January February March April May
June July
August September October November December
JANUARY: Slipped disk
The year began with a search for stolen hardware and an apology to thousands. Co-operator’s Life Insurance wrote 180,000 of its customers that their personal data had been comprised when a disk drive went missing from a data centre in Regina
Jan 21: IT report shows falling confidence in senior managers
A national survey indicates strategic use of technology doesn’t get much help from the top
Jan 23: Copying collective pays its dues
The group behind the media levy proposal says it is days away from sending out the first cheques. Meanwhile, a CPCC spokesman defends the price hike and responds to the critics
Jan 24: Financial institutions crunch the numbers on Linux
At LinuxWorld, JPMorganChase discusses the OS’s future on Wall St. but cautions that overselling it can be just as harmful as ignoring it
FEBRUARY: On demand on tap
IBM offers a glimpse of its e-business on demand strategy, which will continue to shape how the company delivers and markets products and services during the year. Pay-as-you-go computing could be tantalizing to some customers, according to one partner
Feb. 12: IT industry lines up for Manley’s budget dollars
Public sector agencies in education and health see partnership opportunities with the private sector, while CATA beats on the R&D tax credit drum
Feb 20: Great West Life’s great IT gamble
The insurance company sees the benefits of its $7.3 billion purchase of Canada Life Financial coming from technology integration. Observers aren’t so sure
Feb 25: Today’s IT worker: A sad, stressed out smoker
Counselling firm Warren Shepell Consultants releases data that shows a spike in depression above the national average among employees at high-tech firms. Make yourself comfortable and get ready for some advice
MARCH: Duncan departs
Gaylen Duncan quietly slips away from one of Canada’s most prominent technology organizations. He later tells ITBusiness.ca his plan to return to Second Step Solutions, a consulting firm he established over a decade ago
March 4: National Bank Financial signs Big Blue deal
The wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Bank of Canada outsources $200 million worth of business process changes to IBM to gain an edge in the brokerage business
March 19: SuperNet partners make peace
Alberta’s $295 million project is back on track following a renegotiation of responsibilities related to the construction of the fibre optic network. Axia NetMedia’s CEO explains the terms of the deal
March 24: Venture capital deal puts Corel in play
The Ottawa software firm invites a takeover offer from the VC that bought out Microsoft’s shares
APRIL: AMD swings the Hammer
The 64-bit Opteron processor is launched, giving customers the option to move off 32-bit computing, while at the same time giving Intel something to think about. Analysts applaud, but caution that there’s a long way to go
April 17: RCMP puts criminals on notice with DNA bank
The way DNA is collected, handled and processed can make the difference between guilty and innocent in the courtroom. The federal agency goes to the private sector to design software to make it work
April 24: Microsoft takes the wraps off ‘trustworthy’ Server 2003
After months of delays due to security issues and ‘code-scrubbing,’ the OS sees the light of day. Partners like HP and Intel weigh in on its impact and Fujitsu Consulting predicts the customer upgrade path
April 25: Toronto cops enlist Microsoft in anti-child porn crusade
The company is helping investigators cut down on the number of hours they spend looking at images. Police may also get behind the scenes access to MSN online, but some officers have their doubts that the partnership can work
MAY: SARS and IT
The virus that effectively shut down much of Toronto in early 2003 took its toll on technology. In April, HP Canada quarantined 100 of its employees for fear of spreading the virus, but by May, IT event organizers claim that life is getting back on track and attendance at local conferences wasn’t adversely affected
May 14: IBM buys Toronto firm for autonomic assets
Think Dynamics moves into Big Blue’s lab for on-demand computing
May 16: CIRA outraged over racial profiling accusations
The non-profit authority serves a libel notice to a domain name watchdog over claims it looks too closely at certain applications for dot-ca names
May 28: NAV Canada technologists hit the picket lines
After waiting three years for a contract, the IT workers supporting our airline industry say they can’t take it anymore. We ask the union, the management and the ministry how they’ll work things out
JUNE: PeopleSoft politics
The enterprise software vendor buys J.D. Edwards in a cozy U.S.$1.7 billion deal. Then Oracle gets too close for comfort and proposes a hostile takeover of PeopleSoft with a US$5.1 billion bid.
June 5: Gun registry backfires after system exceeds capacity
CFC says anti-gun registration lobby contributed to flood of data
June 18: AT&T resurfaces as Allstream
Customer wins helped to accelerate the company’s rebirth by three months, according to executives, but the real work may be its transition to IP networks. The company’s chairman outlines where its biggest opportunities lie next
June 24: Radwanski’s replacement: Who fits the bill?
Canada’s need for a new Privacy Commissioner could hardly come at a worse time, experts say. We talk to a lawyer, CATA and the woman who helped draft PIPEDA to look at what the job will require
JULY: SCO vs. Linux
SCO launches a program to enforce what the company says are its intellectual property rights to parts of the Linux source code. Linux users rail against the plan to collect licence fees from enterprise users of the open source operating system
July 2: Olympics win gets Vancouver IT firms in the Games
As the city celebrates its successful bid, we talk to the company that powered a video e-mail campaign, while Telus explains its role in preparing the infrastructure for 2010
July 8: EDS creates Canadian jobs despite global cuts
Canada seen as alternative for offshore outsourcing, exec says
July 11: Ontario universities establish super research network
In what could be the most powerful infrastructure in Canada by fall, several schools will have access to unprecedented resources over the ORION network. One of them explains what’s next for innovation
AUGUST: Dark times
A blackout across Ontario and most of the U.S. Eastern seaboard puts disaster recovery plans to the test. Cell phone service flags, but data hosters and ISPs stay up and running on emergency diesel power. The Internet may have been available, but many homes didn’t have the power to use it and online sales take a dive
Aug. 5: No Comdex Canada in 2003
The rumours are true: Despite restructuring by its organizer, the industry’s best-known trade show gets pushed back until next spring. Canadian channel veterans offer their reaction
Aug. 18: CATA and Smart Toronto to merge
Organizations to benefit from national outlook, regional focus, execs say
Aug. 21: Canadian carriers converge for WiFi interoperability
The CWTA brokers an alliance between Bell, Telus, Microcell and Rogers AT&T to put together a 2004 plan for wireless roaming. There was a European model for SMS, but this time they’re going it alone
SEPTEMBER: Personal data disasters
In January, a hard drive went missing. In September, two other incidents led to concerns about the safety of storing personal data. A Sept 4. theft of a server from a Canada Customs and Revenue Agency office in Quebec had critics decrying the agency for not taking proper precautions. Later that month, the Bank of Montreal recycles two servers back into the public domain, only to discover that they still contain employee information
Sept. 8: CDW heads north with Microwarehouse acquisition
The purchase primes the Toronto office to explore new inventory and increase sales while the Montreal operation hangs in the balance
Sept. 9: Bell Canada makes $200-million investment in IP
Telco partners with Nortel to help expand Western customer base
Sept: 10: U.S. security firm buys Chrysalis for $20M
Acquisition inevitable due to industry consolidation, says CEO
OCTOBER: Office unleashed
Microsoft launches its most important product in years with a suite that’s designed to incorporate Web service elements through native XML. In addition to staples like Word, Excel and Outlook, new features like InfoPath and OneNote were added to the mix. We spoke to partners, competitors and customers to see how it would stack up
Oct. 9: SAP Canada appoints acting president in exec shuffle
Americas CEO tries to change client perceptions at Business Forum
Oct. 17: Canadian judicial council puts e-records on trial
The ubiquity of the Internet has legal professionals pondering whether limits should be placed on access to sensitive court data. Also: paper versus electronic records. A verdict is imminent
Oct. 20: Linux users incensed over Royal Bank SCO investment
RBC contributes towards a US$50-million fund for the company that is suing IBM and threatening to invoice Linux users. Some of the bank’s “”horrified”” customers speak out
NOVEMBER: Sweet SuSE
Novell builds on its April promise of releasing key products on a Linux kernel by buying a distribution of its own for US$210 million. SuSE, best known as a Linux distribution for servers, is one of four partners in UnitedLinux, an effort to create a standard version of the operating system
Nov. 11: Alberta prepares to make patient record history
The province may become the first in Canada to offer electronic access to highly important health data. The president of the Alberta Medical Association outlines the entire five-year, $59 million procedure
Nov. 12: Markham voters go from in line to online
A few days following the municipal election, the Ontario city’s CIO explains why it took a chance on Internet democracy — and what citizens have said about the process so far
Nov. 13: HP launches Canadian PC manufacturing facility
Vendor promises better inventory management, shorter delivery cycle
DECEMBER: Classroom conundrum
Teachers embrace IT in the classroom, but want a greater say in how that technology is used in a teaching capacity, according to a survey released this month. The study also touches on the problems of using computers in large classrooms and issues around integrating the technology in the first place
Dec. 2: CP rail offloads IT infrastructure in $200M IBM deal
After spending close to six years overhauling the technology that keeps its trains running smoothly, the company hands over 100 employees to Big Blue in a seven-year agreement
Dec. 9: Privacy research to look past PIPEDA
A Canadian professor corrals local and international experts to examine the shift from anonymity to authentication and potentially fill holes that pending legislation has left open
Dec. 16: CAAST clamps down on eight Canadian companies
The group reaches $330,300 in settlements with software pirates in Ontario and Alberta. Plus: the Business Software Alliance on why there’s more piracy here than in the U.S.
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