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!
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What’s new this week
Zoho celebrates milestones in growth and focuses on expansions
Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, has announced it has achieved a rate of 38 per cent year-over-year growth and surpassed the 80 million user mark.
In addition to its global expansion, the company is focusing on growing its product portfolio and making investments in automotive, robotics, and telehealth technologies.
Over the past two years, the company also opened 59 new global hub-and-spoke offices in rural areas and small cities to expand support local communities and diversify its markets.
Along with expansions into markets in Canada, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, Zoho has announced plans to add 100 new small-scale offices in rural districts across India over the next few years.
QuadFi announces first borderless credit solution to drive financial inclusion for immigrants
Toronto-based fintech company QuadFi has announced a new borderless credit solution, independent of FICO scores, designed to provide new immigrants across North America and beyond with access to products and loans regardless of their financial history.
QuadFi’s ability to provide loans to newcomers, assessed through alternative data such as education and income level as well as open banking information, has resulted in a month-over-month growth of over 500 per cent in its credit portfolio. The company serves newcomers from Mexico, Nigeria, and The Philippines and plans to add more countries to the list.
“From a global perspective, the challenges we’re facing – from international conflicts to climate change – can only be addressed through human ingenuity. Our contribution at QuadFi is to use data science to support the free flow of people, talent, and ideas to thrive across borders,” said Dr. Manny Nikjoo, co-founder and chief executive officer of QuadFi.
Mastercard launches program to accelerate work of Canadian not-for-profit organizations
Mastercard has launched Changeworks, a program that helps Canada’s not-for-profits with their digital transformation journey.
CanadaHelps is the first anchor grant recipient of Mastercard Changeworks. The grant will fund the development and piloting of a new program called the CanadaHelps’ Charity Growth Academy. This will help small and medium-size charities use tech and data to transform their strategies, operations, and fundraising.
The core mission of Mastercard Changeworks is to support Canadian not-for-profits by helping them improve their technology and data capabilities. The program launches with a targeted focus on not-for-profits in the entrepreneurship space, particularly those supporting Indigenous and Immigrant/Newcomer small-business entrepreneurs.
Canada’s retailers now have ‘one-stop’ platform to access up-to-date data
The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) recently launched the Retail Pulse Dashboard, an initiative developed by KPMG Canada designed to allow Canadian retailers to access an assortment of information across multiple retail sectors, regions, and timeframes.
The platform, according to a release, collects and consolidates data from various sources, including Statistics Canada, about everything from national retail sales and job numbers to economic data and consumer spending.
Kostya Polyakov, national industry leader for consumer and retail for KPMG in Canada, said the platform “collects and delivers near-real time and real-time industry intelligence, across the metrics that matter to retailers, so they can make better, more informed business decisions.”
Describing it as a “game-changer,” RCC member Sarah Jordan, CEO of Mastermind Toys, a retailer with 68 locations across the country, said “to stay competitive and growth orientated, it is critical for us to have several channels to get the insights we need so we can continuously refine and innovate our brand storytelling and customer experiences.”
Top tech skills Canadians are currently learning
Udemy, an open online course provider aimed at professional adults and students, recently released its Workplace Learning Skills Index, providing quarterly data-driven insights on what people across the world are learning. The index highlights some of the most popular skills Canadians have been focusing on from the past quarter.
Top skills in Canada include cloud computing, data cleaning, Microsoft PL-300, Microsoft Office, 3D Game Development, and Unreal Engine.
Some of the top global tech skills include Microsoft SC-200 (Securities Operations Analyst), Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Azure IoT.
More to explore
Vector Institute welcomes three new partners to its AI ecosystem
Toronto-based non-profit Vector Institute has welcomed three new partners to its Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem to further research and innovation and bolster the economy.
Updated: Cisco Webex suffers major incident
Since around 1:20 PM ET Thursday, Cisco Webex App users have been unable to access the service.
Top Women in Cyber Security: How to thrive and grow in the industry
While there are still challenges when it comes to finding opportunities for women and young girls in the cyber security industry, a path is being paved and doors are opening, said panellists at IT World Canada‘s Top Women in Cyber Security event.
Canada’s Top Women in Cybersecurity Celebration: The honourees
The Top Women in Cybersecurity Celebration is an initiative created by IT World Canada in association with the Canadian Chapter of the Women in Security & Resilience Alliance (WISECRA) and the Women in Security Forum to honor the women who have advanced the Canadian security industry. Here are the 20 honourees featured at this year’s event.
Microsoft announces big feature update for Teams at Inspire 2022
Microsoft Teams received a feature update at Microsoft Inspire 2022. Here are the biggest updates available now or coming in the near future.
Deepfakes concern rises as Samsung researchers produce new, unusual twist
Deepfakes are back in the news after it was reported that a group of researchers working at the Samsung AI Centre in Moscow have introduced an initiative called Mega Portraits (megapixel portraits).
Advice to CISOs: Don’t shoulder everything
With an increasing number of cyber threats aimed at their organizations, and having to deal with tight budgets, chief information security officers (CISOs) can feel an oppressive weight on their shoulders.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Google announces “Simplicity Sprint” to drive efficiency, Amazon’s carbon emission increases by 18 per cent amid an online shopping surge, and Meta faces another lawsuit over data privacy.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
This episode reports on a proposed class action against Meta, a cyber attack on a marketing provider used by US healthcare providers and more
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)
If you live in Quebec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.
