Canadian Government Executive Radio

Today on the show, J. Richard Jones talks with Scott Putman, CEO of IT Force about Business Intelligence and the importance for companies and government to capture their data for business and service continuity. Especially now during this time that we are going through with a pandemic, it’s important to have access to the information so as to operate in a successful manner. Hear more about how vital it is for governments and businesses to arm themselves with real-time intelligence and predictive analytics. Scott brings decades of experience running a Managed Service Provider, specializing in connecting clients to their systems and data from “all devices, everywhere, all the time” while protecting them from malicious attackers and user accidents. He’s also Forum Moderator and a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Toronto. To learn more, go to http://www.itforce.ca/.

Due to COVID-19, many of us are forced to work remotely – even if we are ready or not. But working remotely comes with cyber risks. How can we reduce those risks while working remotely? In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Rick Byrne, Canadian Systems Engineering Leader at Veeam about the challenges of working remotely, keeping employees and data secure, and ransomware. Hear about how technology is reducing the risk for employees, and assisting organizations in staying compliant, the challenges of where data is located and stored, how to keep employees safe and data secure, the best approach to protect against ransomware. You can hear more about this topic during a free live webinar as part of CGE Webinar Series on Tuesday, June 9 at 1 PM EST - How to Reduce Risk in Working Remotely. Register for this webinar to learn about: Tips for maintaining compliance in new these conditions Advice for making the cloud part of the solution Tips to avoid data loss for remote workers This webinar wil

As the current situation with COVID-19 unfolds, most services are moving to an online format and are being offered in a virtual setting. Getting to this point in providing digital services has taken many years of work to transform. And how relevant that is today, especially given the times that we are living in and the crisis of the coronavirus. In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Lisa Carroll, Canadian Public Sector Lead for Microsoft Canada. Lisa has a 27-year IT career which included leadership roles with other leading Canadian organizations, such as Sierra Systems, University Health Network, Liberty Technology Services, and Compugen Systems Ltd and more recently as Senior Vice-President, National Capital Region at CGI. Lisa’s passions include supporting a strong Canadian economy by enabling a healthy ICT Sector and helping clients deliver on their commitments to the Citizens of Canada. Hear how Microsoft is working with the Government and First Responders to battle the global health

AI is seen as one of the first lines of defence in a pandemic. Given the current situation with COVID-19, hospitals and healthcare facilities are using AI to help screen and triage patients and identify those most likely to develop severe symptoms. The use of data and analytics is also helpful to track and contain diseases. In this episode, J. Richard Jones talks with Dr. Steve Bennett, Director, Global Government Practice for SAS. As the Global Government Practice lead, Steve Bennett is passionate about helping governments around the world put their data to work for the citizens they serve. In his current role, he drives strategic industry positioning and messaging in global government markets. A thought leader in decision science and the application of analytics in government, Steve works to ensure that analytics solutions at SAS deliver maximum value for governments around the world. Hear about some of the ways that AI is being used today to combat the coronavirus, the use of AI in fighting a pandemic in t

Having flexible work environments and digital workspace readiness programs that provide employees access to the tools and information they need to work safely and securely in the face of unforeseen circumstances like the threat of COVID-19 is imperative. Business continuity planning not only allows work to continue to get done in this event of disruption, it also provides a source for growth and competitive advantage. In this episode, J. Richard Jones talks with Ed Rodriguez, VP for Citrix Canada about some of the best practices for business continuity during disruptive times. Ed also outlines what tools and policies businesses need to implement now and shares what Citrix is doing for their own employees so other companies can follow suit.   Hear more about how technology can help with preparedness for business continuity and employee safety, how Citrix is helping companies to achieve their business continuity plans, is there a need for better flexible work technologies beyond just during crisis situations, s

Analytics plays an important role in both the private and public sectors and is a crucial part of digital transformation. In this episode of CGE Radio, we will look at one aspect of this, operationalizing analytics within public sector with Kevin Deveau, VP and Managing Director of FICO Canada. FICO is a San Jose-based data analytics company best known for its ubiquitous credit scoring system. In the U.S., credit scores are often known as “FICO scores”. The company also licenses out its analytics software and has been helping businesses extract insights from internal data that they can use to improve their operational strategies. Kevin has more than 30 years of experience in the international enterprise software industry. He leads the team responsible for growing FICO’s Canadian market share and strengthening relationships with both new and existing Canadian clients, helping them use FICO’s technologies and solutions to improve their decision-making. Hear more about how FICO is helping customers both in the p

Technology has made our personal lives a lot easier but what’s the effect in the office environment? In our personal lives, we rely on a few apps but that’s not the case in the office environment. Technology in the workplace is often company-sanctioned and generally cumbersome to use. A typical employee uses over a dozen apps to get work done. Also, it takes on average about four different apps to get one process done. In addition to this, employees are interrupted throughout the day with text messages, chats, alerts and other notifications. This creates a lot of noise in the system. In this episode of CGE Radio, we take a look at one solution that can help quiet this noise down and help increase productivity in the work environment. Ed Rodriguez, Vice President of Sales & General Manager of Citrix Canada joins J. Richard Jones to talk about Citrix Workspace.

Digital transformation is a big challenge but it is also an excellent opportunity. How does Canada compare with the rest of the world? What is the biggest digital potential for public sector? Digital is speeding up the process of citizen engagement and making it easier for citizens to be served. In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Robert (Bob) Osborn, Chief Technology Officer for Service Now (Federal) about the challenges and opportunities for the Government of Canada, how to solve digital issues and to make citizens engagement more efficient. Bob is an accomplished senior executive who has held many high level IT leadership positions, including Director of Logistics IT for the U.S. Army G4, Deputy J6/CIO for U.S. Transportation Command, and CIO of the National Nuclear Security Administration where he was responsible for the Nation’s nuclear weapons design and manufacturing information. He has led major IT and organizational transformations throughout his career and is an acknowledged th

It’s no secret that the Government of Canada’s mission-critical IT systems is aging and some of these systems are at imminent risk of breaking down. The government has made the right move in having a cloud adoption strategy, whereby it recognizes a need to start using cloud computing in the delivery of its IT services. Today on the show, we will build the case for cloud in creating the next generation of IT infrastructure for government, while helping secure public data with new technologies and at the same time mitigating risks. J. Richard Jones talks with Rejean Bourgault, Public Sector Country Leader for Amazon Web Services Canada (AWS) about this interesting topic. With 29 years of global technology industry expertise, Rejean is a trusted advisor to government, non-profit, healthcare and education institutions that are eager to achieve digital transformation with cloud, machine learning, and IoT technologies. He is a respected thought leader in Global Business Management, Sales, Business Development, Engi

How will AI fit into the future? What role should governments play? And how can we unlock the potential of AI for Canada? Deloitte, a leading consultancy firm that provides services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries, has produced a few reports on AI. In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Shelby Austin, National AI Leader for Deloitte Canada on Deloitte’s reports on AI, AI prosperity and how do we achieve it, the root issues government must address for AI, and what role can the private sector play in helping to achieve AI prosperity in Canada.

In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Rick Howard, Chief Security Officer of Palo Alto Networks. Rick is responsible for building a Threat Intelligence Team, supporting the product line and acting as a thought leader and company evangelist in the cybersecurity community space.

There has been a lot of discussions around the future of mobility. Will this improve the quality of life, what policies should governments put in place, will there be a loss of jobs due to the automation? These are all questions that we will delve into, in this episode of CGE Radio with Richard Threlfall, Partner, Global Head of Infrastructure at KPMG International. 

In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Jason Ducharme, Partner of MNP and leader of the Public Sector Practice in Ontario. Jason works with senior executives, CEOs and boards within the public sector to clarify strategy, improve organizational effectiveness and lead large-scale organizational change. He has close to 30 years of consulting experience, with specific functional expertise in areas of good governance, organization effectiveness, strategic planning, financial analysis, and performance measurement. For governments across Canada, Jason specializes in Social Services programs, in particular in Human Services integration. This work helps governments to streamline programs to become more customer-centric in how services are delivered to Canada’s most vulnerable populations. Hear about what Human Services Integration is all about and why is there such an interest in this, the top 5 Human Services integration challenges and jurisdictions that overcame these challenges to successfully in

Data is a crucial part of an organization's success, whether it be public or in the private sector. But data comes with challenges because of its size and growth. The amount of data in the world doubles almost every two years. Due to this exponential growth and also where we store our data, like the cloud, makes managing it more difficult. In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones talks with Damian Serjeant, Country Leader of Veeam Canada and Ryan Narinesingh, Director of Channel Sales & Alliances at Veeam Canada. Hear about Veeam and some of the data related services they provide, the 2019 Veeam Cloud Data Management Report, highlights of this report and the key cloud challenges that business and IT leaders are facing today. Learn about what sort of security is needed to protect data and some of the lessons learned. They also share some of the success stories of working with governments (public sector) globally and what can be applied to Canada. And to round off this show, they talk about what the f

From Executive Government to Crown Corporation to Public Traded Company. Today in the show, we will talk with Jeff Stusek, President and Chief Executive Officer of Information Services Corporation (ISC). Mr. Stusek leads the company’s overall strategic direction in the provision of registry and information management services. His focus on people, business excellence and creating value for stakeholders has driven ISC’s evolution. Under his leadership, ISC made the transition from a provincial Crown corporation to a publicly-traded company in 2013. Since the IPO, Mr. Stusek has led the company to steady financial growth and strong market capitalization through operational improvements and strategic acquisitions. In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Jeff Stusek about ISC's innovative approach to service delivery and the lessons we can takeaway. Hear about how ISC has achieved success through its approach to service delivery, moving beyond customer satisfaction to customer excellence, and how the f

In the show today, we have a very special guest who is joining us from Ottawa. He is Claude Rochette, Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence. Claude has extensive experience serving in many different roles including Assistant Deputy Minister (Finance) and Chief Financial Officer of National Defence, Vice-President, Comptrollership Branch and Chief Financial Officer, Canada Border Services Agency and  Director General of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Communications Security Establishment Canada. Claude also served in a number of senior executive positions in the Canadian Armed Forces including senior auditor, Director General Compensation and Benefits, and Commandant of the Canadian Forces Support Unit in Ottawa.  He is also the recipient of a few awards over years including the 2015 Award of Excellence in Public Sector Financial Management – Financial Leadership, awarded by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. In June 2018, he was awarded the first-ever Deputy Minister John Forster

What is transformation going to look like? That is the question on the minds of many who are going through digital transformation. But it's not the "what" that is the challenge, it's the "capacity" to implement the what. In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Craig Szelestowski, President and Founder of Lean Agility Inc. Craig is a Lean government and transformation specialist with close to two decades of experience implementing dramatic turnarounds in Canadian government. He started Lean Agility Inc. in 2010 to apply Lean exclusively to government organizations. With his coaching, his clients have reduced lead times by up to 80 per cent, increased capacity by up to 200 per cent and created outstanding levels of employee engagement. Craig will be speaking at the Lean Government Summit 2019 that will be held on October 1-2, 2019 at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. This summit brings together global public servants and thought leaders to share breakthroughs in the delivery of products and services through im

In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Dean McKeown, Associate Director, Global Master of Management Analytics at Smith School of Business, Queen's University. Dean is responsible for creating and managing a variety of entrepreneurial initiatives at Queen's University, including new academic programs, marketing and IT. He is currently studying the application of artificial intelligence systems for business decision-making and change management during digital transformations. Hear more about some new and exciting programs within the Smith School of Business for public sector executives, a project with the Canadian Revenue Agency to encourage Millennials to interact with the agency using “MyAccount” and incorporating machine learning and natural language processing to better understand the needs of Canadians and what’s new in the analytics field. To learn more, go to https://smith.queensu.ca/index.php  

Governments around the world are increasingly relying on cloud-based IT services to fulfill their technology needs, so it is therefore vital to ensure that policymakers account for the “shared responsibility” in the cloud. That is, while cloud service providers secure the infrastructure of the cloud itself, data owners must secure their information within the cloud and across a comprehensive network ecosystem, ensuring consistent visibility and security across the entire network. Now as the cost of computing continues to decline, digital adversaries are able to conduct increasingly automated, successful attacks at minimal cost. Network defenders, on the other hand, are generally relying on legacy security technologies to manually defend against these automated, machine-generated attacks. Incorporating AI and automated machine learning into cybersecurity capabilities provides a strong tool for identifying cyber threats and preventing successful attacks.  In the show today, J. Richard Jones talks with Coleman M

In this episode of health talk, Shawn M. Nisbet, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher and Master Nordic Pole Walking Instructor, talks about the value of sleep. Listen in as she discusses why sleep is so important, how hormones regulate your sleep, the relationship between a good nights rest and weight management and much more! All this in this episode of “Health Talk,” brought to you by CGE Radio.