Shawn Freeman

I’m Shawn Freeman, an entrepreneur, personable geek and founder of IT services company TWT Group. I’ve worked on big and small tech projects, and have never let the corporate ladder dictate my path to doing what I love. I’m passionate about cloud computing and data security, and like to share my ideas in ITBusiness.ca and on the TWT blog. IT should be the easiest part of your day. I’m passionate about exceptional IT services and being better, faster and more affordable than the big guys. TWT Group works with partners in oil and gas, accounting, agriculture and more across western Canada. Want to hear more? Email me at shawn@twtgroup.ca.

Articles By Shawn Freeman

Top of Twitter: VP Kirstine Stewart on how tech is changing leadership

When Kirstine Stewart arrived at Twitter Canada, her specialty wasn’t tech or social media. It was content. The term “content” is being constantly reinvented — viewers and users are consuming produced content and

Published on: November 13th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

Five-year shift made the cloud mainstream: Peter Coffee

Over the last five years, Peter Coffee, vice-president for strategic research at Salesforce.com, has noticed an important shift in the way CIOs perceive the cloud. As part of the leadership team at the global

Published on: October 9th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

Why I’m reporting AVG for violating CASL

After receiving multiple emails from a company that exposed my email address to others and ignored my requests to be removed from the mailing list, I'm making my first complaint for a violation

Published on: September 22nd, 2014 Shawn Freeman

E-commerce and the digital wallet: A Q&A with PayPal’s James Barrese

Born and raised in Silicon Valley, it’s not surprising James Barrese grew up to become a technology innovator. PayPal’s chief technology officer lent his skills to the U.S. army as a high-frequency communications

Published on: August 25th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

NASA’s CTO: Open source software keeps us honest

It’s not every day that NASA creates a position just for you. NASA did just that for Chris C. Kemp in 2010. The tech pioneer became the space agency’s first Chief Technology Officer

Published on: July 11th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

Innovating government: Silicon Valley’s CIO on open data and community building

Jonathan Reichental designed, developed and sold his first software program, an ABCs learning tool, at the early age of 11. The tech maven’s early foray into the world of software innovation launched a

Published on: June 12th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

You can’t hack that: 4 ways to avoid an IT data breach

Companies have good reasons to fear data breaches. Whether it’s a single hacker targeting Twitter accounts with a phishing scheme or an orchestrated attack on a major U.S. retailer, sometimes it feels like

Published on: March 11th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

Project Daniel: Using 3D printing to make prosthetic arms (and a better world)

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, I was bombarded with presentations about lavish, new technologies like self-driving cars, thief-deterring iPhone cases and computers with dual operating systems. But one

Published on: January 9th, 2014 Shawn Freeman

6 tech predictions for 2014 – apps, the cloud, and telecommuting

In 2013, we watched as Twitter went public, Netflix’s original series House of Cards won an Emmy, Tumblr was purchased for $1-billion and consumers overwhelmingly favoured smartphones and tablets over PCs. Here’s what

Published on: December 24th, 2013 Shawn Freeman

Why your data is safer in the cloud: Protecting your digital assets across borders

It’s a common misconception that storing your data in the cloud isn’t as secure as keeping it in-house, especially if the cloud service provider is outside your home country. While navigating the complex

Published on: December 13th, 2013 Shawn Freeman

Cloud computing for small business: 5 reasons why it’s time to move your infrastructure

Your small business has dabbled in cloud computing. You send e-mails using Gmail, manage your customer relationships using Contactually and keep tabs on your projects using Basecamp. Small businesses seek out this type

Published on: November 28th, 2013 Shawn Freeman

Small business forecast looks ‘cloudy’ with a chance of success

The cloud is big news for small businesses.  Empowered by the cloud, even the smallest business can be more competitive and more secure from the dangers of a volatile economy.  But the cloud

Published on: October 29th, 2013 Shawn Freeman