CIO Strategy Council and DCA sign partnership

CIO Strategy Council and Data Collaboration Alliance sign partnership to advance Data Governance Standards for the Canadian ICT ecosystem

TORONTO, October 28, 2020 – The CIO Strategy Council (CIOSC) and the Data Collaboration Alliance (DCA) today announced a partnership to advance new research and standards for data ownership and governance in Canada.

Increasing focus on Data Ownership

In jurisdictions throughout the World, there’s a growing awareness that data generated by private citizens, businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations has significant value, but has also raised fundamental questions about who owns data, and who benefits from it.

Answers to these questions are further challenged by the predicted explosion in the number of applications which host sensitive data. According to a recent report by research firm IDC:

“By 2023, over 500 million digital apps and services will be developed and deployed using cloud-native approaches – the same number of apps developed in the last 40 years.”

(Source: IDC FutureScape, October, 2019)

“Canadians are increasingly relying on essential digital services - from purchasing groceries and performing everyday banking to receiving virtual care," said Keith Jansa, Executive Director of the CIO Strategy Council. “The data collected and consumed by these services through our daily interactions requires appropriate governance to maintain public trust in their effective use.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role by forcing many organizations to accelerate major IT projects in order to respond to the new contactless economy. The vast majority of these projects require a complex process known as “integration” - a costly IT function that results in sensitive data being copied between applications and systems. These copies present an additional challenge to regulators and digital service providers seeking to improve control for data owners.

“The MOU signed today between the CIO Strategy Council and the Data Collaboration Alliance represents a significant first step towards a new era in data governance and efficiency,” said Dan DeMers, President of the Data Collaboration Alliance, “Our shared goal is to make owner-defined controls an operational reality and to massively reduce the tax on innovation represented by traditional integration.”

About CIO Strategy Council

The CIO Strategy Council provides a forum for Canada’s most forward-thinking chief information officers to focus on collectively transforming, shaping, and influencing the Canadian information and technology ecosystem. The Council has deployed a nationally accredited, agile, and consensus-based standards-setting process that matches the speed of innovation and advancement in information and communications technology (ICT). Learn more at ciostrategycouncil.com

About Data Collaboration Alliance

The Data Collaboration Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to resolving the challenge of giving increased protection for data stakeholders while satisfying demands for digital innovation.

We’re advancing new technologies, standards, and methodologies that eliminate the replication of data and place control at the heart of digital service design. We operate a thought leadership program, develop new technology for important causes, and offer free skills development for data-centric technologists. Learn more at datacollaboration.org #ACCESSNOTCOPIES

For more information:

Matthew MacNeil Director, Standards and Technology CIO Strategy Council www.ciostrategycouncil.com

Chris McLellan Director, Partnerships

Data Collaboration Alliance chris@datacollaboration.org

For media inquiries:

Megan Ip Senior Communications Manager CIO Strategy Council www.ciostrategycouncil.com