Latest news with #JayBall
CTV News
21 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Part of our backyard': Guided educational river floats launch into Bow River
Rafts are in the river for another summer as the RiverWatch Institute of Alberta marks its 30th year taking people for first-hand educational floats in Calgary. For decades, the not-for-profit has taken thousands of students down the Bow River and North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton to learn about the river's ecosystem, wildlife and history. Now the organization has opened up its rafts to the public who want to experience the guided tours, too. 'I think the more we get people on the river to experience the nature aspect of the river, the more people will be connected to it,' said Jay Ball, the executive director of RiverWatch. 'You want to connect people to the river so they care about it. And when people care about things, they begin to protect it.' The summer EcoFloats run up to four hours along the Bow River in south Calgary, through parts of Fish Creek Park. RIVERWATCH RiverWatch tours show wildlife and birds along its route down the Bow River. (Supplied) Guides point out wildlife and birds along the route; plenty of pelicans and ducks can be spotted at this time of the year, along with a bald eagle or two. 'The river, it's part of our backyard. So exposing people to that and seeing everything that Calgary has right at our fingertips --I think that's the pretty cool part,' said Natalie Thain, a RiverWatch guide who is heading into her third year of a Natural Sciences degree at the University of Calgary. The EcoFloats run Thursdays to Sundays every weekend until August 24 and tickets can be purchased online.
Business News Wales
6 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Flotek Strengthens Cloud Infrastructure Capabilities with Acquisition of Microshade
Flotek Group, a Cardiff-based managed IT and communications service provider, has acquired Microshade Business Consultants Limited. Established in 1984, Microshade provides secure IT solutions for over 286 parish councils across the UK and holds ISO 27001:2022 certification. Microshade operates its Cloud Remote Desktop Service at the Southwest Data Centre in Plymouth, where Flotek already maintains a regional office. This acquisition will allow Flotek to provide local IT support and cybersecurity services to parish councils across the country. Additionally, Flotek has been collaborating with Microshade to develop its own Private Application Hosting service, helping businesses move traditional on-premises software, such as accounting software like Sage, Iris, and Pegasus, to a private cloud environment, thereby eliminating the need for on-site servers. This acquisition comes in response to growing demand from customers for Flotek to offer private application hosting. Flotek's initial acquisition was Gower Business Systems, a Pegasus reseller. Jay Ball, CEO of Flotek Group, commented: 'We've had the pleasure of working with the Microshade team for over three years, collaborating on various projects. During the acquisition process, Stuart Wilbur, the founder, sadly passed away. Stuart's vision was to bring advanced technology to the parish council sector, a vision we wholeheartedly share and are committed to continuing. We see tremendous growth potential in hosting our customers' existing server-based applications in our private data centre technology. This complements our existing Microsoft Azure technology offering, as both solutions have their unique advantages in the market.' David Astwood, who will take the position of Head of Infrastructure, added: 'We've worked with the Flotek team for a number of years on joint projects and have enjoyed collaborating on a private cloud offering. We look forward to focusing on growth across the parish councils.' The Microshade team will form the new Cloud Infrastructure team at Flotek, continuing to deliver specialist cloud technology utilising existing data centre relationships and security positions. Microshade, a Microsoft Cloud Partner, will be fully integrated into Flotek over the next 12 months. The acquisition was advised on by Siobhan Williams, senior associate solicitor at Darwin Gray. Siobhan said: 'We are delighted to once again be advising Flotek on another exciting acquisition. It's always a pleasure working with Jay and the team at Flotek.' Flotek sees significant opportunities in the parish council sector, where they already have a substantial share, and aims to drive innovation into other vertical sectors such as accounting and legal. Microshade, based in Plymouth, provides secure IT services, including cybersecurity, to national clients.
