The B2B Tech Digest is a list of articles and posts on technology in 2019 and 2020 that got our attention, that we’ve read and annotated. Check out our B2B Sales and Marketing Digest as well.

UPDATED: Sep 19/20 | NOTE: If link to article is taking too long to load, you’ll see a blue PAC man eating dots, just refresh your browser. – Chris

2020

Week of Sep 14

• 5 things Vendors should know | eChannel News
• Amazon challenger Snowflake raises over $3 billion in IPO | Digital Commerce 360

Week of Sep 7

• Don’t expect ‘the flying cars’ of remote learning this fall, but it’s got to be better, experts say | IT World Canada
• Ontario’s construction industry shows supports for COVID-Alert, but also seeks wearable alternative | IT World Canada

Week of Aug 31

• Cisco donation aids McMaster bioinformatics program that helps track COVID-19 | IT World Canada
• 5 Things Tech Companies Should NOT Be Doing | eChannel News

Week of Aug 24

• There are 1.15 million SMBs in Canada – only three have passed CyberSecure Canada’s certification test | IT World Canada
• Rackspace: Cloud cost optimization an IT pain point | TechTarget

Week of Aug 17

• A new survey from Aptum demonstrates exactly how essential cloud computing has become in the country [Canada] | ECN
• 7 steps to prepare IT for a second-wave COVID-19 outbreak | CIO.com

Week of Aug 10

• Nearly 70% of fraud phishing attacks are directed at Canada: RSA report | IT World Canada
• Ottawa agrees to explore ‘wearable’ COVID-19 device after concerns from Ontario construction union | Globe and Mail

Week of Aug 3

• 7 issues keeping CIOs up at night | CIO.com
• Ontario’s construction industry pushes for wearable COVID-19 tracing app | Globe and Mail

Week of Jul 27

• CIOs rethink the 18-month IT plan, post-COVID | CIO.com
• National Response Portal enables hospital data sharing to combat coronavirus | CIO.com

Week of Jul 20

• Hackers Tell the Story of the Twitter Attack From the Inside | NY Times
• COVID-19: Manufacturers adjust to the faster growth of ecommerce | Digital Commerce 360

Week of Jul 13

• 4 Technology Priorities for Enterprises Preparing for Economic Downturn | Bizagi
• Digital Transformation During the Pandemic | The New Stack

Week of Jul 6

• Harris expands its utilities portfolio with the acquisition of SilverBlaze | Harris
• Microsoft’s IoT business gets major boost after CyberX acquisition | IT World Canada

Week of Jun 29

• How to make the tech industry more inclusive | CIO.com
• AWS launches Amazon Honeycode, a no-code mobile and web app builder | TechCrunch

Week of Jun 15

• The new CIO charter, Page 1 | CIO.com
• Xplornet sold to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners | IT World Canada

Week of Jun 8

• The work from home experience will be a differentiator for organizations | IT World Canada
• COVID-19 Economic Recovery: Using Data to Predict Lockdown Easing | Pecan AI

Week of Jun 1

• Telus ditches Huawei for Nokia and Ericsson for its 5G network | IT World Canada
• Telecom firms urge CRTC not to order broad network access to resellers [PDF] | Globe and Mail

Week of May 25

• In a First, Twitter Adds ‘Unsubstantiated’ Warning to 2 of President Trump’s Tweets | Time
• Ontario health unit website leaves COVID-19 test results and names accessible | IT World Canada

Week of May 18

• What’s Going On With Oracle? | CRM Buyer
• Who’s Going to be a 5G Winner? | Cisco Blogs

Week of May 11

• Using technology to protect vulnerable communities | Cisco Blogs
• CIO Strategy Council director says its new standards needed while legislation ‘catches up’ | IT World Canada

Week of May 4

• More than 90,000 join IBM for Digital Think conference | IT World Canada
• Shopify steps into Amazon territory with consumer app [PDF] | Globe and Mail

Week of Apr 27

• Telus invests $3.5B in Alberta for wireless and wireline network capacity boost | IT Business
• NHS rejects Apple-Google coronavirus app plan | BBC

Week of Apr 20

• Channel chiefs weigh in on COVID-19’s impact on partners in new report | Channel Daily News
• Cisco, Dell announce relief packages for embattled customers and partners | Channel Daily News

Week of Apr 13

• Internet service in western Colorado was so terrible that towns and counties built their own telecom | Colorado Sun
• Apple, Google Announce COVID-19 Smartphone Contact Tracing in Rare Partnership | Time

Week of Apr 6

• The Vital Role Of Big Data In The Fight Against Coronavirus | Forbes
• Forget optimistic scenarios and buckle up for a big drop in IT spending this year, says IDC | IT World Canada

Week of Mar 30

• The Tech That Could Be Our Best Hope for Fighting COVID-19—and Future Outbreaks | Time
• This Is Silicon Valley’s Chance to Step Up for Humanity | Wired

Week of Mar 23

• Canadian ICT spending could shrink by 5 per cent in 2020: IDC | IT World Canada
• Ingram Micro announces two new partner financing programs in response to COVID-19 | Channel Daily News

Week of Mar 16

• Canadian expert says Honeywell’s quantum computer could be ‘remarkable’ | IT World Canada
• Dell Technologies sells RSA to Symphony Technology Group consortium for over $2 billion | Channel Daily News

Week of Mar 9

• Bank of Canada decides against launching digital currency, but leaves door open [PDF] | Globe and Mail
• Gartner says nearly half of privacy compliance technology to rely on AI by 2023 | IT World Canada

Week of Mar 2

• Meet four startups impressing customers – and venture capitalists – by turning lofty visions into executed plans [PDF] | Globe and Mail
• Veritas country manager says cloud governance misconceptions still a problem | Channel Daily News

Week of Feb 24

• Libraries Turn to Cloud Computing for Storage Needs | Nutanix
• Shopify to take on Amazon for Vancouver’s tech talent | Globe and Mail

Week of Feb 17

• Our Favourite Data Science Trends for 2020 | Indellient
• Telus leads $120-million investment in Ontario urban-tech startup Miovision | Globe and Mail

Week of Feb 10

• ‘If I could work without VARs I would be okay with that,’ says Farrow CIO | Channel Daily News
• Top Hat Raises $55M in Series D Funding (News Release) | Top Hat

Week of Feb 3

• Canada’s privacy commissioner asks for input to address AI privacy concerns | IT World Canada
• Geotab CEO believes telematics market ripe for disruption | Commercial Carrier Journal

Week of Jan 27

• Google executive joins Toronto’s Radical Ventures to help fund Canadian AI startups | Globe and Mail
• Canada’s privacy commissioner asks for input to address AI privacy concerns | ITWorld Canada

Week of Jan 20

• Selecting the Right Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) Technology | IoT for All
• How AI (and Mushrooms) Are Helping Fight Poverty in China’s Most Remote Villages | Time

Week of Jan 13

• Brookfield Infrastructure buying storied but debt-laden U.S. telecom Cincinnati Bell | Globe and Mail
• A two-legged delivery robot has gone on sale—and Ford is the first customer | MIT Technology Review

Week of Jan 6

• Artificial Intelligence Principles Issued by White House | Bloomberg Law
• Smart Cities: A New Look at the Autonomous-Vehicle Infrastructure | IoT for All

2019

Week of Dec 30

• Smart Heavy Metal: Retrofitting IoT in Brownfield Industrial Sites | IoT for All
• Here’s What SMBs Consider When Evaluating New Technology | Marketing Charts

Week of Dec 23

• Canada not under pressure to deploy 5G due to ‘excellent’ 4G networks: report | MobileSyrup
• German court bans Uber’s ride-hailing services in Germany | Reuters

Week of Dec 16

• Edge Computing Mini Data Centers Are Rolling Out for Real. What’s Next? | Light Reading
• Airline Issues First Blockchain-Based Tickets / Walmart Canada, Nestle, Carrefour / First Apply Pay Approved DApp | Medium

Week of Dec 9

• 10 future trends and how CIOs can keep ahead in 2020 | CIO.com
• Toronto-based Sensei Labs wins Canada’s first Comet competition | Channel Daily News

Week of Dec 2

• Bell petition to cabinet: cheaper wholesale internet ‘yield no real benefits for Canadians’ | ITWorld Canada
• These Researchers Are Using AI Drones to More Safely Track Wildlife | Time, AI Today and Tomorrow

Week of Nov 25

• IT’s drive to improve the customer experience | CIO
• 3 lessons for IT leaders from “​​​​​​​The Unicorn Project” | The Enterprisers Project

Week of Nov 18

• Sidewalk Labs’ quiet plan for Canada’s banks to manage a national digital ID for health care and housing | BoingBoing
• The World’s Oldest Blockchain Has Been Hiding in the New York Times Since 1995 | VICE

Week of Nov 11

• Business executives pay thousands for private dinners with Ontario Premier Doug Ford [PDF]| Globe and Mail
• Solutions Stole the Show at IoT Solutions World Congress 2019 in Barcelona | IoT for all

Week of Nov 4

• Coveo raises US$172M at $1B+ valuation for AI-based enterprise search and personalization | TechCrunch
• Don’t buy what Zuckerberg’s selling on Libra | American Banker

Week of Oct 28

• IBM walking away from single cloud focus deserves ‘huge respect’ says Red Hat | IT World Canada
• Investment managers need to become coders, says former CPPIB CEO [PDF] | Globe and Mail

Week of Oct 21

• The Coming of 5G: What IT Leaders Think About Tomorrow’s On-Demand World | LinkedIn
• Intel buys Smart Edge platform from Canada-based Pivot Technology Solutions for $27M | Channel Daily News

Week of Oct 14

• Canadian government data is getting cloudier, signaling a ‘massive leap of faith’ in public cloud, says Microsoft | Channel Daily News
• Getting IoT Technology Partnerships Right | IoT for all

Week of Oct 7

• Canadian SMBs incur a potential productivity loss of CA$2 billion using older technology | IT World Canada
• Technology companies say they need action, not just talk, from political parties to support innovation sector [PDF] | Globe and Mail

Week of Sep 22

• How Reskilling and Upskilling Opportunities With Edtech Can Benefit the IT Industry | Nikhil Barshikar, Forbes
• Delta Airlines sues [24]7.ai over 2017 data breach | DataBreaches.net

Week of Sep 15

• Big Data, Big Insights: A Look At The Geotab Telematics Platform | Steve Banker, Forbes
• CIO role: How to prepare for your first board-facing CIO job | Judith Apshago, The Enterprisers Project
• The farm of the future is staffed by robots, RBC report says | Jessica Vomiero, Global News

Week of Sep 8

• Telcos and cities: the importance of speaking the same language| SmartCitiesWorld (subcription required)
• Invixium announces software upgrade and new distributors as investor McRock increases stake | Chris Burt, Biometricupdate.com

Week of Sep 1

• Ontario Data Strategy Consultations | Canadian Marketing Association
• Canadian customers’ heads are still in the clouds, and so is VMware’s | Alex Coop, IT World Canada

Week of Aug 25

• Advanced Manufacturing: Better, faster, lower cost, and more competitive products | Linda Hasenfratz, CEO Linamar / The Future Economy

Week of Aug 18

• How Six Companies Are Handling The IoT Revolution| Brent Heslop, Contentstack
• Bell scaling back rural broadband program after CRTC cuts wholesale rates | Ian Bickis, Globe and Mail

Week of Aug 11

• Facial Recognition Is Already Here: These Are The 30+ US Companies Testing The Technology | CB Insights
• mnubo: Behind The Exit With White Star Capital and McRock Capital| Jon Jackson, CVCA Central

Week of Aug 4

• Las Vegas to get ‘first-of-its-kind’ high-tech $7.5 billion mini smart city | SmartCitiesWorld (subsription required)
• Sidewalk Labs’ project in Toronto could be dead by October if disagreements persist | David Rider, Toronto Star

Week of July 28

• The Internet of Things Needs a Business Model. Here It Is | Michael Blanding, Harvard Business School
• Do Consumers Trust Advice Generated by Artificial Intelligence? | Invoca, MarketingCharts
• Twitter Rises After Adding 5 Million Users, Beating Estimates | Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg

Week of July 21

• McLaren and Deloitte: bringing F1 technology to airport operations | AIR, Airport Industry Review

Week of July 14

• Podcast: How to overcome smart city funding challenges, with Barbara Kreissler, Signify | Sara Wray, SmartCitiesWorld (subsription required)
• U.S. software firm Aspen Technology buys Montreal startup Mnubo for $102-million | Sean Silcoff, Globe and Mail
• Intellectual property experts call Sidewalk Labs’ plan to share some profits with Canada ‘unfair’ | Josh O’Kane, The Globe and Mail
• The 25 best IoT Platforms 2019 – based on customer reviews | Knud Lasse Lueth, IoT Analytics

Week of June 30

• Accelerator Hopping: Who Benefits From Boston’s Incubator Programs? | Rowan Walrath, BOSTINNO
• In industrial IoT, M&A is your exit strategy | Stacey Higginbotham, Stacey on IoT

Week of June 23

• Telecoms press Ottawa to intervene in construction disputes over 5G | Christine Dobby, Globe and Mail
• Ottawa strikes $40M research deal on 5G technology with Huawei rival Nokia | Nanaimo News Now (Jan 2019)
• The Rules Governing AI Are Being Shaped by Tech Firms – Here’s How | aitrends

Week of June 16

• 4 Reasons why EY’s Nightfall Privacy Toolset for Ethereum is a big Thing | Jean-Pierre Buntinx, Null TX
• Blockchain For Smart Cities: 12 Possible Use Cases | Sam Mire, Disruptor Daily
• IoT Applications in Eyewear | Shahrzad Darafsheh, IoT for All

Week of June 9

• NViewpoint: What Kinds of Jobs Will Humans Be Left with Once AI Reaches Its Potential? | Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London School Business School, SHRM
• No single company should have a monopoly on building smart cities, tech entrepreneur says | Nora Young, Spark CBC
• Industrial Companies are Ready for 5G, says Capgemini | Sally Eves, LinkedIn

Week of June 2

• How GM Cruise uses its Dashride acquisition to build a robo-taxi company | Sasha Lekach, Mashable
• CIO of the Future: The Skills Government Tech Chiefs Need | Tod Newcombe, Government Technology

Week of May 26

• Bridging the rural connectivity gap in Ireland | Ciarán Conlon, Microsoft
• How AI Is Redefining The Workforce Of The Future | Nita Navaneethan, CMO.com

Week of May 19

• Don’t Make These Big Data Mistakes | Paul Fabbroni, Geotab
• A ‘made in Canada’ approach is the best way forward to an open banking system | Rizwan Khalfan, Chief Digital and Payments Officer for TD Bank Group, Globe and Mail

Week of May 12

• Every Canadian organization should be leveraging public cloud, says Onica’s new VP of customer strategy | Alex Coop, Channel Daily News
• How SAP Canada is approaching the evolving Canadian business eco-system | Buckley Smith, ITBusiness.ca

Week of May 5

• Canadian AI leaders win Turing Award for computer science | Ivan Semeniuk, Globe and Mail
• Animals, algorithms, and obstacle courses: Welcome to the A.I. Olympics | Luke Dormehl, Digital Trends
• Singapore to issue diplomas based on blockchain | Kyt Dotson, Silicon Angle
• Aser Group Bets on Human Data with Sports Data Labs | Aser

Week of Apr 28

• 5G and LoRaWAN Co-Exist to Serve the Internet of Things | Ryan Hickey, COO of eleven-x, Semtech Blog
• Ten Canadian Tech Companies Join First Cohort Of Women In Tech Silicon Valley Program | Sara Wong, Betakit

Week of Apr 21

• Extra £200 million backing for British business | Robert Jenrick MP/HM Treasury, GOV.UK
• The Microsoft/BMW IoT Open Manufacturing Platform might not be so open | Fredric Paul, Network World
• Yes, Canada, open banking is working in Britain | Christine Day and Steve Boms , Globe and Mail

Week of Apr 14

• Fusing data and design to supercharge innovation—in products and processes | Akshay Chhabra, McKinsey & Company
• Signs of a rural renaissance as Canadian cities overheat | Don Pittis, CBC News

Week of Apr 7

• Fintech innovation – an imperative for the success of Canada’s financial sector | Jennifer Reynolds, Globe and Mail
• Innovation Nation: How Canada’s banks are holding back the knowledge economy | Kevin Carmichael, Financial Post

Week of Mar 31

• Why people remain at the heart of the factory of the future | Peter Herweck, IIoT World

Week of Mar 24

• University of Toronto to build new AI innovation centre with $100 million ‘largest donation ever’ | Brian Jackson, ITBusiness

Week of Mar 17

• Tomorrow’s Customer Experience: Why Cisco Invested in Whatfix | Pankaj Mitra, Cisco Investments
• Thomas L. Friedman: Technology moves in steps | James Manyika, McKinsey
• Geotab Announces Launch of New GO9 Device | Geotab

Week of Mar 10

• Report: Google’s Waymo seeks outside investment and a sky-high valuation | Kate Clark, TechCrunch
• Dell EMC Canada names Paul Katigbak as Connolly’s replacement | Alex Coop, Channel Daily News

Week of Mar 3

• Silicon Valley Bank to set up shop in Canada | James Bradshaw, Globe and Mail
• Positive outlook: Canadian startups say business conditions will improve this year | Barbara Dirks, LinkedIn
• You shouldn’t need to be a man to get venture capital funding in Canada | Arlene Dickinson, Globe and Mail

Week of Feb 24

• Thank you from Canadian Dream Summit 2019 | Claudio Rojas, LinkedIn
• Open banking will benefit Canadians if government leads on regulation | Andrew Moor, CEO and President of Equitable Bank, Globe and Mail
• Cogeco Peer 1 sold to Miami-based investment firm for $720 million | Brian Jackson, IT World Canada
• IBM sheds old school partner strategy, unleashes wave of partner program enhancements | Alex Coop, Channel Daily News