Office Document Strategies Blog

New Government, New IT, Things To Consider

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Nov 25, 2015 @ 09:11 AM

The Canadian IT World

A little over a month ago Canada elected a new majority government.  To say it has a different view of the country and the issues being faced than the previous one would be an understatement.  Already we can see that in some ways it is going to fundamentally change the way the country operates.  Whether those changes are for good, bad or are just different will only be known as time passes.  

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In an article earlier this month IT World Canada outlined some of the changes for the IT world as a result of the electoral change.  One thing this article points out clearly is that unlike the old cabinet which had an Industry Minister the work of technology in Canada is going to be affected differently since there are several Ministers who will have components of the IT world under their watch.

Four Ministers are identified in this article to be of consideration: Minister of Public Safety, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Minister of The Treasury Board, and Minister of International Trade.  The biggest issue on the last of these is the new Trans-Pacific Partnership which has significant impact on Canada if ratified.

For every business in Canada watching how the government deals with the many issues of IT including security, CASL, telecommunications and mobile tech, and international rules will be important as every business is impacted by these areas of regulation and operation.

Broad IT Environment

On a broader front there is much happening in industry and the overall IT environment which also has implications for business decisions.  The Third Wave of I.T. is upon us as far as many commentators believe. This wave of IT includes big data analytics, advanced mobile, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.

I think in the long run the biggest of these three is going to be the Internet of Things and this is the one which many of us have the hardest time grasping.  The concept is:` the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data` as defined by wikipedia.

So how does this concept affect business?  One way is that it creates new opportunities and potentials for new ways to do old things.  We often think of the monitor built into the fridge (one of the early Things I saw) but the applications go way beyond this today.

This morning I read an online article about a 16 year old student who has created a new business all built around the Tesla electronic supercar.  His whole concept is a direct result of the impact of the Internet of Things and shows how creative thinking which understands this concept has major potential for changing our environment.  What is even more interesting about this story is how professional his model is even in a start up mode.  My guess is he has had some serious help from someone with great marketing skills but what you see online is pretty impressive.  

All because he wanted a Tesla and his father said he could have one as long as he helped to pay for it.  There are many things that make his idea interesting but one of the biggest ones is the superb technology and software which is a critical component of the Tesla cars.

Keeping tabs on the technologies which are impacting your business is critical.  But perhaps keeping tabs on the technologies which are impacting other businesses and which might somehow flow into an impact on yours is also critical.  The Third Wave of IT is something which needs thought and consideration no matter what you do and how you do it.

Lee K

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Topics: Canadian Legislation, it, Canadian IT