Cultivating a new CIO culture
As IT leaders, we know we must be agents of change. The main reason we have struggled to meet this new expectation is that for years CIOs were not valued for their leadership skills, per se, but rather for the project management and technical skills necessary to meet the basic block-and-tackling of IT service delivery. Now we find ourselves setting strategy and creating opportunities. We have to demonstrate we are worthy of being followed. More
Virtual democracy, by Blackberry
Rumours abound that Research in Motion Ltd. has commissioned a study of democracy’s future based on the premise of a Blackberry for all Canadians. Such a scenario, perhaps not so entirely farfetched when considering wireless penetration rates now in excess of 90 per cent across much of Northern Europe, would galvanize the emergence of a truly virtual democracy. More
Hydro boosts One network
The Smart Systems for Health Agency has announced an agreement to use broadband network infrastructure from Hydro One Telecom as the new core for its province-wide system, which hospitals and health clinics can plug into for sharing information electronically. The agency says the new system should both improve health care and help to better protect patient information privacy. More
Integrating IT for collaboration
Solving the challenge of connecting systems, people and information requires a fundamental change in the way businesses design their IT infrastructure. By optimizing their application infrastructure, organizations create an environment that fosters close alignment between business and IT, and ensure that the two work together to meet business goals. More
Finding perspective amidst IT’s green agenda
In case you haven’t heard, information technology is going “green” – or at least making the attempt. In a perfect world, we’d all be motivated to do our part, but a considerable amount of evidence suggests green is far from top-of-mind for many IT purchasers. In truth, many business and IT professionals couldn’t care less about green. More
Lost in space
Cheap and plentiful data storage can be both a blessing and a curse. It creates the illusion there is infinite space available for data on networks. This intensifies human pack-rat tendencies to hoard data instead of evaluating what’s really needed. All this accumulating data has impacts far beyond storage costs, cascading into all aspects of IT operations and management. More
BI cuts path through data jungle
Making sense of the immense piles of disjointed data amassed by government is paramount. Translating public spending into meaningful results is what earns it credibility. System integration, information lifecycle management and other initiatives to re-order information processing will take years to come to fruition. What to do in the interim with existing data and systems? More
Information management comes to the table
Canadian government IT executives recognize that data disorder in the public sector is unsustainable, but no one province has all the necessary resources to tackle all the issues. Instead of working in isolation, a new sub-committee has been formed to develop common standards and guidelines across all levels of government. More
Rescuing the Lost Citizen
A typical Canadian cannot easily find a desired government service at any level, and gets lost trying. Service Canada, the Public Sector Service Delivery Council and the Government of New Brunswick are all involved in an emerging project – a global, common-language inventory of services – that might finally give directions to the Lost Citizen. More
Q and A with Doug Horner, Alberta Minister of Advanced Education and Technology
For Doug Horner, politics and agriculture are in his blood. Alberta’s Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Horner and three generations before him have been involved with agriculture. His father, Dr. Hugh Horner, was a former minister of agriculture, and several uncles were also politically active. In conversation with senior writer Lisa Williams, it’s clear that Horner is passionate about investing in education and technology. More
Privacy, link analysis and counter-terrorism
The Canadian government can expect increasing pressure to match its IT policies with those of the United States, not least because the U.S. has had some recent success in data analysis for counter-terrorism. “We in the U.S. have become deeply convinced that enhanced exchanges of information are the key to preventing the next terrorist attack,” says Paul Rosenzweig of Homeland Security. More
