Most recently, Vocantas, an Ottawa-based provider of interactive voice response solutions for numerous sectors including healthcare, had the opportunity to interact with tens of thousands of professionals engaged in IT and healthcare at the Health Information Management Systems (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando Florida, February 20^th to 24^th.  Vocantas is.  Click here to read more about Vocantas’ exhibit at HIMSS. 

In a second indication of the increasing convergence of IT and healthcare, Vocantas also announced on February 17 that they had increased their team to meet growing demand.  “We’re excited to again be growing our development team as the need for our Interactive Voice Response Solutions continues to increase,” said Gary T. Hannah, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vocantas “.  Click here to read more about the newest members of the Vocantas team, Antonio Prado and Erick Cardenas-Mendez.

Thirdly, another Ottawa health IT company, PatientWay, announced on January 12 that Southlake Hospital in Newmarket became the first Cancer Centre to introduce a patient-friendly symptom and registration kiosk developed by PatientWay.  Click here to read more.

Of course, we also have a great forum right here in Ottawa for those looking to learn more about opportunities in IT and healthcare/life sciences:  OCRI’s IT in Healthcare luncheon series.  Click here to view videos of recent sessions and be sure to register for the next session on April 19, 2011 at www.ocri.ca.

Given Ottawa’s strong health/life sciences base and existing IT strengths, new things are happening every day! Keep posted for more news about convergence of IT with healthcare.

February 22, 2011

It is the morning after a devastating earthquake here in New Zealand.  I would like to extend my condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who were killed or injured in powerful earth quake that struck Christchurch.  My family and I are safe but it is a harsh reminder to always live life to its fullest and to not take anything for granted.

We are in Auckland (North Island) until Friday when we fly back. The quake and the many aftershocks were very close to downtown Christchurch on the South Island. At 6.3 this was lower intensity than the 7.0 in the fall but was closer to the surface and closer to the city center. Death toll sits officially 38 but is expected to be higher since about 200 people are still missing in the rubble. It hit at 12:50 pm so office buildings were full. They have just pulled out six people without injury so everyone is hopeful for the rest. We did have the chance to visit the South Island earlier in our trip when we stayed three nights in the hotel across the street from Christchurch Cathedral which has now lost its tower in the quake.

While sombered by the news of the quake we continue exploring this amazing country. 

……….

There have been several comments and questions since my first post and I’ll attempt to answer them here or in the third part next week. Please see my first blog about entrepreneurism and innovation.  While on vacation I couldn’t resist creating an opportunity to find out more.

Lord of the Rings hype is increasing since filming of “The Hobbit” starts next month. Peter Jackson has apparently recovered enough to get the production underway. During the visit to Queenstown, to sample some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world, I took time out to visit a few of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings and other films. Visiting some of sites via narrow roads clinging to the sides of the mountains gave me a hint about the Kiwi approach to risk and danger, more on this later.

I was asked why New Zealanders, or Kiwis, are more entrepreneurial than Canadians. While I’m still not sure that I’ve found the complete answer, there are a few items of note. First, NZ is a frontier country; second, it has been relatively recently settled by people from afar; and third, it missed the smoke and grime of the industrial revolution. The post-secondary institutions in NZ are excellent and they attract students from many countries. At this stage I’m not sure that this contributes to the innovative environment but I suspect that it does by bringing in people from different cultures, experiences and new ideas at a minimum. New Zealand spends 6.2% of GDP on education (Canada 4.9% and USA 5.5%).

Although some parts of New Zealand have been settled for more than 150 years, most areas have been settled during the past century. The total population was only 100,000 in 1850 and less than 800,000 in 1900. This gives the country, and especially the South Island, a feeling of a new frontier. In contrast, Canada had 3.5 million people in 1867 and four times the current New Zealand population back in 1950. Of course, the Canadian west was developed in a significant way over the past century and explains why some parts of NZ feel like parts of BC and Alberta. This “cowboy” mentality brings a risk taking, get-the-job-done approach to life. Just try making a living raising 20,000 less than intelligent four-legged animals at a sheep station in Central Otaga.

New Zealand, like Canada, was founded by people from other lands. First, by the South Pacific warriors, the Moari, and then by the English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians. Later, by the Chinese and Indians and more recently by people from around the world. This melting pot of cultures and languages brings an innovative spirit. Often the most enterprising people are those who have chosen to move their families to seek a better life in a new world. Although 91% list English as their first tongue, many different languages are spoken here.

Finally, New Zealand seems to have missed most of the industrial revolution that blighted many centres in Europe and North America. The country was predominately agrarian while we built our traditional industries in Canada. This leaves the country with a pristine environment and a wonderful place, with the highly educated and international population, to excel in this world of innovative solutions and a service-oriented economy.

I’ve set the following questions for my informal survey:

• Why do so many people own their own businesses and are there government incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific ways and what influences local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 3, where I will discuss innovation in wine production before getting on to technology pursuits.

Claude

Two weeks ago, the Ontario Clean Technology Alliance (OCTA) travelled to Phoenix Arizona to attend the Energy, Utility & Environmental Conference (EUEC).  OCTA is a sister organization to the Ontario Technology Corridor (OTC). Don’t you just love acronyms?  Both consortiums follow a basic philosophy of collaboration to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).  It is quite simple really, set up meetings with companies attending the conference, (mainly USA companies in this case) and that are potentially looking at expanding their businesses into Canada.  At EUEC, we managed to meet with 21 companies in three days.  On this particular trip, five of the 10 OCTA cities participated in the mission. 

So what are these companies looking at doing?  Well, it’s everything from R&D to manufacturing.  Lucky for us we have we cover the full gamut in Ontario. Couple this with the fact that Ontario has one of the best Feed In Tariff (FIT) programs in the world and you have a recipe for investment attraction.  Out of the 21 companies we visited, three are already considering a first visit to Ontario.  Hard to believe someone is visiting Ontario for the first time….who knew??  Two of the three will likely come directly to Ottawa. And why wouldn’t they…this is the Nation’s Capital with over 1,800 advanced technology companies and whole bunch of highly skilled workers, not to mention our city ROCKS!! 

Our job at OCRI is to facilitate meetings with industry leaders, academia and, of course, the government.  This triple helix, as I call it, will give them a holistic view of city and our selling attributes.  Hopefully this is the icing on the cake that gets them to locate in our great city!

This year, OCRI has selected four finalists for the category of Next Generation Executive of the Year. This award recognizes an individual who has had a significant impact on the success and/or transformation of their organization as a direct result of their leadership. For this award, executives are considered those that hold typically senior titles such as CEO, CFO, COO, President or Vice-President who represent the next generation’s business leader. Nominees must have held the position for less than five years. Past winners include Jason Flick of YouiLabs, Rob Woodbridge formerly of Rove Inc. and John Roese formerly of Nortel Networks.

Our finalists this year are (in alpha order):

Coreen Bouchard, CEO, Purelogic IT Solutions – Coreen is a young, dynamic entrepreneur whose company has experienced high growth in sales.  In addition to a successful revenue stream, her peers genuinely appreciate her and support her in her quest for the title of NextGenExec of the year. She’s dedicated, tenacious, energetic, smart, responsible and fair. All great qualities for a leader to possess.

John Craig, VP, Sales and Marketing, Purple Forge – He’s a trail blazer likely more well-known internationally than in his own back yard. John is a recognized market expert in the application of mobile technologies for collaboration and communication.  Creative approaches to business models led to successfully bootstrapping Purple Forge as he embraced the model of creating wealth through owner equity.

Michael Inskip, CEO, Work Horse Capital – An accomplished entrepreneur who was the brains behind a reverse takeover by Canadian Work Horse Capital of a Silicon Valley tech company and not only that – he brought the R&D function BACK to Ottawa. He’s committed to creating shareholder value and it’s the number one priority in all of the companies he’s worked with. Nice to have him here in Ottawa!

Manuel  Pietra, President and CEO, Freebalance  - Manuel turned around a struggling company and set it on a new path to international success. He led a dynamic change within the organization and fostered a company culture that includes a Corporate Social Responsibility philosophy at its core to the company mission. The financials continue to grow as does the employee base in response to the increasing customer roster. 

Finalists are evaluated based on their leadership skills, visionary approach, company success, impact on their industry and local economy, employee and peer support as well as community involvement. All are worthy candidates!

Who will win? Find out at the 2011 OCRI Awards on April 7^th at Hilton Lac-Leamy. It’s going to be a great celebration.

CHEERS!

February 8, 2011

Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand, which lives up to its reputation as a scenic, almost magical place. We haven’t seen any Orks yet, or Hobbits for that matter, but we have encountered a friendly and inquisitive local population that always has a story to share. I hadn’t intended to work or even blog on my visit to New Zealand as a tourist. We have planned this vacation for more than two years and saved vacation days from last year in order to stretch it to a full three weeks. So far we’ve visited Christchurch, the garden city, and travelled by rail through Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps and then by coach down to Franz Josef, an alpine town in the rain forest at the foot of the glacier of the same name.

Over the past year, when not hosting OCRI professional development events, entertaining visiting delegations from various countries, participating in youth entrepreneurship initiatives and meeting with the various funders of our innovation programs, I have led a group called Innovation Leadership Team (ILT). ILT has been focusing on cataloguing the assets in Ottawa, defining our innovation objectives and comparing to other leading innovation centers globally. We have had multiple opportunities to see what’s happening in China, places like Z-Park with their 18,000 technology companies in one industrial park. I’m taking the opportunity while on vacation to get a sense of the New Zealand approach. To that end, I will be meeting with the CEO of the ICEHOUSE, a company incubator in Auckland later in the trip.

As I learn more about the Kiwis, as they call themselves, I discover a people that are both very enterprising and innovative but also hard working with a balanced life style. These are people who value living well but not to excess. The focus on locally produced food, beer and wine was driven I’m sure by the distance to other countries but continues today as distances become smaller. Their focus on sustainable living rivals the Scandinavian approach. Everyone, at least on the South Island, is very connected to the natural environment, how could you not be with such diverse and beautiful surroundings.

Another striking feature of life in this area of New Zealand is the average age. With a massive influx of university students and recent graduates from countries from around the world, there is a youthful flavour about the population. Add that to the fact that most people we have seen are quite fit, I’m feeling decidedly old and out of shape in comparison.

I’m planning to ask the locals the following questions:

• Why do so many people own their own business?
• Are there gov’t incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific way?
• What has influenced local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I hope to be able to talk about innovation in wine production. Consumption of course is part of the experience.

Claude

It isn’t often that we have direct access to and the undivided attention of an industry mega mind who is the lead creative genius for an international agency that has over 14,000 employees. I’m sure the employees of DDB would be clamouring for a chance to ask Jeff for guidance or to bounce an idea off him directly. 

It’s hard to fathom that anyone would deliberately miss this opportunity especially in a business community where technology is king but we all know it is the creative approach to getting the message out to the right people at the right time in the right medium that truly makes or breaks it.

If you know someone in Ottawa who is a marketing, advertising, communications professional or has a need to know what is going on in the rest of the world – do them a favour and make sure they know that Jeff Swystun, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, for DDB (one of the world’s largest agencies) is coming to town in just three sleeps.

Get a glimpse into the future of advertising and customer engagement.  To quote William Gibson, ‘the future is already here, it is just unevenly distributed’. Check for yourself at the link below and join us live next Thurs Feb 10th @ Zone5ive. 

DDB Summer Show Reel

Or just trust me and register now for Zone5ive.

CHEERS!

How do organizations measure the value of an association membership?  I hear this all the time.  All associations offer tangible products or services of some sort or another but often it’s the intangible that can’t be measured that provide the best return on investment.

Case in point… I recently met up with Loris Bondio, president of Spectra FX, a small software company, who has been an OCRI member for the last five years and asked him what value OCRI has provided him and his company.

He cited several examples. His first was while attending (as an exhibitor) the OCRI showcase in 2007. This is where he met fellow members who helped him develop a marketing plan to attract more business internationally. Secondly, with the help of OCRI, he targeted his time and effort to specific events such as our Research Days where he was introduced to people from Pfizer who later became a larger client. It took a year before he saw the financial benefit but it happened. Thirdly, I connected Loris to another colleague at OCRI who in turn connected him to one of the embassies in town where he later established a business relationship that benefited both parties and is now thriving in the UK.

These are all examples of intangible benefits of being a member of any association or organization that do not get communicated as often as they should. 

This year, I’ve made it my mission to find out from our members the type of intangible benefits they are receiving from OCRI.  If you’ve got a story to share, please contact me at wnoble@ocri.ca.  Hey I might even ask you for a testimonial to post on our website.

Last  Thursday OCRI released the results of our annual knowledge-based industry survey. You can read the full release here and check  here for supporting charts. This year we tracked a slight increase in the number of companies but one of the largest drops (down 4.4 per cent) in overall employment since the tech industry implosion in 2001 which was a staggering decrease of 12 per cent. In actual numbers: companies increased by 87 companies and 3,456 jobs were lost.

Considering all the challenges that Ottawa has faced over the past three years (read Nortel) the bottom line numbers ARE surprisingly solid but not thriving. See some of my earliers posts about Ottawa’ s competitive advantage and the big wins of 2010.  There are many things that need to improve in order for Ottawa to be truly thriving.   We must develop and support Ottawa’s entrepreneurial culture. We need to attract investment to the region.  The commercialization efforts of Ottawa’s newest companies must be supported. And above all we must be agressive and bold in our promotion of Ottawa as a destination of choice for investors, entrepreneurs and multinationals.  And this is why the OCRI knowledge-based industry survey is so important. These numbers provide a current snap shot of of the region’s most relevant industries and plays a key role in the fact finding and decision making processes of companies and indivuals looking to move to or invest in Ottawa.  Tracking  the trends of the knowledge-based community enables  the ability to identify and adapt quickly.

We have seen some bright spots – growth in the number of small startup companies, ongoing growth in Cleantech (employees and companies) and our newest cluster digital media went from zero two years ago to 97 companies this year. The ongoing increase in the number of small (0-9 employees) from 961 in 2009 to 1,071 (up 11.4 per cent) is a sign of the times – probably everywhere and not just Ottawa.  Even though they are small, they are a business and many of them are very busy – therefore generating income and ultimately contributing to the local economy. Their employment numbers are low but they are probably working to get even busier so that they can hire more people.  No surprise either to see so many startups. In challenging economic times – starting your own business is a good idea! Lots of major corporations were launched during tough times. OCRI does a TON of work with local startups, through our Regional Innovation Centre (formerly the Investment and Commercialization group) and our Entrepreneurship Centre located down at City Hall. The RIC is working with 185 early stage startups to help them get to the next level of success. All of these companies are deemed to have high potential – the outlook is good.  And our Entrepreneurship Centre served over 3,300 individual clients. GROWTH.

Granted, the large companies in Ottawa, those with more than 500 employees are becoming fewer and fewer all the time. 10 companies lost more than 100 employees and Nortel shed the most – 2,800. Telecom was hit hard but so too was knowledge based support services as Convergys closed its doors and HP decreased its numbers too. LOSS.

Last year we also had a few mergers and acquisitions which helped change the dynamics too. Ciena and Genband aquired Nortel divisions, Sanmina aquired Breconridge, Magellan acquired Haley, Ajilon Consulting merged with Ajilon Communications and Bell Mobile and Bell Sympatico officially rolled into Bell Canada. ADJUSTMENTS.

Often, our numbers get  compared to Stats Canada but they never match and they never will. We don’t track the same things. Our categories reflect Ottawa’s evolving knowledge-based economy, its diversity and current industries, whereas if you check the categories tracked by StatsCanada you’ll see it still tracks the same industries and categories that they did 10 years ago or longer.  Perhaps the most important note when comparing StatsCan to OCRI’s numbers is that year after year (with few exceptions) the overall trends are similar. Both go up in the same year and both go down in the same year.  So even though our numbers aren’t the same (because we track different things) the trend is.  Remember too that Ottawa holds a comparatively low and stable unemployment rate (6.6 per cent in December 2010) below the Ontario and national averages (8.1 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively).

OCRI tracks Ottawa’s 12 knowledge-based industry sectors. We call them clusters :

- cleantech (including environment)
- contact centre/customer centre
- defence and security
- eBusiness
- life sciences (including medical technologies and health)
- knowledge-based support services
- photonics
- semiconductor
- software
- telecommunications
- wireless
- digital media

How we collect the numbers: Ottawa companies are invited to join the database. They “self assess” themselves – ie decide which sector is their primary industry, provide their company profile information (contact information, address, website, services) and are responsible for updating their employment numbers once a year, although they are able to update any number of times at any point in time throughout the year. The annual survey closes on December 31 of each year and the numbers in the data base at that time are the numbers we evaluate for the final report. FYI in 2010, we can confirm that 94 per cent fo the companies operating in the knowledge-based industry survey responded to the survey in 2010.

How we scrub the numbers: Updated numbers are compared to the previous year, company by company. We compare to media reports and company announcements re: mergers, acquisitions, downsizing etc. and anything that doesn’t jive gets a phone call. Anything that doesn’t get resolved gets chased. Last year, we actually hit the road and drove all over town to verify existence and non-existence of companies – I’m pretty sure StatsCanada doesn’t do that!  So, we can be pretty rigorous too!

We are very confident that we provide a very reliable and accurate picture of Ottawa’s knowledge-based community.  The database is easily accessible if you’re interested in doing some exploring at www.ottawaregion.com. This is one of the most valuable reference tools for investment and development purposes. It’s up to date and provides accurate information which can help a company make an informed decision about relocating to or investing in Ottawa.

MOST important of all – if you work for an Ottawa-based company that fits into one of the 12 clusters listed above and your company is NOT on the list – get on it and be counted!

Cheers!

Welcome to  OCRI.tv where you can get caught up on who said what, when and how it can impact the way you approach your business on a daily basis.

Currently, archives include media clips and entire presentations from our events to give you a full picture of what you’ve missed but going forward we’re just going to let you in on the Q&A. If you want more you’ll have to come check out an event to reap all the benefits of the presentation and networking.

Cheers!

Big changes for a giant this week. Noting that Google no longer required “day-to-day adult supervision,” Eric Schmidt -who acted as a mentor to co-founder Larry Page during his term as President and CEO – said during a Thursday conference call: “Larry is ready. It’s time for him to have a shot at running this.” And there ends the mentorship of Larry Page – or does it?  Adult supervision – an interesting way to put it don’t you think … it makes sense now that Page and Brin are officially grownups themselves and spent the last 10 years learning from Schmidt’s expert leadership – but what about the other grownups starting their own businesses? Do they feel like they need “supervision” or can they embrace the apprenticeship and tap into all the mentor has to offer?  Is that what made the Schmidt/Page mentorship so successful and end so well?

When does mentorship end? I suppose it can end quickly and loudly if there’s a massive disagreement or silently and slowly if both partly gradually lose interest in the venture.  A successful mentorship need never end – it can evolve and change for sure.  The relationship that grows between a mentor and a mentee is a special one.  Honest, harsh, supportive and bossy all at once. Both people need to accept the strengths of the other and the opportunities that will arrive if they work together and are open to listening and learning.  While traditionally, the mentor has “all the expertise” it must be understood that mentee’s passion and commitment to the business brings it own unique value to the deal. 

High school students, kids in grade 3, entrepreneurs and successful business leaders all recognize the value in having someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to talk to, to look up to. Experience, expertise, advice, guidance from someone who “gets” what you’re dealing with really factor into one’s confidence when making major decisions.

Here at OCRI, 185 companies have met with the folks at the Regional Innovation Centre.  The RIC team meets with every company for a minimum of one hour during which time they consider the company’s business plan, pitch/presentation and leadership. From there OCRI’s experienced business mentors are able to provide strategic advice to companies on a case-by-case basis and are assigned to work with company management based on an appropriate match of skills and fit between the mentor and senior management.  On staff, we are proud to include Peter Becke and Bob Huggins as our primary business mentors. Michelle Scarborough, VP, RIC, OCRI also spends many hours a week working directly with leaders of high potential companies in the eastern Ontario region, providing business guidance and expertise as the companies navigate their current situations and plan for their future. As mentors, their ability to listen, ask pertinent questions, be empathetic and non-judgemental, and provide meaningful, actionable feedback makes an impact and a difference.  The quality of the companies in the Eastern Ontario region and the sharp mentors of the OCRI RIC combine well to create value for the entire region.

eSight, an Ottawa-based startup has a fantastic brand new way to help people challenged with low vision. It looks like sunglasses, but is so much more. Kevin Rankin was a mentor at OCRI who fell in love the company he was mentoring. “I liked the company so much and I decided that eSight was too valuable an opportunity to pass up so I joined to company as President and CEO.”  So here we have Kevin, matched with eSight as a mentor for having the perfect mix of experience and insight, who has taken on more than an active interest in the company as President. That’s successful mentorship I’d say and who knows, perhaps in five or 10 years, Kevin will step aside and let the founders resume leadership and continue to support the company as a mentor once again – just like Eric Schmidt.