Christine Wong

Expert Blogger /

Christine Wong is a journalist based in Toronto who has covered a wide range of startups and technology issues. A former staff writer with ITBusiness.ca, she has also worked as a reporter for the Canadian Economic Press and in broadcast roles at SliceTV and the CBC.

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Recent Posts

News / IT Management /

5 things you need to know about SD-Branch

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / September 5, 2019

Tags: SD-Branch, SD-WAN

You might be piloting or upgrading to SD-WAN … but have you heard of SD-Branch? This up-and-coming technology, enabled by SD-WAN, can save time, resources and money — especially as you expand the reach of your networks out to remote branch locations.

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News / IT Management /

Back to school: DIY skills development for IT pros

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / August 22, 2019

Tags: skills development, training

With autumn approaching and that back-to-school feeling in the air, here’s how to take learning into your own hands — and take your career to the next level.

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News / IT Management /

Queue up new connections at the barbeque

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / August 8, 2019

Tags: career networking

Forget about traditional schmoozing events this summer. Here are some ways to mix career networking into the remaining days of summer as easily as blending a sweet, frosty cocktail.

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News / Unified Communications /

Are you ready for next-gen UC?

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / July 25, 2019

Tags: UC, UCaaS

The disparate pieces of the UC puzzle are finally coming together as a more unified, cohesive entity for enterprise customers. Here’s what you need to know about the next evolution of unified communications.

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News / IT Management /

5 ways to manage growing IT network complexity

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / July 11, 2019

Tags: digital diversity, edge computing, Gartner, serverless computing

Analysts outlined the hottest trends in enterprise IT and cloud computing at the Gartner IT Symposium in Toronto last month — and offered a few tips to help network pros manage this increasingly complex environment.

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News / IT Management /

Network complexity drives need for unified standards

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / June 20, 2019

Tags: IT network, standards, telecom

Both carriers and vendors attending the Canadian Telecom Summit say the industry needs increased cooperation and standardized services to deal with an increasingly complex networking environment.

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News / IT Management /

Death of the corporate data centre? Not just yet

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / June 6, 2019

Tags: data centre

Cloud is growing, but half of workloads are still run in enterprise-owned facilities and many organizations plan to use their own data centre for edge computing capacity, according to Uptime Institute’s latest survey. Here’s our take on the findings.

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News / Big Data /

Why open banking isn’t open for business

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / May 23, 2019

Tags: fintech, open banking

Data sharing will allow banks to create more targeted products and services, while reducing risks like fraud. And customers will have new options for managing their money. So why hasn’t open banking extended beyond basic APIs and embraced the fintech community?

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News / IT Management /

Why 5G isn’t just another ‘G’

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / May 9, 2019

Tags: 5G, SDN

There’s more to 5G than higher speed and lower latency. By harnessing NFV and SDN, both based on open source standards, it represents a ‘radical shift’ for the industry.

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News / IT Management /

The shape-shifting role of the ‘new’ CIO

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / April 25, 2019

IT leaders are expected to craft a new business model around platform-based ecosystems while building strategic partnerships and spotting (and engaging) new talent. Here’s how the role of CIO is changing and how their departments can keep up.

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News / IT Management /

5G claims vs reality

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / April 11, 2019

Tags: 5G, Wi-Fi 6

Technologies such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will help prevent potential network logjams as global mobile data traffic grows exponentially — but we’re not there yet. Here’s how to differentiate the marketing hype from today’s reality.

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News / IT Management /

10 ways to reduce AI adoption challenges

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / March 28, 2019

Tags: AI, artificial intelligence, chatbots

Like any toddler, artificial intelligence is taking a few tumbles before it can walk and eventually run. Here are some tips for enterprises struggling to get the three most popular AI deployments off the ground: chatbots, virtual assistants and conversational platforms.

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News / IT Management /

Don’t get left behind in the race for IT innovation

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / March 14, 2019

Tags: digital disruption, DX, innovation

While some enterprises hold back on new tech adoption to save money, that conservative posture may cost them far more in terms of talent and competitiveness over the long run.

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News / IT Management /

How AI will transform the enterprise network

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / February 28, 2019

Tags: AI, AIOps, ML

Self-organizing networks will no longer simply detect, diagnose and monitor, but actually take proactive, prescriptive action. Here’s how predictive AI and ML could be a game changer for IT operations and network capacity planning.

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News / IT Management /

How AI and smart automation will affect your job

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / February 14, 2019

Tags: AI, artificial intelligence, automation, future of work

Automation, especially when coupled with artificial intelligence, is already driving productivity and personalization in the workplace — and fear. Two industry experts explain what this could mean for IT pros, from human/machine hybrid IT to the return of the generalist.

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News / IT Management /

Debunking 3 myths about digital disruption

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / January 31, 2019

Tags: digital disruption, DX

There are fads, and there are disruptors. Here’s how to recognize the difference and carve out a strategy to ensure your organization ends up on the winning side of disruption.

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News / IT Management /

How IT pros plan to spend their budget in 2019

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / January 10, 2019

Here’s a glimpse of how much IT professionals intend to spend on new technologies, what they’re going to buy, and the types of talent they want to hire to make it all work.

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News / IT Management /

Top 5 tech trends for network managers in 2019

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / December 13, 2018

Tags: IDC, tech predictions, tech trends

From a move to the edge to AI as the new UI, we’ve ripped the shiny paper off five of IDC’s most notable tech predictions as we head into 2019.

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News / IT Management /

Considering 5G? Consider these 5 questions

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / November 29, 2018

Tags: 5G

After years of hype, 5G could finally become a reality in the New Year. But when evaluating whether your organization should get onboard — and in what capacity — ask yourself these fundamental questions: who, what, where, when and why.

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News / Business Continuity /

Is your data centre ready for severe weather?

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / November 15, 2018

The Uptime Institute’s new 2018 report found that 71 per cent of data centres are not prepared for the increasing incidence of superstorms, flooding, lightning, drought and wildfires. Here’s why complacency is not an option.

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News / IT Management /

Banks take cue from consumer-facing platforms

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / November 1, 2018

Tags: banking, finance, fintech

Acquiring fintech firms wasn’t enough: banks now face competitive pressure from digital players such as Google, Amazon and Apple. Here’s how banks are taking a post-platform path and moving beyond traditional banking to stay relevant.

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News / Security /

How to win at cloud security

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / October 18, 2018

If you’re trying to shift your existing technology to the cloud and patch it like a quilt, stop right there. Instead, follow these key takeaways from SecTor about managing security and compliance gaps in enterprise cloud environments.

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News / IT Management /

3 ways to succeed at retail tech innovation

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / October 4, 2018

An RSR survey of global retailers shows how success is linked to customer experience, business intelligence and fail-fast innovation — not simply a focus on the bottom line.

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News / Security /

Pros and cons of a Zero Trust security framework

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / September 20, 2018

Tags: Zero Trust

Zero Trust isn’t a product or a solution; it’s a philosophy and a strategy around cybersecurity that demands inward reflection. We look at how it works, the pros and cons of this approach, and why it may — or may not — be the right fit for your organization.

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News / IT Management /

How blockchain could boost enterprise collaboration

By Christine Wong / Expert Blogger / September 6, 2018

What makes blockchain compelling is its potential to make communications truly private and secure — and it might just turbo-charge collaboration tools like VoIP and UC&C.

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