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TELUS Health partners with U.S. addiction treatment center amid substance abuse crisis in Canada
TELUS Health has partnered with U.S. addiction treatment and advocacy organization the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation to expand access to substance use disorder treatment for people across the U.S. and Canada.
In Canada, approximately 21.6 per cent of people meet the criteria for substance use disorder during their lifetime, with alcohol being the most common substance for addiction.
“Addiction is a complex but treatable disease, however, stigma is a significant barrier to prevention and treatment,” said Paula Allen, global leader, research & client insights, TELUS Health. “Collaborating with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, a world-renowned, industry-leading organization, demonstrates our commitment to address the addiction crisis unfolding in Canada and the United States.”
With this collaboration, TELUS will add substance use disorder-specific programming to its online cognitive behavioural therapy program, AbilitiCBT.
AbilitiCBT is currently being used by corporations, health care institutions, and health insurance companies to provide people with mental health support, and early intervention for alcohol and other substance use disorders, as well as ongoing recovery and family support.
Vancouver-based VERSES announces new partnership to deliver advanced analytics solutions
VERSES, a cognitive computing company, has partnered with Quebec-based SimWell, a consulting agency that specializes in creating simulation models.
This partnership seeks to leverage the rapidly growing digital twin technologies and knowledge models to deliver insights, optimization and efficiency to businesses globally.
“Spending $500K-$1M simulating your process before committing to multimillion dollar and multi-year projects only works if you trust the simulation, and with SimWell that trust has been demonstrated repeatedly around the world.” said James Hendrickson, president and general manager of VERSES.
SimWell will be the first to join VERSES’ developer network to build Intelligent Agents in its KOSMOS ecosystem, an open-source network operating system set to launch in Q3, that transforms disparate data into knowledge models to enable collaboration between humans, machines and AI.
Intelligent agents, announced in February this year, transform data into a human and machine readable knowledge model, based on which they perform actions and create predictive and reactive autonomous systems.
Last month, VERSES even rebranded to VERSES AI to show its increasing focus on leveraging novel AI technologies.
Salesforce launches Salesblazer to empower sales professionals
Cloud giant Salesforce has launched Salesblazer, a community for sales professionals to learn, connect, grow their careers and help their companies thrive with the skills they gain.
Sellers can deepen their selling skills through Salesforce’s free online learning platform, Trailhead and have access to best practices and actionable tips from top sales influencers and experts. They can also coach and network with other sales professionals through the Trailblazer community.
Ultimately, Salesblazer will offer sellers the chance to earn credentials and showcase their expertise with a Sales Representative Certification. This certification seeks to sharpen skills in sales strategy, deal management, forecasting, as well as closing deals.
Salesforce is also teaming up with Dale Carnegie, a global training and professional development organization, to enhance Trailhead content, the Sales Representative Certification, and other resources for the Salesblazer Community.
Canada’s PureFacts acquires U.S. firm
Toronto-based provider of enterprise wealth and asset management solutions PureFacts has acquired U.S.-based Xtiva Financial systems, an incentive compensation and performance management platform for the financial services industry.
PureFacts says that this acquisition makes it the most comprehensive revenue management solution for the wealth management industry and advances its commitment to deliver new innovations and seamless customer experiences to its clients.
“We know that better revenue management leads to greater revenue growth, and a key piece of that puzzle is developing and managing strategic incentive compensation plans,” said Robert Madej, founder, and chief executive officer (CEO) of PureFacts. “Our best-of-breed revenue management solution gets even better with Xtiva’s impressive track record and deep domain expertise.”
Executives on the Xtiva team, including CEO Thomas Moysak, will join the PureFacts’ leadership team and report directly to Madej.
Both companies’ development, back-office, and go-to-market activities will also be integrated.
Canada Safety Council launches Sleep Tracks to encourage road safety
Non-profit Canada Safety Council has launched Sleep Tracks, an initiative that seeks to show how sleep-inducing Canada’s roads can be.
Sleep Tracks creates a fully immersive audio experience for drivers and passengers alike, using directional microphones installed on cars and featuring three engine types – gas, electric and hybrid.
The project features tracks crafted using a combination of white noise, pink noise, purple noise, and brown noise, range between 8-10 hours long and are optimized for all stages of sleep.
The soundscapes are not intended for drivers to use while driving, but instead serves as a reminder that if the road can put you to sleep at home, it can do the same while you’re behind the wheel.
“We hope that Sleep Tracks will encourage drivers to take the hypnotic power of the road more seriously and reduce the number of tiredness-related incidents, a prevailing issue in this country that often is overlooked,” Lewis Smith, manager, National Projects for the Canada Safety Council.
The campaign kicked off on Spotify and Apple Podcasts on Mar. 20, and will appear in digital, social, late-night TV, and on the Canada Safety Council’s owned channels over the next several months. All media is targeted to hit people at bedtime (9pm – 2am).
More to explore
Feds push their clean budget at events in Alliston, Edmonton
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at Honda Canada in Alliston, Ont. last week to promote new and expanded investment tax credits in the government’s federal budget.
Accenture Technology Vision 2023 research reveals the future of AI in organizations
Accenture released new research last week called When Atoms Meet Bits: The Foundations of Our New Reality, which finds that generative artificial intelligence and other rapidly evolving technologies are heralding a new future for businesses.
Three Canadian experts in cybersecurity are skeptical of a claim by a pro-Russian hacktivist that they have breached and damaged the operational technology (OT) network of a Canadian gas pipeline company.
Last week, government representatives from the departments of Environment, Industry, and Natural Resources faced questions from members of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU), regarding the electronics, metals and plastic recycling industry in Canada, following a motion adopted in November last year.
Rogers, Bell are the most complained-about providers: CCTS study
Yesterday, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) released its 2022-23 Mid-Year Report, revealing a 12 per cent increase in the number of complaints about phone, internet, and TV services in Canada.
CleanTech North event probes complex world of tax credits
There appears to be much to be excited about as far as cleantech initiatives go following the release of last week’s federal budget. But there is also a multitude of questions that still need to be answered, particularly when it comes to how best, and how quickly, companies will be able to collect the billions of dollars in tax credits.
RCMP, FBI part of global take-down of Genesis criminal market
Police from 17 countries, including the FBI and the RCMP, have shut down the Genesis Market, one of the biggest criminal websites for selling stolen credentials and access to bots.
CCI’s take on Federal Budget 2023: Disappointment
Like many organizations across the country, the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) had a particular wish list when it came to last week’s Federal Budget 2023.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
Listen to the latest episode of Cybersecurity Today
Cyber Security Today, April 10 2023 – Cyber attack hits PC maker MSI, another GoAnywhere MFT victim and more
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances
If you live in Québec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.
