Archive for October 3, 2018

TrueGEN Selects Martello for SD-WAN Solution

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 3, 2018 by itnerd

Martello Technologies Group Inc. announced today that TrueGEN, a networking and security company based in Belgium, has selected Martello for its SD-WAN deployments. Many of TrueGEN’s customers are seeking a solution that addresses the security and performance limitations of MPLS, and the company chose Martello’s SD-WAN technology to assist in these multi-site deployments where connectivity, uptime and VPN performance are important. A Martello Elite Partner, TrueGEN specializes in IT Network Security, and by using Martello’s Elfiq solutions, its customers will be provided with an extra layer of encryption.

TrueGEN started working with Elfiq Networks, now a subsidiary of Martello, to offer its customers a business continuity solution that would mitigate the failover delay encountered with firewalls. This led to reduced downtime, and building on this success, TrueGEN then began offering its customers the Martello Elfiq SD-WAN solution, which except in rare cases they can deploy without assistance from Martello support. This deployment simplicity was made even better when TrueGEN then expanded its toolset with the addition of Martello’s fault & performance management capabilities. TrueGEN now has deeper visibility into their customers’ network, with the capacity to monitor and inspect site health, and to prioritize traffic by application.

Read the TrueGEN Case Study.

Martello’s proven solutions have been recognized by the industry.  In September, the company received a Frost & Sullivan Leadership Award for NPM (Network Performance Management) and ranked as Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Company at No. 28 on the Growth 500 list of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies. In August 2018, the company received the INTERNET TELEPHONY SD-WAN Product of the Year Award, and in June 2018 Martello debuted on the Branham300 listing of Canada’s top ICT (Information and Communications Technology) companies. The company recently went public with a TSXV listing, following the closure of an oversubscribed $7.5 million private placement. The company’s ambitious growth plans include future merger and acquisition activity, an area in which the company has a positive track record. In December 2017, Martello merged with SD-WAN player Elfiq Networks.

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A Follow Up To My Story On Apple Pay Cash Potentially Coming To Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 3, 2018 by itnerd

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about Apple Pay Cash coming to Canada in the near future because of this story that I posted recently. Thus I thought that a follow up would be in order laying out all the evidence that I have at hand.

First, from where I stand it’s not a matter of if but when Apple Pay Cash comes to Canada. That’s because MobileSyrup has reported that Apple has filed for a trademark for Apple Pay Cash within Canada last year. Apple may have done that to stop someone from snatching the trademark out from under them, but it is more likely that they did it because the service is coming to Canada at some point.

Second, Apple Pay Cash appears to be rolling out in the EU based on a couple of reports of support for Apple Pay Cash showing up on some iDevices in various EU countries over the last couple of days. Why is this relevant? It’s relevant because that this is a similar path that Apple took when they rolled out Apple Pay. Which is that they went to Europe and a few other places before they came to Canada. On top of that, Apple Pay setup screens have appeared in Canada recently as per iPhoneInCanada.ca. That too seems to support the theory that Apple Pay Cash is coming to Canada sooner rather than later. So does the fact that watchOS 5 brought an Apple Pay Cash button that watchOS users have seen consistently.

So what’s holding things up in Canada? My guess is that the banks who are known for being conservative when it comes to tech like this are slowing things down. That was the case with Apple Pay before it finally arrived here in Canada. Another factor might be Interac who has a service that lets you send money to people electronically that is somewhat like Apple Pay Cash and has broad adoption with the banks here in Canada. They would be less than thrilled with having any sort of competition in that space. Though I suspect that they would jump on board under the right conditions.

The fact is that even with all these clues, I have yet to see anything that definitively says when Apple Pay Cash might come to Canada. It might be next week, or next month, or next year. The only thing that I can do is ping my sources, keep an eye on places like Reddit, and keep an eye on my various iDevices to see if any new info on this front pops up. And as soon as I have something substantial, I will share it with you ASAP. Conversely, if you see anything or hear anything, please let me know via leaving a comment or dropping me an email.

Here’s to hoping that Apple Pay Cash shows up in Canada sooner rather than later.

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McAfee Study Names Jann Arden As The Most Dangerous Canadian Celebrity

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 3, 2018 by itnerd

McAfee’s annual Most Dangerous Celebrity study found this year’s most dangerous Canadian celebrity is singer-songwriter Jann Arden. Arden supplanted Shawn Mendes who topped last year’s list. The Most Dangerous Celebrity study, which is in its twelfth year, reveals the celebrities who generate the riskiest search results that could expose fans to malicious websites.

This year’s list of dangerous Canadian celebrities includes:

Position Celebrity
1 Jann Arden
2 Cobie Smulders
3 Carrie-Anne Moss
4 Ellen Page
5 Evangeline Lilly
6 Rachel McAdams
7 Neve Campbell
8 Avril Lavigne
9 Celine Dion
10 Pamela Anderson

 

Half of the celebrities in the top ten have appeared in superhero movies, including The Avengers’ Cobie Smulders (No. 2), Carrie-Anne Moss of Jessica Jones (No. 3), Ellen Page, who appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand (No. 4), and Evangeline Lilly of Ant-Man and the Wasp (No. 5).

McAfee offered tips on how consumers can search for news on their favourite celebrities more safely.

How to Search Safely

  • Be careful what you click. Users looking for a sneak-peek of Jann Arden’s upcoming CTV mockumentary series Jannshould be cautious and only download directly from a reliable source. The safest thing to do is to wait for the official release instead of visiting a third-party website that could contain malware.
  • Apply system and application updates as soon as they are available. Very often the operating system and application updates include security fixes. Applying updates is an important step to help ensure devices stay protected.
  • Browse with security protection. McAfee Total Protection is a comprehensive security solution that can help keep devices protected against malware, phishing attacks, and other threats. It includes McAfee WebAdvisor which can help protect against going to malicious websites.
  • Use parental control software. Kids are fans of celebrities too, so ensure that limits are set on the child’s device and use software that can help minimize exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites.

 

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Hitachi Solutions America Releases IoT Service Hub 2.0

Posted in Commentary with tags on October 3, 2018 by itnerd

Hitachi Solutions America, a leading provider of global industry solutions powered by the Microsoft Cloud, has introduced version 2.0 of the IoT Service Hub. The latest release includes new efficiencies that strengthen the turnkey IoT platform’s real-time monitoring, rules-based analytics, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. The new functionality also widens the range of industries supported and products that can be integrated into the solution.

Hitachi Solutions IoT Service Hub 2.0 includes a host of new features that helps clients:

  • More efficiently build, deploy, and support production IoT solutions
    • Efficiency improvements help automatically manage and delete blobs
    • New tools help clone large numbers of IoT devices/assets at one time
    • Ability to use sample data and launch a data simulator to help with testing and prepare for deployment
  • Deploy IoT Service Hub in a wider variety of industries and businesses
    • Measurement type entity creation ensures flexibility with different IoT sensors that capture different types of data — allowing support for more industries
    • Automatic case and work order creation in Dynamics 365 provides increased data visibility and accessibility
  • Integrate with Microsoft IoT Central
    • IoT Service Hub now integrates with Microsoft’s IoT Central to more quickly get those users up and running with basic IoT monitoring

Built on the Microsoft Azure cloud, the IoT Service Hub serves as the gateway for creating end-to-end, autonomous IoT equipment maintenance solutions that help proactively pinpoint service needs and manage the entire corrective service lifecycle. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning to perform predictive and rules-based analytics from sensor data gathered from equipment, workers, and the environment, the solution helps:

  • Create a data-driven business model with improved operational efficiencies and reduced maintenance costs
  • Leverage data analytics to help predict, adapt, and react more quickly and effectively
  • Reduce unplanned downtime, enhance recovered capacity, and decrease inventory
  • Empower decision makers with real-time visibility and deep operational intelligence

 

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