SAP, AWS, Deloitte Push For Canadian Corporate Digitization

Top enterprise technology companies have banned together to promote the digitization of Canadian businesses.

Firms, including SAP, Amazon Web Services and Deloitte, have launched DXagents, an accelerator program that pushes businesses to embrace technology to become more globally competitive. Other members of the effort include Intel, CIO Association of Canada and others, and the partnership agreement will last for one year.

The group will support corporate adoption of digital solutions, like Big Data, the cloud, mobile and social media. Their announcement cited recent research from IDC that revealed 63 percent of businesses in Canada are considered “digital laggards,” and that a lack of technology adoption leads them in a weaker competitive position than their technology-embracing peers.

DXagents will launch a website to act as the “content backbone” of the accelerator, the companies said. The site will update every month to focus on a different stage in the digital transformation process and provide various resources for CIOs and CFOs, including digital readiness guides and starter kits.

“Joining forces with the organizations that make up DXagents is a big step towards us pooling our collective resources and talent to help more Canadian businesses accelerate their transformation,” said Humza Teherany, president of the CIO Association of Canada, as well as CEO of CompassDigitalLabs. “We believe we can give them the best chance of fighting off the competition eyeing up their essentially unguarded market share.”

“I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to turn a big ship and transform in response to market conditions,” said SAP Canada President and CEO John Graham in another statement. “It was invariably purposeful partnerships, shared successes and distributed knowledge that led to the most effective change, which is why I believe this consortium is such a powerful opportunity for Canada.”

The accelerator will also feature roundtable discussions and workshops, the companies noted.