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.
Join us for the 38 th anniversary of the annual Canadian Computer Charity Golf Classic!
The Canadian Computer Charity Golf Classic will take place on September 8, 2022, at the Lionhead Golf and Conference Centre. Each year it honours a special person in the IT industry, and this year it’s Frank Squizzato, who chaired the event for 37 years, raising over C$6 million for Easter Seals Ontario and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. This year he has stepped down, and finally gets to play a round in the tournament so dear to his heart.
Sign up to play, or to be a sponsor (or both), at computergolf.ca.
DMZ and GroundBreak announce incubator program
Startup incubator DMZ and venture capital firm GroundBreak Ventures have announced that they are accepting applications for the first cohort of an incubator for startups specializing in PropTech, the intersection of real estate and technology tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges: providing solutions that combat the housing affordability crisis, helping institutions design, build, and manage healthier homes, buildings, and critical infrastructure, and solving property teams’ sustainability goals, among a myriad of other pressing issues felt globally.
The first cohort, beginning in September, will receive customized growth support from the DMZ and GroundBreak Ventures over the course of 18 months. Startups accepted into the program receive C$25,000 in grant funding, dedicated office space in the heart of downtown Toronto, 60+ hours of one-on-one mentorship time from in-house subject matter experts, and support with fundraising strategies, including introductions to investors from GroundBreak Ventures and the DMZ. To join the competitive program, founders must apply for the PropTech stream within the DMZ’s Incubator by August 14, 2022.
Celebrate Canada’s top women in cybersecurity
On July 28, 2022, IT World Canada celebrates Canada’s top women in cybersecurity in a 120-minute virtual event that will honour 20 women who are nominated by their peers as part of a three-month initiative sponsored jointly by ITWC and WISECRA. In addition to short video profiles of the women selected for the honour roll, the celebration will include a panel discussion exploring ways to get more women involved in cybersecurity, an opportunity to download related white papers, and the chance to visit sponsor breakout rooms for conversation. Register here.
IBM buys Databand
IBM has announced it has acquired Databand.ai, a provider of data observability software that helps organizations fix issues with their data, including errors, pipeline failures, and poor quality — before it impacts their bottom line, strengthening IBM’s software portfolio across data, AI, and automation to address the full spectrum of observability and help businesses ensure that trustworthy data is being put into the right hands of the right users at the right time. Databand.ai is IBM’s fifth acquisition in 2022 as the company continues to bolster its hybrid cloud and AI skills and capabilities.
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Databand.ai employees will join IBM Data and AI, further building on IBM’s portfolio of Data and AI products, including its IBM Watson capabilities and IBM Cloud Pak for Data. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition closed on June 27, 2022.
TDL Canada acquires Gentek Marketing Inc.
Trenton, Ontario-based TDL Canada has announced its acquisition of Concord, Ontario-based Gentek Marketing Inc. Financial terms were not revealed. The new company, TDL Gentek, will be led by Jeff McInnis, president, formerly the chief executive officer (CEO) of Gentek, reporting to Laurie Tugman, CEO of TDL. The new combined company will be headquartered out of Trenton, Ontario and operate over 60,000 square feet of distribution space in Concord (Gentek’s current facility), Trenton, ON, Montreal, PQ, Edmonton, AB and Paris, Ontario.
“TDL Gentek has now become a top Canadian owned and managed distributor operating at scale,” McInnis said in a statement. “The merged companies bring together over 250 world-class brands under one roof, provided to Canada’s finest channel partners, value-add resellers, and broadband operators. I am honoured to lead the team and to ensure our customers will remain at the centre of all we do.”
Eclipsys Becomes First Canadian Headquartered Oracle Cloud Partner
Eclipsys Solutions Inc. has become the only Canadian-headquartered company to be certified as an Oracle Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) based on an extensive auditing process that reviewed its success in delivering cloud migration and managed services, including customer references, staffing models, and operating processes. Customers can now buy Oracle Cloud with white-glove support included and on flexible terms. The company says that this certification recognizes Eclipsys as a partner with the skills and demonstrated experience to build, deploy, run, and manage both Oracle and non-Oracle workloads in the Oracle Cloud.