INNOVATION - ATB Financial Moved Entire Organization to G-Suite

Alberta's Financial Services Company Chooses a Cloud Based Strategy for Operations 

Early in March, TechRepublic published a story which bears reading for any organization that isn't using cloud based IT Infrastructure.

The story caught our attention because The Paradigm Corporation has been using the G-Suite platform internally and for clients since 2011. There are so many benefits for large and small organizations it would be impossible to illuminate them all in a single InfoStream article. However, suffice to say, it was the easiest and most beneficial transformation ever made in IT Infrastructure by the small Paradigm team. Routinely, we hear from former contractors and employees who now use the Google Enterprise infrastructure to support their daily activities.

By July of 2018, ATB Financial will have completed the conversion of the entire 5,000 member team and the first year of operations. The TechRepublic article features the story of this transformation from two perspectives: Chief Transformation Officer, Wellington Holbrook and Chief Evangelist, Lorne Rubis, discuss the implementation strategy and tactics as well as the experience of moving ATB Financial to G-Suite.

THE STORY

INVEST - AgFunderNews Top 10 FarmTech Deals of 2017

Top 10 Ag Deals in 2017 Generate US$1.13B of Investment

AgFunder Image

According to AgFunderNews.com, the top 10 ag deals of 2017, included value chain aggregation plays, vertical farming, sensor monitoring, payment and settlement services, bug farming and geospatial analytics.

View the AgFunderNews list

It is clear that investment in farmtech continues to fall from the high of US$4.6B reported in 2015. The number of companies active in this sector that have failed, merged or refocused activities into other areas has also increased. 

For example, while the mother lode of data expected from farmtech is undervalued by the primary producer, it appears to have value to financial service providers who wish to have more transparency and understanding in the area of input costs and marketings.

"The uptake from primary producers has failed to meet the anticipated demand for such technology and services."

While a new generation of primary producers can see the opportunity of new technology, they also see a need for payback in the short term. Amortizing the cost of a new technology over more than 2 crop years is a hard sell in the current environment. Moreover, some producers have a healthy skepticism, feeling that farmtech has more benefit for input vendors who use technology to upsell products and services or expand their portion of farm receipts without improving the financial returns of the producer.

Finally, the vast majority of farms around the globe are small enough that farmtech is unsupportable. In August 2016, Minahil Amin wrote an article entitled 'The AgTech Pedestal Problem: How to Bring Innovation Down to Earth' for the William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, that illuminated this condition and suggested an impact on farmtech that we can clearly see today.

A look at those supplying capital to farm tech has also changed. Hightech investors seem to have left the sector while investors in greentech, lifetech (biotech), pharmtech and medtech seem to be taking a different approach to emerging technology. Support for proof of concept (POC) activities continues to be available but with a much shorter string. Philanthropic organizations continue to supply capital if the technology can be shown to improve the conditions of third world populations or improve the ethical environment of production.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT:
The capital to develop innovative technology prior to the proof of concept (POC) stage may be limited. Other areas of the ecosystem (value chain) seems to have the interest of capital providers at this time. Expect continued pressure on sources of capital for innovative farmtech concepts. Watch for disruption and innovation in farmtech to emerge from sectors other than traditional agriculture and agrifood participants.

OPINION - Peter Hinssen on Ignorance and Innovation

A serial entrepreneur, advisor, keynote speaker and author, Peter Hinssen is one of the most sought-after thought leaders on radical innovation, leadership and the impact of all things digital on society and business.

Hinssen brings forward the idea that organizations need to have a percentage of people who Don't Know What They Are Doing to be innovative and bring forward the best result for the future. 

Hinssen points to emerging companies where the percentage of these people is much higher than in mature organizations. He shows that innovators in these legacy organizations spend a disproportionate amount of their time wrestling with those who Know What They Are Doing but will never generate a different result. 

HEALTH - Public Health and Veterinary Schools Form Innovative Partnership

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (the Bloomberg School) has inked its first partnership with a veterinary school to explore research collaborations and joint educational activities to benefit students at both institutions.

The agreement with the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies, is reflective of the One Health approach to medicine.

"This new collaboration with Ross offers a platform to address important issues at the intersection of human and animal medicine, population health and food security,” said Michael J. Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School.

“Ross’ commitment to research on globally-significant public health issues make this collaboration a natural fit for our faculty and our students.”

The Bloomberg School has held the top spot in US News & World Report’s ranking of schools of public health since 1994. The school conducts research in 130 countries and is recognized as the largest school of public health in the world.

Ross has four major research centers, two of which will be directly involved in research collaborations with the Bloomberg School.

The One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine investigates endemic infectious diseases in consideration of nationally, regionally and internationally recognized priorities and critical research gaps.

The Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health focuses on the health of populations, communities and ecosystems, and works to provide novel solutions to complex ecological issues.

“About 75 percent of the new diseases that have affected humans over the past 10 years have been caused by pathogens originating from an animal or from products of animal origin,” said Sean Callanan, dean at Ross.

“Our new relationship with the Bloomberg School provides another avenue for our students to develop their capacity to play a role in addressing 21st century health challenges.”

One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. 

The goal of One Health is to encourage the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines-working locally, nationally, and globally-to achieve the best health for people, animals, and our environment.

INNOVATE - New Approach to the Technical High School Model

For pet owners in Worcester, MA, the Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic offers low-cost, high-quality veterinary care for clients who pass the prequalification process.

Clients are restricted to pet owners facing financial hardship, including people in programs such as WIC (Women, Infant, and Children), SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WHA (Worcester Housing Authority), and students at Worcester Technical High School.

One of these things is not like the others.

Why are students at Worcester Tech given priority access to the preventative and primary care at the clinic?

Because a significant portion of that care is provided by high school students in the Worcester Technical High School Veterinary Assisting program.

(Tufts at Tech)

Tufts at Tech is an innovative program that combines the expertise of fourth-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students from Tuft’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine with the enthusiasm of high school students, under the careful supervision of Dr. Greg Wolfus and his team.

Getting high school students into the clinic and providing hands-on experience and mentorship has resulted in a significant increase in the success rate of students who go on to take their veterinary assistant exam after graduation.

Prior to the student-run clinic opening in mid-2012, the pass rate was only 46 percent. By 2013 the pass rate was 92 percent, and in 2015 it was 100 percent.

In addition to the clear benefits for students’ future career success, the program also keeps the students happy and engaged.

According to Drew Weymouth, assistant principal for Allied Health and Human Services at the high school, their retention rate in the program is 100 percent.

In 2013 Worcester Tech was recognized as one of the National Blue Ribbon Schools, an award that honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.

 

The school is good for both the high school and the veterinary school students, and it’s good for the low-income pet owners who can now access necessary care for their animals.

More than that, though, the school represents one way forward for a generation struggling to find work after years of recession.

Debt, joblessness, globalisation, and a rapidly rising cost of living have left today’s youth in what can seem like an impossible economic position.

Hands on training, like that provided at Worcester Technical High School, means that high school students graduate with skills that can immediately be applied in the workforce.

The school focuses on technical trades – they offer the Veterinary Assisting Program, but also have programs for design and engineering, health and human services, construction technology, and IT and business services.

This means that the school is, as President Obama stated in the school’s 2014 graduation address, “an example of what’s possible when we stop just talking about giving young people opportunity, when we don’t just give lip service to helping you compete in the global economy and we actually start doing it.”

Students leave with certifications in their chosen trade, meaning there’s a significant step cut out, both in terms of cost and time, before they can enter the workforce. And the trade school offers low cost services to the community, exemplified by the veterinary clinic.

Although automation and globalization are changing the economy, and more and more workers are moving sideways into the gig economy with all the challenges that entails, innovative schools like Worcester Technical High School may give young workers a new source of hope.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

INNOVATE - Kirobo Mini Robot a Step Forward in Interactive Technology

Kirobo Mini is an interactive robot being released by Toyota in Japan next year for a cost of just under $400 USD.

(AP)

 

The robot is small enough, at around 10 cm, to carry in a purse or keep in a car’s cupholder, and is being described as a companion for its owners.

It speaks Japanese (and will presumably speak other languages if it rolls out in other countries), responds to facial expressions, and can engage in conversation.

It’s difficult to say which branch of interactive technology has taken a leap forward with the introduction of Toyota’s Kirobo Mini.

On the one hand, the little machine is like a lot like a Hatchimal, the interactive evolution of Gen Xers beloved Tamagotchi.

Like the Hatchimal, the toy that has taken over the Christmas buying market this year, the Kirobo Mini is an interactive companion that responds to input from the user.

Kirobo Mini is designed to provide companionship for Japan’s often lonely population of seniors and young singles.

The general manager in charge of the Kirobo Mini project, Fuminori Kataoka, told The Associated Press, “This is about the existence of something you can talk to. A stuffed animal might not answer back, but people do talk to it... But if it talked back, wouldn't that be better?”

The connection to interactive toy technology is clear.

But the Kirobo Mini could just as easily be seen as an evolution of the Internet of Things, because unlike Hatchimals, the Kirobo Mini is a connected device.

The communication capability happens via Bluetooth connection to a smartphone app and processing in the cloud.

This introduces both a clunky interface and significant security risks.  

The Kirobo Mini is a “communication partner,” and joins a growing market of robots filling service and companionship roles.

Last year, the interactive robot Pepper was released in Japan and in 2016 Pepper was introduced in Silicon Valley.

Pepper is used primarily in retail and hospitality venues, and can respond not only to the facial expressions and voices of customers, but also tracks their activity within the space in a way that previous technology has not been able.

These robots mark a convergence of technologies, both connected and interactive, and although this was an inevitable step forward, it also comes with some risks, especially regarding the security of the information that the robots are collecting.

Despite the risks, interactive robots like Kirobo Mini and Pepper are changing users’ relationships with machines.

Kirobo Mini is a significant investment by Toyota, part of a push towards AI and robotics.

If the robot is effective in fostering an emotional connection with its owners, this could significantly increase drivers’ trust in any self-driving and autonomous cars that Toyota releases.

By changing the relationship with robots and introducing an element of emotional connection and a feeling of reciprocity, Kirobo Mini has the potential to push the Internet of Things beyond being a network of connected devices, and into a network of relationships between devices and humans.

About Tiffany Sostar:

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

BUSINESS - HomeSafe Unveils Design Plan for V2.0

Canada’s Automated Recovery Service Goes Digital

Urban Animal Corporation has announced plans to move HomeSafeTM, the pet industry’s automated, privacy compliant, customer owned and managed recovery service, into the digital environment.

By 2020 Urban Animal hopes to become the largest provider of “Fast, Cheap, Direct Protection of all things Valuable in North America.” 

HomeSafe™ is a trademarked service developed and owned by Urban Animal Corporation (formerly PetLynx).

The company has invested almost CAD$8 million to become the best/only world class application for providing, fast, cheap, direct protection of valuable things:

• Fast because the application enables the public to collaborate while automatically matching lost and found items to facilitate recovery usually in hours or days.
• Cheap because those who lose things and those who find things manage the recovery process online without third party (concierge) intervention and the higher fees that requires.
• Direct because with no middle men, people work directly with each other while HomeSafeTM manages the business rules, privacy and compliance elements automatically.
• Best/only (unique) because while thousands of registries and bulletin boards exist for pet recovery, no other similar automated service exists.

When it launched beta operations in 2008, HomeSafeTM was the first recovery service to leverage the ‘cloud’ with state of the art web services.

These proven web services will now be re-launched in the Android and IOS environment.

Accessing the built-in features of smartphones tablets and other digital devices will allow HomeSafeTM to further enhance recovery services by:

• Geocaching lost and found episodes
• Time and date stamping images
• Augmenting reality so lost items in proximity can be visible
• Integrating services with the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain ledgers
• Expanding subscriber services to include all things valuable

Other important service elements that will be transferred include:

• Pre-registration not required
• Free public service for an initial period
• AutoMatch™ using a physical description
• Subscriber ownership and management of records
• ‘Opt-in’ strategies to protect subscriber privacy.

Proof of concept activities during the past eight years have earned Urban Animal Corporation CAD$5.2 million in service fees, a million active subscribers, 800,000 monthly users and 350,000 recoveries in 340 Canadian communities.

INNOVATE - Olli Automated Buses to Launch in 2017

Tiny (they only seat 12), talking, electric, driverless buses – they’re approachable, environmentally responsible by multiple metrics, app-summonable, and they aim to bridge the gap between people and robots.

There’s a lot to get excited about with Olli, the automated buses that Local Motors will be launching in Las Vegas and Miami in 2017.

For one thing, they represent a leap forward in fully automated, driverless vehicles – potentially years ahead of fully autonomous passenger vehicles.

Although most predictions agree that the technology is years away from full automation, many companies are vying for dominance in the growing field.

Delphi and Mobileye are making waves with their hopes to release a version of a self-driving car kit in 2017, and given some of their industry advantages, they have the potential to jump ahead of their competitors.

According to the Society of Automotive Engineers outline, Olli buses would be Level 4 on the automated driving system scale, which is beyond any self-driving passenger cars currently available.

Unlike the Uber self-driving car launch in Pittsburgh this year, the Olli buses will be supervised remotely but do not appear to have a back-up driver riding along. That driver, who takes over when things get tricky, keeps the Uber fleet at a Level 3.

(Copyright 2014 SAE International J3016)

Olli buses aim to do more than advance self-driving car technology.

CEO Jay Rogers told CNN that he imagines a near future where Olli can “deliver medicine, provide advertising on demand, or roll up en masse in an area where there is an active shooter and block people so they can get out of harm's way."

The buses will use IBM’s Watson, cutting edge “cognitive technology” that hopes to provide an engaging, responsive, conversational interaction for passengers.

IBM and Local Motors want to foster a friendly relationship between customers and the robot. Watson may also connect to users’ social media, for more personalization.

Watson is also an Internet of Things platform, and the connectivity of the buses to a wide range of other connected devices such as apps, maps, sensors, and monitors both on the vehicle and beyond is a critical part of what will make the buses safe and effective.

The buses use haptic sensors to ensure that they stop when they contact anything, and uses lidar to see the surroundings.

Olli’s production model also hopes to address some of the environmental impact of vehicle production.

Not only is Olli entirely electric, with wireless recharging, the production includes 3-D printing for parts of the vehicle. These materials generate fewer carbon emissions, and they can be broken down and reused.

Although Olli hasn’t debuted yet, and will have a limited first release on campuses and airports, chances are you will see on-demand, driverless, highly interactive buses in a city centre near you within a few years.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

HEALTH - First FDA Approved Drug for Dogs With Lymphoma

VetDC, a veterinary cancer therapeutics company, has completed the final steps towards U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA-CVM) approval for Tanovea™.

Tanovea™ (rabacfosadine for injection) is a novel small molecule drug designed to preferentially target and attack cancer cells implicated in lymphoma, one of the most common cancers seen in companion animals.

In multiple clinical studies in over 300 client-owned dogs with naturally occurring lymphoma, Tanovea has consistently demonstrated robust anti-tumor activity in both naïve and relapsed cases, with a generally well-tolerated safety profile.

Tanovea would be an every-three-week treatment (via intravenous) for up to five doses.

This represents a substantial reduction in client visits relative to non-approved, ‘human’ generic multi-agent chemotherapy regimens commonly utilized in dogs with lymphoma.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for VetDC, as we are now in the home stretch toward introducing the first FDA-approved drug for use in dogs with lymphoma, one of the most common cancers affecting pets today,” Steven Roy, VetDC’s President and CEO, said in a release.

A decision is anticipated within 60 days and upon FDA approval, VetDC intends to begin commercialization in early 2017.

BUSINESS - Technology and Social Innovation

Social innovation is where Millennials are putting their energy and their money, and the sharing economy is growing.

These two concurrent areas of growth intersect and influence each other, especially since they both rely so heavily on social media and connected devices.

What this means is commerce is becoming more ‘social,’ in every meaning of the word.

More conscious of social responsibility, more enmeshed with socially networked daily lives, and engaged in more and more instances of “sharing” or “gig” economies.

Although this is disruptive to existing business frameworks, it’s also the way forward.

Both social innovation and the sharing economy have been heralded as the solution to a struggling global capitalism.

People are working together for social good, connecting over social media to discuss this and to find brands and services, and using apps and the Internet of Things to connect with on-demand services.

Integration and connection are key focuses. Integration extends beyond using digital tools to facilitate engagement.

Social innovators are blending social responsibility with economic viability in a way that previous generations didn’t.

The binary between non-profit organizations focused on social change, and for-profit organizations focused on the bottom line is getting fuzzy, as more and more entrepreneurs bring their commitment to social responsibility into their business endeavours.

Technology enables this blending.

One recent study by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) found that “the success of [social innovation] initiatives relies on the catalytic effect of technology.”

Social media and the web allow “participation of the public sector at different levels” and the ability to create partnerships across platforms has changed how services are provided.

The sharing economy, which intersects with social innovation in ways that are sometimes symbiotic and sometimes antagonistic, is an example of how technology is changing service industries.

The sharing, or gig, economy means that individuals, like Uber drivers, have access to your information and your personal space.

Trust is a major issue, and not only for workers in the sharing economy, who might drive consumers around, do their shopping, walk their dogs, or clean their homes.

Trust is also an issue for any tech company, according to Ryan Ozonian, the CEO of Dust, a non-permanent messaging system that allows instant communication without a permanently stored record. And, as the JRC study highlights, social innovation companies are, overwhelmingly, tech companies.

“Citizen science” is another example of technology intersecting with social innovation.

In 2011, crowdsourcing allowed the gaming community to solve the issue of accurately modeling a particular molecule to further HIV research, which had stumped HIV scientists for 10 years.

Social entrepreneurs are experts at taking existing technology and putting it to a new use – such as HIV researchers utilizing the existing base of gamers already playing on FoldIt, or organizations like Kiva using existing mobile technology.

Other examples are e-readers being used to increase global literacy, or solar technology being scaled down to make it more affordable and accessible.

Young innovators, a generation of Millennials who are focused on social responsibility paired with economic sustainability, are making waves.

They’re already experts at adopting and adapting technology to their needs, and as they create businesses focused on social innovation, the technology will continue to be an integral part of their work.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.