Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!
Missed last week’s Coffee Briefing? We’ve got you covered.
National Defence Canada partners with Akkodis to accelerate digital transformation

The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) has awarded a contract, valued at C$136 million to the Canadian subsidiary of Akkodis, a global digital engineering company, to modernize the DND’s software systems.
Akkodis’ software systems engineering will, specifically, support the DND’s Directorate Land Command Systems Program Management Software Engineering Facility (DSEF), which was created to provide in-house software engineering and management capability to the Canadian Army.
The contract, which was awarded as part of a joint venture with Thales Canada and KWESST Micro Systems, is for five years (through April 2028) with five additional one-year extension options.
“With our consulting and software engineering expertise, combined with the complementary strengths of Thales and KWESST, our joint venture partners, we will equip the DND with the agility and flexibility needed in a constantly evolving world,” said Tao Qiu, country president for Akkodis in Canada.
ventureLAB announces 6th cohort of Hardware Catalyst Initiative

Markham-based ventureLAB has announced the launch of the 6th cohort of the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, which it said is aimed at accelerating the development of hardware and semiconductor-focused products and services.
The program provides Canadian-based startups with direct resources to accelerate commercialization at scale through raising capital, retaining talent, commercializing technology and IP and customer acquisition.
The companies in Cohort 6, which have undergone a competitive selection process, as well as the Hardware Catalyst Initiative bootcamp, include Visionary Semiconductor, Steadiwear, Quantuity Analytics, OrbMedic, Nectar Software and Technology, FuturU Global Health, Flutter Care, eye3concepts, Cheelcare, Cence Power, Cattle Scan and AutoMetrics.
Discover what each company does here.
Hardware Catalyst Initiative will officially start accepting applications for the 7th cohort on July 26.
1,200+ international students taking part in summer internship program through Mitacs

More than 1,200 international students are at 55 Canadian universities this summer to solve innovation challenges through Mitacs’ summer internship program called Mitacs Globalink.
They come from countries such as Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Tunisia and Ukraine and are each spending 12 weeks working under the direction of Canadian professors and working alongside local researchers.
“The Canadian government continues to invest in improving Canada’s innovation performance and grooming new research talent, and Mitacs is proud to play a key role in these efforts,” said Alejandro Adem, scientific director of Mitacs. “By providing students with quality research experience, programs like Mitacs Globalink are proving to effectively promote innovation across all industry sectors.” 
Some projects underway include:

A companion robot ASUS Zenboa – 50-centimetre tall robot on wheels, intended to provide company for at-home seniors and people living alone – able to understand spoken commands and facial cues, and over time, grow empathy (Ontario Tech University, Oshawa).
A terrorist detection tool that uses three-dimensional computer simulation to detect the precise locations in large urban cities that are likely to be selected by lone wolf terrorists (Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops).
Substances capable of fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria, responsible for food poisoning in people and animal loss on agricultural farms (Université Laval, Quebec City).
Identifying potential problems causing decline in honeybee populations (Université de Montréal, Montreal).

Since 2009, Mitacs has matched 5,000 senior undergraduates with Canadian faculty through its Globalink research internships initiative.
Payslip leverages AI to transform global payroll management

Irish global payroll management platform Payslip has announced it has developed an AI-powered solution, which it said streamlines the entire payroll process, ensuring an efficient experience for businesses dealing with diverse regulations, and reporting requirements across multiple countries.
Key features of the new offering include:

The ability to automate manual tasks, such as data entry and compliance checks by leveraging advanced AI algorithms
The ability to provide organizations with real-time visibility into their global payroll data
The Payslip Payroll Reconciliation Solution, which proactively identifies inconsistencies and flags potential discrepancies, delivering real-time results.
Integration with existing HRIS, ERP, Finance systems, payroll vendors, and payroll engines, eliminating the need for complex data transfers

“The incorporation of AI in our global payroll platform marks a pivotal moment in simplifying payroll management for businesses around the world,” said Fidelma McGuirk, founder and CEO of Payslip. 
Community Network Partners team up with YorkNet to accelerate high-speed internet access 

Community Network Partners Inc. (CNPI), a Toronto-based provider of private, and open access broadband networks in underserved areas across Canada, is teaming up with YorkNet, a telco corporation of the The Regional Municipality of York to finance, construct and operate an advanced optical fibre network to provide high speed internet in the York Region.
CNPI will invest a total of C$15 million over the next four years in connection with this partnership and expects to achieve an addressable market of approximately 14,000 customers.
The project is also receiving funding support from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, which together represents an aggregate contribution of more than C$120 million, president of CNPI, Jon D’Alessandro said.
“CNPI brings an innovative approach to financing and ensures long-term success of community projects,” said D’Alessandro. “We will leverage industry-leading technical expertise and our proven track record of building and maintaining reliable and secure networks across Canada to provide best-in-class internet services in York Region.
More to explore
Cost of data breaches continues to go in wrong direction: IBM
The average cost of a data breach continues to grow, according to IBM’s annual survey of 16 countries and regions during a recent 12 month period.
Red Hat decision turns world of open-source Linux upside down
The Linux political wars have been percolating for a month now, and depending on what side you belong to, the decision by Red Hat to restrict source code distribution for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is either a business decision that needed to happen or an act of betrayal
Microsoft goes all-in with AI at partner conference
This week at the Microsoft Inspire global partner conference, the company announced a collection of artificial intelligence (AI)-based products that illustrate its commitment to the technology.

Changing customer needs, AI, automation, and security key to shifting business priorities: Salesforce State of IT report

Salesforce’s new State of IT Report, released last week, highlights the key priorities and pain points of businesses, based on a survey of over 4000 IT leaders worldwide, including 200 in Canada.

Admins warned to patch NetScaler appliances

Citrix NetScaler admins are being urged to install a patch released this week to plug a critical code injection hole in the company’s Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway products.

Google, Microsoft and others agree to voluntary AI safety action

Seven major American artificial intelligence companies including Google and Microsoft have promised that new AI systems will go through outside testing before they are publicly released, and that they will clearly label AI-generated content, U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday.

Channel Bytes July 21, 2023 – Intel licenses NUCs to ASUS; CIQ launches partner program; Wipro invests in AI ecosystem; and more

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.

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Hashtag Trending Jul.25- Technology drives down car owner satisfaction for the first time; OpenAI developer creates complex AI that you can run on a laptop; AI replacing CEO

Listen to the latest episode of Cybersecurity Today
Cyber Security Today, July 24, 2023 – MOVEit hacker tries to squeeze victims, an apology for a data leak from VirusTotal, and more

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances
If you live in Québec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.
The post Coffee briefing Jul. 25- National Defence partners with Akkodis to accelerate DX, ventureLAB announces 6th cohort of Hardware Catalyst Initiative; Community Network Partners join forces with YorkNet first appeared on IT World Canada.