Whether it’s the digitization of our health patient records, our financial operations, the registration of our vehicles, the registration of our children in daycare, the high-density processing of research results, we are right in the heart of the most major technological shift since the arrival of the internet. It’s not too late to take action. These days, I feel that the tide is turning, that the right questions are being asked.
I have spent my life in the world of information technology (IT) and I can tell you with certainty that it has rarely occupied such a prominent place in the media and in the concerns of our leaders. Well Named. IT has never had such an impact on our organizations, both public and private, and on our daily lives. Our data is now in a universe, for many, elusive, and yet over which we must maintain control.
I am aware that it is not easy to grasp all the nuances, all the issues and all the tangible impacts of digital transformation and cloud computing. I can only rejoice in this growing awakening. Because yes, we must think collectively to whom we are going to entrust our data. And it’s urgent. The perpetual cybersecurity threats linked, among other things, to the geopolitical context bear witness to this. While many economists claim that “data is the new oil”, it is worth dwelling on.
Even when the servers of American actors are established on our territory, their jurisdictions prevail over ours. Hence the importance of better understanding the concept of sovereign cloud, which ensures that your data is 100% hosted on the territory concerned and that it is fully subject to the regulations and new laws in force for a few months.
10 years ago, seeing cloud migration taking shape as an irrevocable IT choice, and seeing that only the big global players were tackling it, I took the following bet: a Quebec company can build a sovereign cloud and do well gaming in this market dominated by giants and better protect our data. I brought together world-class experts in the field, people from here, endowed with the will to accompany me in this dream, quite crazy I agree. Our Cirrus cloud solution meets the strictest industry standards for the protection of personal and confidential data. We are in a select club made up of less than 1% of the players on the globe, including only two qualified companies in Canada.
The government and many companies trust us for several mandates and we are proud of it. I am delighted with this interest and this external recognition, but I note that our Quebec company, which stands out internationally, is not recognized on its own ground. However, we have the wind in our sails and we will soon begin our North American expansion thanks to nearly 400 employees who have an extraordinary level of expertise. In this vein, we expect to generate 500 additional quality jobs within five years.
Those of the citizens, of you and me. A few days ago, the Government of Quebec took a position on the need to keep health data and sensitive data under Quebec jurisdiction. This awareness was desirable and will be beneficial for our society. There is a real opportunity here to take action to avoid losing the trust of citizens with regard to the management of their data, but also to truly stand out, to grow a local business and demonstrate our international know-how. The opportunity is too good, let’s be there.
