Keeping Critical Data in Canada: How AVSS and ThinkOn Are Building a Sovereign Platform for Public Safety and Defence

ThinkOn and AVSS have built a Canadian-hosted platform that keeps sensitive public safety and defence information under Canadian control.

A drone flying above an emergency can show responders what crews on the ground cannot. It can identify a blocked road, track changing conditions or give a command team a clearer picture of where help is needed.

That information is only useful if it reaches the right people quickly. For police and defence organizations, where the resulting video and location data are stored also matters.

Toronto-based cloud provider ThinkOn and Canadian aerospace technology company Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) have partnered to address both challenges.

The companies have integrated their technologies to provide a Canadian-hosted way to use the Team Awareness Kit (TAK), a platform that brings operational information together in a shared digital view. Live video and drone telemetry, including location and flight information, can be sent directly into TAK and viewed by personnel using connected devices in the field.

For responders, the experience remains familiar. The difference is behind the screen.

Instead of operating on infrastructure controlled by a foreign cloud provider, the TAK server runs on ThinkOn’s Canadian platform. The drone data feeding the system remains hosted in Canada under Canadian ownership and control.

“Agencies have never had to choose between best-in-class technology and knowing exactly where their data lives. They just haven’t had a sovereign option for TAK until now,” said Craig McLellan, Chief Executive Officer of ThinkOn.

Large foreign cloud platforms have become the default environment for many TAK deployments. Agencies are often left to design and maintain the systems surrounding the platform, while sensitive information may be stored on infrastructure outside Canadian jurisdiction.

ThinkOn and AVSS offer another option.

Agencies already using TAK through a foreign provider can move to a Canadian environment without retraining personnel or changing their daily work. Those deploying TAK for the first time can begin with a Canadian-hosted system.

ThinkOn has spent more than a decade helping organizations manage and protect their data. AVSS, founded in 2017, designs and manufactures drone components and safety systems in Canada. Its products include parachute recovery systems, payload delivery equipment, ground control stations, motors and electronics. They are now used in more than 35 countries.

Together, the companies have connected Canadian-built drone technology with Canadian-controlled digital infrastructure.

The partnership also reflects a broader question facing governments as technology becomes more central to public safety and national defence. It is not enough to consider what a system can do. Decision-makers must also consider who owns the infrastructure and where the resulting data are stored.

“Drones only make a difference in an emergency if the right people can see what the drone sees, the moment it matters,” said Josh Ogden, Chief Executive Officer of AVSS. “This partnership with ThinkOn closes that gap on a platform Canadian agencies can trust completely.”

In the field, the change may be difficult to spot. Responders will still receive the same information on the same screens. Behind them, however, the images, locations and operational details will be impervious to foreign interference and remain in Canada.

—

This article is part of CCI’s “By Canadian Innovators” series, which showcases how members of the Council of Canadian Innovators work with homegrown companies to fuel their growth and make Canada more prosperous. Each story in this series highlights the unique contributions of these companies to building a more prosperous, innovation-driven economy. To learn more about the companies CCI works with to build a more prosperous Canada, visit our member directory.