Aptum CEO Ian Ray argues that sovereignty requires control over our digital supply chain.
You may have noticed that the Internet has recently stopped working.
relatively minor AWS outage The cloud provider's US-EAST-1 region still managed to take down Fortnite, Snapchat and a bunch of Canadian startups in a day, with some experts predicting hundreds of billions in lost productivity. A few days later Microsoft Azure outage caused similar damage.
“We were sleepwalking our way into this new economy, and we had sort of a wake-up call.”
This is not the best option for sovereignty advocates who call for Canada will build its own digital infrastructure counteract US dominance.
But what if I told you that Canada already has cloud sovereignty? Many of them, in fact.
Ian Ray, CEO of cloud computing service provider Suitablehas been creating Internet infrastructure since 1994. He is also on Evan Solomon's list of ministers. Artificial Intelligence Task Force to help update the national AI strategy (including infrastructure and sovereignty).
In this episode of the BetaKit Podcast, Ray explains why outages happen and what they say about the economics of the Internet. He also argues that digital sovereignty is less about border controls and more about control of our supply chain. In his opinion, the “elbows up” mentality and attempts to rebuild everything in Canada are “naive.”
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Cloudy, Pocket casts, RSS
So how? do we're restoring Canada's digital sovereignty, and what does that look like?
Let's dig in.
BetaKit Podcast Presented Cyber challengepowered by Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst and CCTX: your path to new sales, industry connections and non-dilutive financing.
Ontario's critical sectors depend on operational technology systems that were not designed to combat today's cyber threats. Unlike IT, the operational technology environment requires specialized solutions, and startups can lead the way forward. Join our free webinar on October 24 to learn about the risks facing critical industries and how startups can take advantage of this opportunity.
When: Friday, October 24, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm EST | Where: Virtual (Zoom) | Expenses: For free
Register today for thecyberchallenge.ca.
PRESENTED BY
BetaKit Podcast Presented Xero: A global small business platform designed to make life easier for small businesses—anywhere, anytime.
Running a business requires enough effort without the burden of accounting. The Xero global platform is designed to take responsibility for your accounting from you and give you the freedom to focus on what you do best. By bringing together essential tools such as accounting, payroll and payments, Xero helps you automate tasks and gain the clarity you need to make smarter decisions.
Join a global community of forward-thinking companies. Find out what Xero can do for you.
Recorded and edited on Toronto Podcasts.
