATIO IN THE ECONOMY

The golden ratio has been a subject of fascination since the days of Greek
philosophers like Pythagoras and Euclid. The ratio is commonly found in nature,
and humans have adapted it into beautiful works of art. But the latest discovery
of the golden ratio may be the most surprising of all. Bert de Groot, Professor
of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, conducted a macroeconomic analysis
to find that the golden ratio appears in the cycles of the economy. How can that
be possible? We speak with Bert about his insights on this matter, discuss what
it tells us about the digital economy, and then turn the conversation to this
study's influence on Info-Tech's Tech Trends 2022 Report with designer Jess
Leung.

Sep 20, 202121:54

UPDATE ON THE GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR SHORTAGE

The global semiconductor supply shortage is slowing down production of many
different products and threatening to hamper economic recovery. The
consolidation of the semiconductor manufacturing sector is a major factor in why
this is happening. Is it time to create a new, domestic supply chain for
semiconductors? We revisit our April 12 interview with President and CEO of
ventureLAB, Melissa Chee. 

Aug 02, 202129:40

THE NEW CORPORATION V TWITTER AND CANADA

Has social media become a part of the public square? Sure, the big-name social
media firms are all owned by private companies. But have they become so big, and
so popular, that they are now entering into the realm of a new, digital public
space? If they are, then do companies like Twitter have to respect certain rules
that would normally be reserved for public entities – like, for example, the
right to freedom of expression?

That's what Joel Bakan is arguing. The Canadian law professor is the author of
the documentary movie The Corporation and its recent sequel, The New
Corporation. The new film is critical of Silicon Valley, questioning whether big
tech has too much influence over our lives. After Twitter denied Bakan the
ability to advertise his film on its platform, Bakan decided to take legal
action against the company and the Government of Canada.

Jul 26, 202132:26

AI MOONSHOT: CANADA’S ROBOTIC ARM PLANS FOR THE LUNAR GATEWAY

Welcome to the special first-anniversary episode of Tech Insights!

As part of NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually beyond, a
new space station called the Lunar Gateway will be put into orbit around the
Moon. It will play an important role in staging missions to the Moon’s surface
and eventually onward to Mars. Canadarm3 will be Canada’s contribution to the
international project, and for the first time ever, the robotic arm will be
expected to function fully autonomously without human intervention. We explore
the preparations that the Canadian Space Agency and Canadarm3 manufacturer MDA
are making to ensure the AI is ready for the task.

Interview 1: Daniel Rey, Systems Engineering Manager and CSA Chief Engineer for
the Lunar Gateway
Interview 2: Chris Langley, AI and Autonomy Architect for Canadarm3, MDA

Related Info-Tech Blueprint: Integrate Artificial Intelligence Into Your
Manufacturing Operations
https://www.infotech.com/research/ss/integrate-artificial-intelligence-into-your-manufacturing-operations

Jul 19, 202142:47

INTEL'S FEDERAL CTO ON RANSOMWARE CRISIS AND AI IN MILITARY

*Correction: In the podcast we refer to the federal government's IT budget as
$90 trillion. The intent was to say $90 billion.

The U.S. federal government is spending more than $90 billion on IT in 2021.
That's a lot of Benjamins. When you consider that the Pentagon is reconsidering
a $10 billion cloud computing contract on its own, and that federal agencies are
trying to investigate the rise in ransomware across the country, you realize
it's totally plausible. Add in the fact that spending on AI in government is
seeing rapid growth, and you realize the spending is likely to go up from here.
To discuss how the government is approaching IT, how it could combat ransomware,
and even make use of AI we speak with a special guest on Tech Insights this week
- Steve Orrin is the federal chief technology officer at Intel.

Want to learn more about government modernization? Read Info-Tech's Gov 2.0:
government as a Platform blueprint.

https://www.infotech.com/research/ss/gov-2-0-government-as-a-platform

Jul 12, 202133:15

LESS SCREEN TIME, MORE SUMMERTIME

We revisit a previous episode of Tech Insights contemplating how much we are all
using screens during the pandemic. Now that it's summer and vaccines are rolling
out, we might feel we have more options to get out of the house. But screens can
be a hard habit to break. Amber Mac has some tips on managing your own screen
time, and managing it for your kids too. 

Jul 05, 202118:36

WINDOWS 11 REVEAL: ANDROID APPS AND A NEW MICROSOFT STORE

Windows 11 is here! Because it just makes sense. And we're here again to tell
you the highlights of the main event. Last week we gave you a preview of what to
expect from the new release. Now that Microsoft has given us the official
presentation, we have some new details to dig into. And to help me do that, I'm
joined by two Info-Tech Analysts that are fresh off watching the event. We have
infrastructure practice lead John Annand, and we have senior research analyst
Ken Weston.

Key discussion points:

- Android apps coming to Windows

- Microsoft Store and a new deal for developers

- A stumbling block in the upgrade path

- Microsoft Teams integration

Jun 24, 202131:10

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WINDOWS 11

It's a big week for Microsoft. For the first time in six years, a new version of
Windows is expected to be released. We expect that Microsoft CEO will take the
stage and reveal Windows 11 to the world on Thursday. Of course, that follows a
leaked early build of Windows 11 being released last week and making the rounds.
So in some ways the cat is out of the bag. But there is a lot we still don't
know about the big release. To discuss what we do know and what we'll be looking
for from the Microsoft event, I have am joined today by Info-Tech's
infrastructure research lead, John Annand.

Jun 21, 202121:06

NOT MEETING ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS COULD COST YOU $100,000 PER DAY

If you're like me, you use the web every day. And you do so just about as easily
as you breathe. Reading websites and accessing media is effortless. But imagine
if it wasn't. Imagine if you suddenly couldn't read the text on your favourite
news website. Or if the layout of that online store you were shopping became so
confusing that it was impossible to make sense of it. Or if you just couldn't
even type your search term into Google.

That's what using the web can be like for people that are differently-abled. The
web has generally been a pretty unwelcoming place if you are visually impaired
especially.  The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are an international
standard that's trying to change that. It aims to help web site owners adapt
their content to be accessible for as many people as possible. And this summer,
version 2.2 of the guidelines will become the official standard. That will mean
that some laws that require accessibility will also be updated. Here to tell me
more about this is Mike Cart, vice president of Siteimprove Canada.

Jun 14, 202120:12

IS AMAZON SIDEWALK A SECURITY AND PRIVACY RISK THAT'S NOT WORTH TAKING?

If you've heard about Amazon Sidewalk in this past week, it's probably through
an article that explains how you should opt out of the new feature that goes
live on June 8. "Amazon plans to share your internet with neighbours" proclaims
one headline. But what is Amazon Sidewalk? And why did Amazon think it was a
good idea to have owners of Amazon Echos and Ring cameras automatically
enrolled?

Amazon Sidewalk is a mesh network. It turns some of the connected devices you
already own into a network gateway. Now it's not a Wi-Fi gateway. It's using the
900 Mhz frequency range, which we call the LoRa network. T

Why would it do this? Well Amazon wants to enable more features for those
connected devices around your home and out in your yard. Yes, maybe even out on
the Sidewalk. It wants to help you track down your lost items that have a
connected Tile device on them. It could even help you find a lost pet, or maybe
even a person with dementia that's in your care. You could also use it to
control your devices at home, even when your internet service is disconnected.

The security and privacy concerns are real. But the big picture is a bit more
complicated than what some of these articles might have you believe. To work
through it all, I have two guests with me today on Tech Insights. We are joined
by friend of the show Alexandre Blanc. He's a cyber security expert and a
virtual CISO for hire We are also joined by Info-Tech security analyst Isaac
Kinsella. 

Jun 07, 202131:49

THE FUTURE OF FARMING IS DIGITAL

The ways that technology is transforming the farming industry are striking.
Digital transformation has reached out of our urban centers to the farmer's
fields in our rural areas. The result is that the future of farming will be
about far more than growing and selling the food that you put on your plate. 

Here today to discuss that future is Wade Barnes, the CEO and founder of
Farmer's Edge. And we are also joined by Info-Tech Research Group Principal
Research Director Sandi Conrad. 

May 31, 202130:53

PROJECT STARLINE AND POST-PANDEMIC WEB CONFERENCING TRENDS

At Google I/O this week, the Silicon Valley giant showed off a vision of what
web conferencing might be like in the future. It's called Project Starline and
you know they had a dramatic marketing video ready to introduce the technology.
We discuss the implications, but Project Starline isn't going to change my
experience - or yours - anytime soon. It's a prototype. That got me wondering
what actual web conferencing vendors are doing to make my experience a little
bit better in the months ahead. We discuss with Info-Tech analyst Thomas
Randall.

May 24, 202124:18

HOW TECH CAN HELP PRO SPORTS RECOVER FROM MAJOR DISRUPTION

With NBA and NHL playoffs starting this week, we're revisiting this episode on
how pro sports are modernizing. Originally aired Aug. 19, 2020.

COVID disrupted pro sports leagues around the world just like it disrupted the
rest of society. The implications for this multi-billion dollar industry are
still being realized. At the moment, we have players competing in empty stadiums
so we can all watch it on TV. Some leagues have collected all of their players
and team staff in isolated "bubbles" to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Tied to it all is a lot of new technology. At first blush, it looks like tech to
help keep players healthy. But look a bit closer and you might realize this is
an accelerating trend towards an enhanced understanding of player performance.

Coming in off the sidelines to put some points on the board now is Hans Eckman,
principal research director in Applications at Info-Tech Research Group.

May 17, 202122:07

IS THE CLOUD SECURE?

We’ve all heard of the cloud, and many of us have even migrated some or all of
our workloads to AWS or Microsoft Azure. But can we trust it? Putting our most
important data and resources in someone else’s datacenter and managing them with
a fancy new software layer requires a lot of trust. On this episode of Tech
Insights, Abdul Kittana, co-founder of A Secure Cloud, talks about his company’s
unique approach to helping customers manage their cloud environments and answers
the ever-important question: is the cloud secure?

May 10, 202118:26

WHO TOOK CONTROL OF THE PENTAGON'S IP SPACE AND WHY?

A company called Global Resource Systems came out of nowhere and started
announcing that it had control over a huge portion of internet real estate that
used to belong to the Pentagon. This internet space is called IPV4, and it's
crucial to how traffic is routed around the world. Now this portion of space
that belonged to the Pentagon has never been active before. It's sort of like
land that's not developed. There's no roads to it. Nothing is built on it.
Nobody goes there. But with Global Resource Systems - we'll call them GRS -
making this announcement, that suddenly changed very quickly. Suddenly there's a
ton of traffic going to this block of IPV4 space. 

So many questions abound. Why did the Pentagon give control over this space to
an unknown company? What does it mean that it now controls so much IP space?
Should organizations that are navigating the internet be worried about this? To
help me sort it all out, we have a special guest on the podcast today. Mark
Jeftovic is the CEO of EasyDNS. He's also a member of the Canada chapter for the
Internet Society.

May 03, 202126:52

WHY FORMANT CONNECTED A REMOTE CONTROL SPOT TO THE WEB

Ever since I saw Spot, the robot dog developed by Boston Dynamics, I’ve wanted
to drive it. Well, I finally got my chance. Controlling it through my web
browser no less. And I couldn’t even believe it was happening. San
Francisco-based firm Formant made it possible. It used Spot to show off its
robot command center and the experience was so good I thought it was fake. But
here to convince me that it was in fact real, we have the CEO of Formant, Jeff
Linnell.

Play with Spot - www.formant.io 

Apr 26, 202126:04

HOW VIRGINIA IS FIGHTING THE PANDEMIC WITH AN ADVANCED DATA STRATEGY

The vaccine rollout is hitting full steam in the United States. Hundreds of
millions of vaccine doses have been delivered into people’s arms. The vaccine
distribution effort is crucial to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. And to get
those vaccine doses into people’s arms, you need a good registration system. And
to have a good registration system, you need good data management.

Today's special guest  Carlos Rivero is the Chief Data Officer for the
Commonwealth of Virginia. We are also joined by Info-Tech’s data practice lead,
Andy Neill. Carlos discusses how the Commonwealth's centralized registration
portal was key to driving a smooth vaccine rollout and details the data
architecture features of the system. Virginia also used its open data portal to
make available key data sets related to COVID-19 infections, illustrating how
different communities are impacted by the virus. We also discuss the
Commonwealth's data trust and how it sets up a legal framework to enable data
sharing in a privacy-protective way. 

This episode of Tech Insights was also recorded as video that will be featured
on Info-Tech's social media channels. 




Apr 19, 202131:45

WILL THE SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLY SHORTAGE DISRUPT YOUR BUSINESS?

Did you see that the new Apple car came out? Well, almost. The Wall Street
Journal did a tongue in cheek arts and crafts project for a video it released on
April 5. The video features an iPhone that’s been modified to look like a car.
It looks pretty fun. But the really interesting part is the demonstration of how
many components an iPhone and a car have in common.

The Wall Street Journal made this video to show us why it makes sense that Apple
would even try to make a car. In doing so, they make another compelling point.
Computer chips, or semiconductors, are ubiquitous. They are in so many different
products that we use every day. Phones. Cars. Toys. Even light bulbs. And guess
what? The world is facing a chip shortage. It’s causing major supply line issues
and production slowdowns in various industries. Some are calling it
‘chipaggedon’. I think that’s pretty dramatic, so maybe I’ll call it the silicon
slowdown. 

President and CEO of ventureLAB Melissa Chee joins us. And we also have John
Annand, our infrastructure practice lead at Info-Tech.

Apr 12, 202127:37

POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND CEO SENTIMENT

Since World War 2 there have been three really major economic crises. You can
mark these moments by times when gross domestic product growth plummeted down
towards near 0 or worse. The energy crisis of 1982 led to a global recession and
jobs crisis. Then We made it all the way to 2008 before the next melt-down.
Remember, that was the sub-prime mortgage crisis. We rebounded after that and
made it to 2020. And I don't have to remind you why we dipped into that
recession. But the good news is we've already bounced back.

We hear an economic outlook for the post-pandemic period and how CEOs are
feeling about the near term with guest Ken McGee, a research fellow at
Info-Tech. 

Apr 05, 202123:19

INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE GROUP CEO ON THE POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE OF WORK

According to Info-Tech's data, 98% of employees say they would like to work from
home to some extent. So this past year, we've got our chance.

The question is: what happens next? The vaccines are being distributed. We could
be free of the worry of COVID-19 infection soon enough. Does that mean we'll all
be rushing back to the office? Or have we grown accustomed to the comforts of
working from home? Or will working together take on an entirely different
approach in the future?

To discuss this with us today we have a special guest, the CEO of International
Workplace Group Americas Wayne Berger. And we are also joined by Info-Tech
analyst Jane Kouptsova.

Mar 29, 202135:43

RAINE MAIDA'S STARTUP IS AN NFT APP FOR MUSIC

Raine Maida is Juno-award winning musician best known as the lead singer of Our
Lady Peace and he's also the recipient of the 2014 Allan Waters Humanitarian
Award. Now he's the chief product officer at S!NG, an app that wants to help
musicians collaborate by using NFTs. Raine and CEO Geoff Osler talk about their
vision for S!NG, discuss the utility of NFT technology, and share their
excitement for the potential that NFTS hold for creators to establish a new
relationship with their audience. 

Mar 22, 202127:09

HOW TO READ INTO SIGNALS OF FUTURE TRENDS

You don't need an AI platform to practice foresight. Futurists are people that
make a practice of tuning that trends dial and are able to isolate signals
clearly. And you can be a futurist too. In this podcast, learn how to use
techniques including: SPLEET analysis, scenario planning, and second-order
effects.

Here to help us with our desire to predict the future are two of my colleagues.
David Glazer, is the strategy and innovation practice lead at Info-Tech. Adib
Ghubril, is an executive advisor at Info-Tech. 

Mar 15, 202126:26

ESPORTS GAMBLING GOES MAINSTREAM

e-Sports are a big deal. The industry has already grown to $1.5 billion in
annual revenue. It's conceivable that e-Sports might even overtake actual sports
in the future. And just like there is a major betting industry built around
traditional sports, there is a burgeoning betting business emerging around
e-Sports. Here to talk to us about that today is Steven Salz. He's the CEO of
Rivalry, an internationally-regulated sports betting and media property. We also
have Hans Eckman, a principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group. 

Mar 08, 202132:20

WHEN MISINFORMATION IS A FEATURE, NOT A BUG

During the U.S. election last fall, tech giants hosting user-generated content
finally felt they had to take action against the misinformation being hosted on
their platforms. That lead to other lesser-known platforms courting the banned
users as a strategy to increase their user base and overall audience. What are
the risks of misinformation gaining a new foothold on the Internet when it's so
important that a majority of our population opt into receiving the COVID-19
vaccine to end the pandemic?

We discuss the current misinformation climate with Alexandre BLANC, vCISO, VARS
Corporation and Eric Cabral, a research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group.

Mar 01, 202129:00

HOW TO HIRE PEOPLE OF COLOR

It's Black History Month and today we're going to focus on what companies need
to do to improve their ability to hire people of color, and then retain them.

Like so many things, good diversity practices are driven from the top of the
organization. You need executives to be open to doing things differently, to
working with different types of people. Unfortunately the view of many leaders
doesn't match the reality of the situation. The tech sector severely lacks a
diverse workforce. Yet 68% of leaders feel like they are already creating
inclusive environments where employees can be themselves and raise concerns and
innovate without fear of failure. However if you ask their employees if they
agree, well only 36% of them do.

Allison Straker is a research director and Ugbad Farah is a senior research
analyst, both with Info-Tech Research Group. They walk us through their
research.

Feb 22, 202127:23

HOW TO HAVE AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS AROUND DIVERSITY

Remember the movie Hidden Figures? It was an award-winning movie from 2016. It
was even nominated for best picture at the Oscars. It is about three black women
who broke through a very white, male culture at NASA and contributed mathematics
that helped get Americans into space, and eventually to the moon. It's been a
long time since the '60s and there is still a lot of work left to be done.
Especially in the tech sector. As of 2020, black and Hispanic employees make up
an average of only 6% of the staff at tech giants Apple, Facebook, Google, and
Microsoft. 

So we need some help to get past some more awkward conversations. Here to help
us with that today is Cinnamon Clark, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Services at McLean and Co.

Feb 15, 202132:02

TOP 5 CIO PRIORITIES FOR 2021

The theme for Info-Tech's 2021 CIO Priorities Report is resilience. Guest Travis
Duncan, a research director in applications at Info-Tech explains the priorities
and why they are at the top of the list:

#1 Create an appropriate budget reserve

#2 Refocus IT risk planning

#3 Strengthen organizational change management capabilities to maximize
technology investments

#4 Establish capacity awareness to optimize resource utilization.

#5 Keep emerging tech in view to capitalize on innovations.

Feb 08, 202126:11

HOW IT CAN HELP HEALTHCARE WORKERS POST-PANDEMIC

Throughout the pandemic, we've seen many efforts to express gratitude for
healthcare workers. And they deserve it. Treating patients with COVID-19 means
that healthcare workers are risking their lives every day, just by going to
work. A study that came out in The Lancet in November demonstrated that
healthcare workers, and especially nurses, have a higher rate of infection for
coronavirus than non-healthcare workers. Not only are they taking that risk, but
they are burned out. Overloaded intensive care units has stretched hospital
staff to their limits. And now we're asking that same group of people to help us
roll out the vaccines as fast as possible. 

It wouldn't be fair to healthcare workers if we didn't learn some lessons from
this pandemic. From an IT perspective, there is an opportunity here to help
reduce the risks faced by healthcare workers, and help reduce their workloads
overall. Virtual healthcare is one promising area to explore here. Addressing
the failures of the long term care home model is another. We have Jennifer
Jones, Info-Tech's industry analyst for healthcare. And we're also joined by a
special guest today. We have Shash Anand, the vice-president of product strategy
at SOTI, an enterprise software vendor. 

Feb 01, 202125:21

IT TALENT TRENDS 2021

We're discussing Info-Tech's new IT Talent Trends for 2021 with report author
Rebecca Factor, a senior research analyst at Info-Tech. 




The five trends are:

Remote Work is Here to Stay

The Rise of DEI in the Workplace

A Greater Emphasis on Wellbeing

A Shift of Skills Priorities 

Uncertainty Unlocks Performance

Jan 25, 202124:08

SLAY THE INVISIBLE DRAGON: CONQUER YOUR TECHNICAL DEBT

If you don't expose the problems in your infrastructure, they can quickly
overwhelm your employees and your business. The concept of technical debt has
its roots in the agile approaches honed by software developers in the '90s. It's
the root of many IT problems including way too much time spent on maintenance.
Just like real debt, the interest can build up over time if you don't pay it off
and really cripple your company. We talk with Andrew Sharp a senior research
analyst in the operations practice at Info-Tech about his just-published work in
this area.

Jan 18, 202121:32

IMPLICATIONS OF THE SOLARWINDS HACK

The headlines were everywhere. Hackers infiltrated the U.S. government and some
private firms by exploiting vulnerabilities in SolarWinds' network management
software. More than 250 networks were pierced and it's believed that Russia's
S.V.R. intelligence service is behind the attack. Other vendors like Microsoft
and FireEye also say they were breached in the attack. 

For IT pros that are accountable for security and returning from the holidays
wondering what this means for them, today we will recap the news and explore
some practical steps to take to ensure vendors aren't creating security
problems. Joining me to help me with that is Howard Solomon, a cyber security
reporter that is a main contributor to ITWorldCanada.com. We also have an
analyst from Info-Tech's cyber security team. Jimmy Tom.

Jan 11, 202127:19

HOW SALESFORCE WILL MAKE EINSTEIN SMARTER IN 2021

Salesforce launched Einstein, its artificial intelligence tool, in 2016. It was
memorable because of the marketing materials, featuring a cute cartoon of the
world's most misquoted-scientist. It was also memorable because of the unique
capabilities Einsten brought to the table. This wasn't some sort of algorithm
builder for data scientists. It was a smart assistant woven into the platform.
As Salesforce liked to tell me, it "democratized" artificial intelligence. So
today we're getting an update on Einstein and how it's grown with the Salesforce
ecosystem. Here to tell us about it is Sanjna Parulekar, a Senior Product
Marketing Manager, of Salesforce Einstein at Salesforce. 

Jan 04, 202127:47

MICROSOFT'S PLAN TO BECOME CARBON NEGATIVE BY 2030

Digital technologies can help get us meet the IPCC goal of net-zero carbon
emissions by 2050. Typically technology is only considered from an
emissions-producing viewpoint. Computers need electricity, and in most cases
using electricity means creating carbon emissions. But what's not often
considered is the impact that digital technologies could have in reducing
emissions in other sectors. One estimate suggests that it could reduce global
carbon emissions by 15% by the year 2030. So here today to talk with us about
using digital technologies to achieve sustainability goals is Michelle
Lancaster, director of sustainability partnerships at Microsoft. Not only does
Microsoft have a plan to be carbon neutral, but it plans to erase all of its
historical emissions too.

Dec 17, 202042:44

HOW THE CITIZEN DEVELOPER HELPS SOLVE LOCAL COMMUNITY PROBLEMS

Toronto has a legacy of citizens volunteering their time to contribute
technology solutions for local problems. In recent years the City has actively
embraced that trend and now maintains a huge open data portal. Aside from
transit data, you can find data about waste collection, bicycle sharing, child
care, water quality at the beach, and events across the city. One group that's
latched on to the movement to take that data and turn it into products and
services for residents is Civic Tech Toronto. It hosts hack nights weekly,
dedicated to finding solutions to civic challenges through technology and
design. 

Joining me today on Tech Insights to discuss all this is Skaidra Puodziunas.
She's the senior engagement advisor, Ontario Digital Service and she's also a
co-organizer at Civic Tech Toronto.

Dec 14, 202033:56

HOW DO YOU INNOVATE THROUGH DESIGN THINKING?

Kenneth Grange is a British industrial designer behind many famous household
items. He was prolific over his 40-year career, designing everything from Kodak
cameras, to Imperial typewriters, and even the nose cone of the British Rail
high-speed train. But the story my colleague keeps telling me about is how
Grange revolutionized the design of the sewing machine. In 1971 redesigned the
sewing machine to allow more table space in front of the needle, instead of the
old convention of putting the needle right in the middle of the table. It's a
change that seems self-evident, yet it took decades before it ended up in
product design. 

So now here to tell you the same story about Kenneth Grange and talk about what
organizations can learn from this sort of approach, I'm joined by my colleague
Vivek Mehta, a research director at Info-Tech Research Group.

Dec 07, 202024:17

THE FLEXIBLE FUTURE OF CLOUD COMPUTING WITH APTUM

Cloud spending is still growing. Just not as fast as it was a year ago. But many
expect that will change next year, with the return of growing growth. (If that
makes any sense). Why? Well IT budgets might be better off if the economy
returns to life. And many companies are realizing they need access to cloud
services to stay competitive. If you can't hire a team of data scientists, you
can still tap into AI by using a service like Amazon SageMaker. Also, a lot of
governments are waking up the cloud era and realizing that they just haven't
created enough rules for this area yet. Different regions around the world are
introducing new regulatory requirements about how data is stored, transferred,
and accessed. To react to new laws, companies want improved agility. Here today
to walk us through it all is Craig Tavares, the global head of cloud at Aptum.

Nov 30, 202037:59

WHAT YOUR VENDORS WON'T TELL YOU ABOUT MANAGING CLOUD COSTS

The cloud has totally changed the way we pay for IT. Its operating costs model
where you pay for what you need, when you need it, has its advantages. You don't
need to invest in expensive servers to deploy an infrastructure, you just have
to sign in to your Amazon account. But there are downsides too. Most businesses
have a hard time estimating just how much cloud compute they will really need.
According to the State of the Cloud report, 46% of IT users say they exceeded
their cloud budget, and another 32% just didn't know if they had or not. 96%
believe they could save money, if only they could optimize their cloud spend.
But optimizing is easier said than done. Here to tell me how we might be able to
achieve it is Derek Shank, a research analyst in Infrastructure and Operations
at Info-Tech Research Group. Welcome Derek.




Please rate us on Apple Podcasts!

Nov 23, 202026:12

AI AS FASHION DESIGNER WITH IDRIS MOOTEE

Urbancoolab’s AI machine is collaborating the next wave of tastemakers from a
crosswind of creative fields in including those in music, fashion, visual arts,
technology, sports, food and everything in between. You might ended up picking a
piece that is co-designed by machine with people such as Kiesza, Smif-N-Wessun,
Command Sisters, Chris Crack, Sandy Gill or other artists.  Today's guest Idris
Mootee is the CEO and co-founder of Urbancoolab. He's also the former CEO and
co-founder of Idea Coutour and the former global chief strategist for Blast
Radius. And he's the author of Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation. Also on
this episode is David Glazer, the practice lead of Info-Tech's strategy and
innovation practice. 

Visit Urbancoolab at: https://urbancoolx.com/

Nov 16, 202034:14

HOW WILL WE WORK WITH AI IN 2035?

Today, we're going to look at a vision for the year 2035. It's a vision that
still has AI at work as a focal point. But not humanoid robots. It's a survey of
500 executives and 1,000 employees about what they think work will look like in
15 years. The study was conducted by Oxford Analytica and Coleman Parks with the
support of technology vendor Citrix. Respondents were based in the U.S. and
Europe. Joining us to discuss the findings of the survey is Tim Minahan, the
Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer at Citrix. We
are also joined by Info-Tech's resident expert in artificial intelligence,
Natalia Modjeska. 

Nov 09, 202032:06

AMBER MAC ON SCREEN TIME AND MENTAL HEALTH

Here we are more than six months into the pandemic and I've got something on my
mind. COVID-19 means more staying at home, and staying at home means more screen
time. What are the effects of that on our mental health? I know that I feel a
lot better when I've had time to disconnect and get away from screens. I suspect
you might feel the same way. But the data shows its getting a lot harder to do
just that. We discuss strategies to stay sane in a world where screen time is
all the time with Amber Mac, a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and
technology journalist. 

Oct 29, 202016:58
Show more episodes
© 2024 Spotify AB
CareersLegalHelp
App StoreGoogle Play