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Sidero CTO: Why multi-cloud strategies are on the rise – Siliconrepublic.com

Sideros Joe Dowling discusses the growth of multi-cloud strategies and the importance of practising what you preach when it comes to digital transformation.

With 30 years experience in the technology industry, Joe Dowling is the newly appointed chief technology officer of Athlone-based software and cloud company Sidero.

Last month, the company announced plans to create 75 new jobs at its Athlone base over the next two years, with new roles primarily in the cloud and software development sectors in response to increasing demand for digital transformation services.

In his role, Dowling leads the companys technology direction and is responsible for enabling the delivery of application migration and modernisation projects at scale. He is also involved in building out Sideros microservices, containerisation, DevOps and cloud managed service offerings.

Prior to becoming CTO, Dowling spent more than five years as agile line manager with Sidero, leading and managing service delivery from four teams and a number of individual consultants to some of the companys key clients.

Before joining Sidero, Dowling oversaw unique research and innovation programmes at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Prior to that, he spent 15 years working with Nokia in its London and San Diego bases, where he held positions across multiple business units as a systems engineer and consultant.

We are practising what we preach to our customers and aggressively adopting digital transformation internally JOE DOWLING

In response to demand, we are currently rolling out a cloud managed service for clients who have gone through recent cloud migrations and or re-hosting or re-platforming. We are also continuing to build upon our multi-cloud computing skills for the three major hyperscalers: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform.

Our team at Sidero is 150 strong, the majority of which are software developers, consultants and architects, all of which are onshore. Sidero provides customers with multiple teams of onshore developers, product owners, cloud architects and scrum masters to help deliver on long-term digital programmes.

Our entire organisation is agile; we can scale up to 50 of the best people at short notice and scale down when needed.

A core pillar of our business is helping our customers on their digital transformation journey. This involves the development of greenfield applications which are built from the ground up to be cloud native, the migration of legacy applications from on-premise servers to the cloud, and architecting or provisioning of cloud infrastructure which acts as cloud landing zones for organisations. Sidero is focused on enabling customers to change faster than their competitors.

We are also practising what we preach to our customers and aggressively adopting digital transformation internally in our own organisation.

Multi-cloud strategies are something that we are increasingly seeing. Clients see some risk in vendor lock-in to a single cloud service provider (CSP) and want to bring in other providers to avoid lock-in and increase competition.

The other major trend is remote working, digital collaboration and ways of working which have fundamentally changed our industry since the start of the pandemic.

Productivity has not been adversely affected by 100pc remote working, however it is still an open question about how long-term work-from-home models will alter the working culture in IT companies.

Digital transformations which involve a shift to cloud computing services have, in my opinion, inherently resulted in an improvement in most organisations security postures. Very few companies can compete with the security teams of the large hyperscaler CSPs, and it is therefore highly advantageous for them to entrust their security to these external teams.

While moving to the cloud brings its own set of security challenges, such as the fact that cloud solutions are inherently more networked, open and shared, the overall security coverage is improved compared to what smaller organisations can accomplish with limited skills and resources.

The cloud results in a shared responsibility model for security between the CSP and the cloud customer. The CSP provides a very secure global infrastructure, however, the organisation still owns and controls the data and how it gets protected and encrypted.

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Everyone’s been talking about AWS, and Google Cloud is jealous – Techradar

Just as the curtain falls on Amazon Web Services' re:Invent 2021 event, Google Cloud has announced a series of new cloud regions, not just in the US, but around the world.

With 29 cloud regions and 88 zones already operational, Google claims that it already runs more regions with multiple availability zones than any other hyperscale cloud provider.

So far in 2021, the company says it has opened new regions in Warsaw (Poland), Delhi NCR (India), Melbourne (Australia) and Toronto (Canada). Next year, meanwhile, Google Cloud will build new cloud regions in Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, as well as in Israel, Germany, and Saudi Arabia.

Reporting on the development, ZDNet asserts that Googles cloud computing subsidiary isnt yet profitable and trails behind both AWS and Microsoft Azure, despite soaring quarterly revenues.

Google, on the other hand, claims its more concerned about other things:

As we add regions across the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Google Cloud is committed to continuing to help build a more sustainable future and create opportunities for everyone, the company said.

As it shares the details of its new upcoming regions, Google says it takes pride in the fact that it runs the cleanest cloud in the industry, pointing to its recently expanded portfolio of carbon-free solutions, and new initiatives designed to help its customers do their bit to save the environment.

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Industrial Cyber Security Market: High Investment in Infrastructure as a Service and Cloud Computing Tools to Augment Growth During Coronavirus -…

Pune, India, Dec. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Industrial Cyber Security Market size is excepted reach to reach USD 29.41 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. The integration of cybersecurity solutions and advanced cloud services by various industries will spur opportunities for the global market during the forecast period, states Fortune Business Insights, in a report, titled Industrial Cyber Security (ICS) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Product, Software and Services), By Security Type (Network Security, Cloud Application Security, End-point Security, Internet Security, and Others), By Industry (Process Industry and Discrete Industry) and Regional Forecasts, 2020-2027. The market size stood at USD 15.84 billion in 2019.

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The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too, shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling, and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

The Report Lists the Key Companies in the Market:

We are making continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreaks across industries to help you prepare for the future.

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The report on industrial cyber security incorporates essential understandings of the market, all-inclusive data about prominent players, distinguished facts and figures, latest developments, key drivers and restraints, along with imperative information about dominant regions. Moreover, the report also provides a brief study regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the industry.

Increasing Acceptance of AI-based Industrial Robots to Bolster Growth

The growing implementation of cloud-based ICS-as-a-service and industrial robots across manufacturing and industrial plants will contribute positively to the markets growth. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2018, there were around 125.6 thousand industry robots deployed across the automotive industry, 105.2 thousand deployed across the electronic industry, and 43.6 thousand deployed across the metal and mining industry worldwide. Similarly, as per the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) report, in 2018, around 422,000 industry robots shipped globally. Cybersecurity solutions secure industrial robots from cyber-attacks, thus supporting smooth operations. Moreover, governments heavy investments in cybersecurity will foster the market's healthy growth in the forthcoming years. For instance, in May 2017, the Singaporean government declared an investment for four years (2017 2021) of around USD 1.76 billion in economic strategies. This investment includes the advancement of various Cybersecurity Agency (CSA) of Singapore.

Investment Plans of Prominent Companies to Uplift Market Amid Coronavirus

The coronavirus has adversely affected the IT sector around the world, consequently hampering the market. However, noteworthy companies are focused on investment strategies to improve the market scenario. According to IDC, worldwide IT spending is expected to decline by 2.7% due to COVID-19. Moreover, the expenditure on infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and cloud computing tools is projected to increase in the near future. For instance, in May 2020, Rockwell Automation, Inc., announced that it has acquired Kalypso, LP., software delivery and consulting organization. The company intends to provide control products and solutions using Kalypsos abilities to develop security solutions. Moreover, the temporary closure of manufacturing facilities, industrial plants, factories, and other industries has restricted the market's expansion.

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Implementation of Cloud-Based Security Solutions to Boost Growth in the Asia Pacific

The market Asia Pacific is expected to rise excellently during the forecast period due to existing companies in China, India, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and other ASEAN countries. The heavy investments in cloud-based security applications will contribute positively to the growth of the market in Asia Pacific. The emergence of new companies coupled with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will foster the healthy development of the market in Asia Pacific. Europe is expected to expand radically during the forecast period owing to the rising investment for secure IT infrastructure across industries. For instance, according to UBS Group AG, in Europe, the estimated electric vehicle revenue is likely to reach around 6.33 million units by 2025.

Key Development:

August 2019: Cisco System Inc., an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in San Jose, California, completed the acquisition of Sentryo, a Lyon, France-based company. Sentryo offers cybersecurity solutions and asset visibility for industrial control systems (ICS).

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Cloud Security Alliance Issues Guidance to Help Organizations Optimize Business Outcomes When Using Cloud-native Key Management Services with External…

Paper offers recommendations for choosing, planning, and deploying cloud-native key management systems when organizations want to or must import key material

SEATTLE, December 02, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the worlds leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today released Cloud Key Management System with External Origin Key. Written by the Cloud Key Management Working Group to help organizations optimize such business outcomes as security, agility, cost, and compliance, the paper provides general guidance for choosing, planning, and deploying cloud-native key management systems (KMS) in cases where organizations either want to or must import key material (e.g., keys, vaults, secrets, policies) from an external source.

"A cloud service providers KMS often has strong ties to its other cloud services, and this same cloud-native KMS using EKO can be used with a customers on-premises technologies and cloud services from other providers. Unsurprisingly, integrating a cloud KMS with an organizations assets spanning traditional private data centers, as well as private and public cloud services in various geographic locations presents a host of challenges," said Paul Rich, co-chair of the Cloud Key Management Working Group and one of the papers authors. "Its our hope that after reading this document, program and project managers who have been tasked with leading their organization through the selection, planning, and deployment stages of cloud-native KMS using EKO will be able map considerations to their organization."

The guidance addresses the technical, operational, legal, regulatory, and financial aspects of leveraging a cloud-native KMS using external key origin (EKO) for each of the three stages of the lifecycle (choosing, planning, and deploying). Each aspect is broken down into further considerations and their accompanying justifications. Because cloud-native key management systems using EKO are relatively new, there isnt a large repository of best practices from which to draw. This guidance, therefore, combines best practices drawn from experience with traditional key management systems, cloud services in general, and cloud-native key management systems.

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For further reading, Key Management in Cloud Services: Understanding Encryptions Desired Outcomes and Limitations provides the foundation for the choice of cloud KMS pattern and general guidance for using KMS whether the KMS is native to a cloud platform, external, self-operated, or yet another cloud service. Additionally, Recommendations for Adopting a Cloud-Native Key Management System provides more specific guidance for choosing, planning, and deploying cloud-native key management systems.

The Cloud Key Management Working Group aims to facilitate the standards for seamless integration between cloud service providers and key broker services. Those interested in participating in future research and initiatives involving cloud key management are invited to join the working group.

Download Cloud Key Management System with External Origin Key now.

About Cloud Security Alliance

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the worlds leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, training, certification, events, and products. CSA's activities, knowledge, and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud from providers and customers to governments, entrepreneurs, and the assurance industry and provide a forum through which different parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at http://www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211202005230/en/

Contacts

Media Contacts Kristina Rundquist for the CSAkristina@zagcommunications.com

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EMBL-EBI Selects Google Cloud as Strategic Partner to Accelerate the Pace of Research – PRNewswire

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, U.K., Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Hosting the world's most comprehensive set of freely available and up-to-date molecular data resources, EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) announced today it has chosen Google Cloud as a strategic cloud partner.

As part of a new, comprehensive, five-year partnership, EMBL-EBI will tap Google Cloud's innovative technologies and global infrastructure to accelerate the pace of service delivery to its global user community, which includes research labs, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and more.

EMBL-EBI hosts a range of open data resources for the life sciences community, spanning genomics, proteins, chemical data, and more. These data resources are freely and openly available for anyone to use, similar to a digital public library. This approach supports open science and speeds up scientific discovery on a global scale.

EMBL-EBI will use Google Cloud's cloud infrastructure and services to accelerate the processing of data from the community, providing more value for researchers and stakeholders, and delivering new insights through EMBL-EBI's data resources.

The partnership between Google Cloud and EMBL-EBI aims to:

The use of cloud infrastructure will support EMBL-EBI's goals, and will not change researchers' access to EMBL-EBI data. The global research community will continue to have open access to the institute's data resources and tools. The data hosted by EMBL-EBI will continue to be stored in the institute's data centres and will remain accessible via existing methods indefinitely. Over time, copies of selected data may be stored and processed in Google Cloud, in compliance with EMBL's internal data classification and data protection policies, and leveraging Google Cloud's advanced data protection capabilities. All data stored on Google Cloud by EMBL-EBI remains under EMBL-EBI control and delivery.

Steven Newhouse, Head of Technical Services, EMBL-EBI said: "Google has an incredible network of life science expertise as well as infrastructure services that provide a tremendous opportunity to work together to help speed up scientific discovery. We're excited about the possibilities that Google Cloud's secure, flexible, and connected infrastructure can provide to EMBL-EBI to enable our services to be accessed globally."

Mark Palmer, Head of Public Sector, EMEA, Google Cloud, commented: "As we continue our work with customers in the research space, the impact of cloud computing becomes increasingly clear. As part of this new partnership, we have the opportunity to accelerate research by providing EMBL-EBI with high performance computing solutions that will provide researchers with the tools and compute to drive more effective and efficient research."

About Google CloudGoogle Cloud accelerates organizations' ability to digitally transform their business with the best infrastructure, platform, industry solutions and expertise. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

About EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI)The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is a global leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We help scientists realise the potential of big data by enhancing their ability to exploit complex information to make discoveries that benefit humankind.

We are at the forefront of computational biology research, with work spanning sequence analysis methods, multi-dimensional statistical analysis and data-driven biological discovery, from plant biology to mammalian development and disease.

We are part of EMBL and are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge UK, one of the world's largest concentrations of scientific and technical expertise in genomics.

FundingAs part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the majority of EMBL-EBI's funding comes from the governments of EMBL's member states. EMBL-EBI'stechnical infrastructure development is also supported by capital investment from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). EMBL-EBI is extremely grateful to its funders for their continued support in helping the institute develop its technical infrastructure, which is crucial for making biological data freely and openly available to the international scientific community.

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Running business on Cloud – The Hindu

From SaaS to IaaS to PaaS, the application of cloud computing has now become universal

If you want to sell something, the most important thing to focus on is the business model. And if you want to sell your products or services online, then you need a web portal that supports a business process that goes from taking the request,delivering the product and collecting the payment. Twenty years ago one would have to set up a technical team to manage all the computer infrastructure. However, that is no longer the case.

With Cloud Computing, you only have to subscribe to a service provider to obtain the hardware and operating system that your software needs. This lets you focus on the core business problem and not worry about computer infrastructure which will reside in a datacentre in your country or somewhere else. And the pricing for this mix of hardware product and service is based on how long the computers are used, the type of hardware and how much data is stored etc.. In other words, Cloud Computing brings the utility model to computer infrastructure: like electricity, we only pay for how much we use. Cloud computing business had a valuation of $370 billion in 2020 and it reflects how critically important Cloud Computing is to any business that uses software. Almost 50% of all corporate data is stored in the Cloud.

At the heart of Cloud computing are two vital technologies: virtualisation which lets computer resources be shared through multiple virtual machines; and network that lets data requests flow to and from the datacentre or the Cloud through the Internet. It needs to be noted that resource sharing and utility computing have existed in some form for many years. A good example is the IBM mainframe which accepted job requests and allocated computing resources. But the difference with Cloud computing is that hardware resources are distributed across multiple locations and there is a diverse choice of software that is available to consumers. Mainframes typically were high power computers but Cloud computing offers more computing power with commodity hardware and more choice of software pre-installed as per our demand.

This model of utility computing is called pay-as-you-go and it is the same principle behind Software as a Service (SaaS). With SaaS, a software user is charged based on how many transactions a customer makes and the volume of those transactions, instead of a flat fee. An example is Google Photos where a customer pays based on the giga-bytes that is required to store photos. Other popular examples are Zoho applications and Google Applications. SaaS model is now present in various complex businesses. Even Cloud Computing services like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, work on the principle of SaaS but because they offer Infrastructure, they are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) if we order hardware with minimal software, or Platform as a Service (PaaS) if we order hardware with more than minimal software installed on it.

When software is built and run on the Cloud, depending on where the servers (ie, the computer infrastructure) are located, the response time will differ. To provide quick responses especially when customers are present in multiple geographies (think Google or Amazon or IRCTC), it is prudent to host the Cloud in multiple locations. This is called Edge computing. By Cloud we refer to the same datacentre and network circuits that are used by multiple customers including possibly our business competitors. It is also called public Cloud. In contrast to this is the private Cloud where geographically distributed hardware are cordoned off virtually such that the computing resources are allotted only to one customer. A recent trend is to manage data security issues by using hybrid Cloud: the extremely vital, private information is stored in the private Cloud while the less critical data is stored in the public Cloud.

Cloud Computing unleashes unlimited computing resources and to use these resources to the fullest, new software development paradigms need to be adopted. For example, the recent trend known as Cloud native development is developing software that runs on multiple parallel threads or can automatically request for extra servers when demand is high and turn off servers when demand is low.

In order to automate launching new servers, managing them, running software in them, scaling them down etc. automation software like Terraform is used. These are called Infrastructure-as-a-service software. There are many solutions built around infrastructure failing over to a back-up, spawn new virtual machines called containers and ensure High Availability etc.. These solutions all come under the umbrella called Devops (Development and Operations).

When Cloud Computings potential is used well, one can launch rich features faster and put customers on cloud nine.

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Varcoe: Amazon ‘bet the right way’ choosing Calgary for new data hub and tech training – Calgary Herald

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Last months announcement that AWS will create a regional hub in Calgary sent a buzz through the local tech sector

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It only took a few hours for the applications to start flooding in.

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After Amazon Web Services announced in early November it will build a new cloud-computing hub in Calgary and team up with Mount Royal University on a local training program response from hopeful employees and would-be students was immediate.

Three weeks later, it continues to expand.

We had dozens of applicants (for training) within 24 hours, and within a week, hundreds of applicants, which is great, AWS country manager Rejean Bourgault said in an interview Thursday from Montreal.

(Were) getting hundreds of resumes, too. So were very pleased by the demand . . . by the talent were getting.

Last months announcement that AWS will create a regional hub in Calgary, building three data centres in the region, has sent a buzz through the local tech sector, another sign of its evolution.

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It underscores the potential to expand the industry, but also the need to develop digital skills for workers to fill new jobs.

As local and provincial authorities are ramping up training for the sector, Calgary Economic Development says more than 2,000 technology positions remain open in the city.

Its not just a Calgary issue, its happening globally, said Brad Parry, CEDs interim president.

There will always be a bit of a crunch for that senior talent, which is what people are really looking to bring in, but we are starting to see that turn the corner a little bit.

Seattle-based AWS expects it will create 871 jobs locally by 2037, as well as positions outside the province.

Construction has started on the three data centres, although AWS doesnt disclose where theyre being built for security reasons.

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The hub wont start operating until late 2023 or early 2024, but AWS is already advertising for about 30 positions, from data centre technicians and logistics specialists to a regional environmental engineer, Bourgault said.

We have to pick the right place and also we have to make sure we have the right talent, he said.

We are very confident that we will have the right talent, especially with the resumes were getting. So we know now that we bet the right way we basically decided on the right region.

Other international tech companies are moving into the city, while a number of startup firms are quickly scaling up and adding staff during the pandemic.

The Council of Canadian Innovators, a technology industry group, said Thursday that finding and hiring new staff will be the No. 1 challenge for homegrown tech firms, and the biggest barrier to growth in 2022.

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Yet, companies are expanding, with many training staff internally.

Childrens streaming service Kidoodle.TV, a Calgary-based firm, has expanded its workforce to about 100 employees from 40 in the past year, mainly in Alberta. Chief technology officer Daniel Riddell said he wouldnt be surprised if staffing doubles again next year.

Kidoodle, which reported a 3,200 per cent increase in customers last year, uses AWS for storing and delivering video files to customers, for data analysis, inter-company communications and advertising.

Skills in cloud computing are critical for the future and hiring people with those abilities has been challenging in the province, he said.

Its been very difficult, I would say, because that skill set generally comes later in a career and those people have tended to move south of the border and are employed down there, Riddell said.

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The solution is, quite honestly, starting the exposure and training much earlier. This is the kind of thing that should be taught in junior high school, because this is how the world works today.

While Alberta faces a tech talent shortage, it is still grappling with high unemployment, with the jobless rate expected to average 7.1 per cent next year, according to the provinces new fiscal update.

Programs to help Albertans obtain necessary digital skills will pay off over the longer term, but multinationals moving into the province will exacerbate the existing labour shortage for technology firms, said Bronte Valk of the Council of Canadian Innovators.

We do have zero unemployment in tech right now, she said.

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Thats why training initiatives are so important.

When CED began operating a program to re-skill displaced oil and gas professionals looking to pivot into IT a couple of years ago, demand was enormous, with 1,200 people applying for 100 training seats, Parry said.

Other post-secondary programs at the University of Calgary and SAIT have added student positions, while some companies are coming to the province with their own internal training programs.

Multinational IT company Infosys announced last spring it will create up to 500 new jobs in Calgary within three years, and signalled it will make the city an innovation hub where it works with post-secondaries to create a steady talent pool.

AWS will team up with Mount Royal University, along with support from CED, to offer a free 12-week skills development program. The initiative is intended to help unemployed or underemployed individuals acquire the necessary skills for entry-level cloud positions.

More than 100 people signed up for information about the classes within a day of the announcement (for 40 available spots in the first class) and the list now tops 325, said Brad Mahon, dean of MRUs faculty of continuing education.

The program is expected to launch in late February.

It really addresses a need here in the province, Mahon said.

Not only do we have a displaced workforce that needs to re-skill, but we also have this emerging sector. And what this program does is connect those two.

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@postmedia.com

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Magnus Carlsen Hates the World Chess Championship Format, Apparently – World Chess

While theWorld Chess Championship inDubai continues with aseemingly unending streak ofdraws, Magnus Carlsen, thedefending world champion, has again voiced disdain fortheformat oftheChampionship cycle something he said before andlikely topush forinthefuture.

ANorwegian journalist asked both Nepo andCarlsen about their view oftheChampionship format. Carlsens answer: You have nothing good tosay, its better nottosay anything atall.

Inhis previous comments, Carlsen stated that thesystem is skewed infavor ofthedefending champion, who has totake part inthebiannual match while his opponents must go through agrueling cycle ofquestionable logic that does notnecessarily produce thebest challenger. Carlsens idea toreturn tothesystem that was inplace inthe90s, where theChampion was decided inalarge knockout tournament similar tothecurrent FIDE World Cup.

When this system was used byFIDE todetermine theWorld Champion, it was ridiculed forthefact that it produced random champions, who played well inthat particular tournament butwere notremotely thestrongest players intheworld.

Thecurrent World Chess Championship system, which includes aseries ofqualification tournaments (Grand Swiss, theGrand Prix Series, andtheCandidates) brings substantial revenue toFIDE, thesports governing body, andsupports Carlsens position both inchess andinbusiness. Butits adouble-edged sword: inanunlikely event ofCarlsen losing theMatch, he will face aneed towin theCandidates on demand analmost impossible task even forCarlsen especially if he is out ofform.

Having anannual knock-out World Chess Championship with likely random results will mean that thechampionship title will be slightly debased, giving space totherankings (where Carlsen has been number one formore than adecade).

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Magnus Carlsen Hates the World Chess Championship Format, Apparently - World Chess

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Business executive credits chess for honing his analytical skills – The Globe and Mail

Mark Bluvshtein v Veselin Topalov, Russia 2010 (See diagram)

When Mark Bluvshtein thinks about his success in the world of business, he is quick to credit his training as a competitive chess player.

Chess forces me to think one step ahead, he says. It has gotten me to be very analytical in everything I do.

How does White break through against the world's Number 2 player?The Globe and Mail

At 33, he is vice-president of operations for Humi, a Toronto-based firm that provides HR, payroll and benefits systems to small and medium-sized businesses.

Before that, he held several leadership positions with Wave Financial, a one-time startup that was acquired by H&R Block for $537-million in 2019.

Born in the Soviet Union, Bluvshtein moved to Canada at the age of 11 and was soon winning every chess tournament in sight. He became an international master at 13, and the youngest chess grandmaster in Canadian history at 16.

But after his undergraduate degree he decided he didnt want to pursue chess as his career. He joined TD as an investment banker, then got his MBA before applying his analytical skills to increasingly senior roles with businesses.

As for the future, it will be in business and management. But one thing wont change.

I love chess. I still look at chess every day.

Bluvshtein played 24.Nxd6 and after Bxd6 25.Rxd6 Rxe2 26.Rxd8+ Kf7 27.Bxe2 White has a decisive advantage.

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Business executive credits chess for honing his analytical skills - The Globe and Mail

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The Armenian Advantage: The Past, Present and Future of Chess – The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Interestingly, though both boys and girls were playing chess, the most celebrated Soviet Armenian players are men. While there were no Soviet Armenian female chess pioneers such as Georgias Nona Gaprindashvili, Armenian women players were still making strides in the sport. In 1964, Tamara Boiakhchian won the Armenian National Championship for the first time, and would go on to win more Armenian championships for a total of 7 times. Representing neighboring Georgia, ethnically Armenian Varvara Stepanovna Zargarian found success not only in winning the National Georgian Championship in 1938 and 1939, but also by playing in the 1945 USSR Womens Championship. Another ethnically Armenian player, Nonna Karakashyan, won the National Azerbaijan Championship in 1961, 1963 and 1964, and was a member of the Azerbaijani national team for almost a decade. Karakashyan would later come to be a Deputy Director of the Executive Committee of the Armenian Chess Federation after the collapse of the USSR.

Chess in Armenia Today

Much of Armenias chess success continues to this day. Since independence, Armenia has been punching well above its weight, winning the World Chess Olympiad 3 times, and boasting 24 active Armenian grandmasters, 4 women grandmasters, 17 international masters and 4 women international masters; not to mention the fact that Armenian Levon Aronian is the fourth-highest rated chess player in history. Independent Armenia also takes pride in having a woman who is a grandmaster, Elina Danielian one of only 38 women in the world. Danielian, its worth noting, is independent Armenias first European individual champion of either sex.Woman Grandmaster and Secretary General of the Armenian Chess Federation Maria Gevorgyan

So what exactly is it that has driven Armenians to produce such successful chess players in the 21st century? Well, for some players, it starts in the home. In the words of Woman Grandmaster and Secretary General of the Armenian Chess Federation Maria Gevorgyan, in almost every family in Armenia, there is a chess player. WGM Gevorgyan, born in 1994 and a member of the newest generation of Armenian chess stars, began playing chess at the age of three, and when old enough, took classes and began competing more seriously once her talent was discovered. From there on, among her many successes in Armenia and internationally, she placed 3rd in the European Youth Chess Championship in the girls U18 category in 2011, becoming the first female from Armenia in 18 years to win such a title in Europe at the time.

Just like her, children today who are interested and/or talented can go to study chess with a tutor, at a chess camp, or one of the various chess schools and academies in the country. WGM Gevorgyan noted that for younger children, there are many opportunities to take classes and study chess for free. Armenia of course, made history by becoming the first country in the world to mandate the teaching of chess in public school in 2011, though the impact of classes has yet to be fully understood, as the first generation to have taken them is too young to see a result.

As far as other chess infrastructure, Armenia is fortunate to have grandmasters and highly ranked players who coach at chess schools or privately. Youth who have talent typically go to additional lessons where they solve more intense puzzles, learn advanced techniques and work with tougher coaches. In some instances, as early as middle school, players with potential choose to either intensify their chess studies or focus on school. Those who choose the path of chess of course still stay in school but prioritize chess.

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The Armenian Advantage: The Past, Present and Future of Chess - The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

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