Meet Dr. Ann Cavoukian, a privacy expert with some invaluable advice for Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses

When was the last time you thought about customer/client privacy? You might think that maintaining customer privacy comes at the expense of your marketing and sales activities. In fact, the opposite is true: customers will reward you for communicating and observing a clearly articulated privacy policy—written in plain language—that protects their interests and yours.

That’s just one of the many insights for small and medium-sized businesses Dr. Ann Cavoukian offers in her video presentation at Modern Workplace on Demand, Microsoft’s new business channel. As a preview of the channel, we’re offering her complete presentation. Just click on the image to watch her talk.

Who is Dr. Ann Cavoukian?

You may recognize Dr. Cavoukian from her books or many media appearances. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on privacy and currently the Distinguished Expert-in-Residence at Ryerson University, leading the Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence as well as serving as a Senior Fellow of the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre. During her three terms as Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner she created Privacy by Design, a framework that proactively embeds privacy into the design specifications of information technologies, networked infrastructure, and business practices.

Privacy by Design

In 2010, regulators at the International Conference of Data Protection Authorities and Privacy Commissioners unanimously recognized Privacy by Design as an essential component of privacy protection. Since then, her doctorate has been translated into 39 languages. Talk about global thought leadership! Not surprisingly, Dr. Cavoukian has received numerous accolades and awards for her leadership. You can find a more detailed biography about her on Modern Workplace on Demand.

Watch the teasers!

So, who else is on the channel? Microsoft has assembled some of Canada’s foremost technology experts to speak about the subjects of most importance to small businesses.

 

Digital transformation: Fawn Annan, President and Group Publisher of IT World Canada/IDG Canada—the world’s biggest technology publisher—describes her company’s remarkable seven-year digital transformation journey. This is a must-watch video for anyone struggling with their own company’s reinvention strategy.

Privacy: Dr. Ann Cavoukian, the former Ontario Privacy Commissioner and one of world’s premier privacy experts, discusses the importance and business benefits of embracing privacy by design. If you believe that privacy and sales/marketing are somehow at odds, this is the presentation you need to watch to get up to speed.

Trendspotting: Marc Saltzman, one of Canada’s most celebrated technology journalists, shares his expert perspective on the most important tech trends for small business. He discusses automation, blockchain, and cloud services—among other transformative technologies—as he gives us a fascinating glimpse of the near future.

Accessibility: Ricardo Wagner, Microsoft Canada’s accessibility lead, delivers an eye-opening presentation on the need for more accessibility and inclusivity in the workplace. He makes a powerful business case for embracing people with disabilities as a motivation to innovate, attract more customers, and great employees.

Innovation: Gladstone Grant, Microsoft’s National Director of Solution Sales, delivers a truly inspirational video exploring the remarkable opportunities cloud services and transformative technologies represent for small businesses. You can use his presentation to kick-off an innovation brainstorming session with your team.

And those are just some of the video presentations! Modern Workplace on Demand also offers ebooks, success stories, product information, and a chance to earn as you learn. Subscribers who earn enough points by watching videos and consuming other content on the channel can qualify to win a free Surface device.

Microsoft is currently offering subscriptions to the channel for free. To take advantage of this offer, just visit www.microsoft.ca/modernworkplace and complete the form.