The State of the ICT Industry
By Lynda Leonard, Senior Vice-President ITAC
On February 2, 2009, ITAC inaugurated what we hope will be an annual event for public policy makers in the Federal and Provincial Governments. The "State of the ICT Industry" briefing responded to a specific suggestion from senior government leaders to present a coherent view of what's new and exciting in the world of technology to key members of the public service. The idea is to assemble some of the freshest data and some of the most thoughtful analysis from the ITAC community and give government a preview of what they can anticipate in terms of innovation and our sector's overall economic performance.
At ITAC we have almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to a talent pool of provocative experts in a position to contribute to events like this. In fact, the content for the first briefing was so good we decided to webcast their material for those who could not attend the briefing in person. The web casts will also serve as a resource for the wider ITAC community as well. If you have content or material that you believe would enrich our next "State of the ICT Industry," please contact us.
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The Big Picture From ITAC Chair Bob Courteau
 Robert Courteau, Chief Operating Officer, SAP North America and ITAC Chair |
ITAC's "State of the ICT Industry" briefing for government occurred within two weeks of important political events such as the inauguration of President Obama and the tabling of the Federal Budget. So economic matters were present in the minds of all participants.
From his perspective as the Chief Operating Officer of SAP North America, ITAC's Chair Robert Courteau was in an excellent position to provide a cross-border perspective on the role of ICT in both Canada and the United States.
"In good times and bad there will always be a differentiation between market leaders and the also-rans," he said. "One of the key differentiators is their use of technology." Citing examples such as Citibank and a fast growing Canadian toy manufacturer, Spinmaster, Bob highlighted the foresight some companies are showing by treating the current downturn as a springboard for future competitive advantage through strategic ICT investments.
Bob took the opportunity to salute the Federal Government's grasp of this idea. "It was a good Budget," he said. "It shows that the government understands that technology will have an important impact on our economic recovery." He cited in particular the capital cost allowance for computer hardware and software and investments in 21st century infrastructure, such as broadband and electronic health records, as excellent indications of this understanding.
But he had some cautionary notes to sound as well. "When I look at what some of the other countries that are competing with are investing then I believe we have to take our performance to higher level. We need to have a stronger relationship between the private sector and government to achieve a stronger competitive position", he said.
Bob closed by articulating key requirements necessary for the health of the ICT sector and overall economy. His list included addressing the ICT talent shortage, improving the venture capital climate and improving the government's own use of ICT.
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Numbers to Bring You to the Edge of Your Seat
 Vito Mabrucco, Managing Director, IDC Canada |
As the managing director of IDC Canada, Vito Mabrucco devotes a great deal of his time to numbers...collecting, analyzing and discussing the numbers that provide the key indicators of the performance of Canada's ICT industry. Sometimes the numbers he studies are sobering, sometimes they can even look scary.
Some of the more sobering data points in Vito's presentation at the "ICT State of the Nation" briefing" revolved around the size of the ICT labour market in emerging countries such as China and India. They illustrated, as Vito put it, both a challenge and an opportunity for Canada. "They represent a young, consuming, opportunistic crowd that's developing in these markets,” he said. "To capture the opportunity (there are over 1billion cell phones in China and India combined) we need to build a stronger export culture into everything we do."
Comparisons between OECD members' investments in ICT were also sobering. IDC data places Canada behind the U.S., the U.K. Sweden and Denmark, equal with France and just ahead of Italy. In Vito's assessment this would merit a C+ grade for Canada.
Vito's numbers grew more chilling as he charted projections for ICT spending in Canada. He noted that overall the growth in the sector has been faster than the overall economy for all but two of the past 40 years. And forecasts as recent as September showed the growth holding. But news of the economic downturn had a predictable downward impact on the projections - and in the process has made IDC's monthly release of forecast information even more compelling material for the whole industry.
Vito was nevertheless upbeat reminding the audience of the cyclical nature of ICT and its vulnerability to broader economic bad news. "We've seen this before," he reminded participants. He also provided a useful historic data point. "IDC studied the last Asian liquidity crisis," he said. "Our studies show that countries that invested the most in ICT - such as Korea - recovered the fastest."
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Redefining Governments Relationship With the People it Serves
 Julie McQueen, Director of Research Accenture Institute for Public Service |
When governments think about customer service, they need to take the wider, multipurpose relationship into account. There is a tendency to focus on service delivery, whereas this is only one area of contact between citizen and government.
Julie McQueen, Director of Research Accenture Institute for Public Service Value says governments must move beyond a focus on improving the quality of the service transaction with customers and redefine their relationship with the people they serve. Julie outlined the recent results of Accenture's hallmark study of economic performance among nations. It tracks, among other things, citizen’s opinions of government services, and what governments can do to improve customer service.
Some of the suggestions from the survey suggest government can do a better job in interacting with its citizens, including recognizing that people have different levels of needs and providing differentiated services to improve equality of outcomes. Julie's data showed that strategies such as conducting detailed customer segmentation based on needs and behaviours in order to offer tailored services, and organizing services around customer segments and needs, rather than an organization’s internal structures would improve citizen engagement in electronic government.
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Predictions 2009 From Deloitte and Duncan Stewart
 Duncan Stewart, Director, Deloitte Research Canada |
Duncan Stewart, in demand as a respected market watcher and financial columnist, took time from a busy schedule of public events outlining Deloitte's Predictions all across the country, to share his insights with ITAC's State of the ICT Industry briefing.
He, too, was quick to point out the upside of a downturn. "Remember that Microsoft was founded during the 1980-82 recession," he said. "And Google emerged out of the dot.com meltdown." He lamented that more company's don't emulate this behaviour and boost their R&D investment counter-cyclically, noting that, "...every dollar invested today is the equivalent of five to 20 times more valuable than an investment made three years ago".
Among the areas Duncan identified as ripe for success in this economy are smart grid technologies, netbooks, electronic content management, social networking and telecom network components.
"Low hanging fruit" is how Duncan described smart grid technologies. While wind and solar technology face cycles of 20 to 40 year paybacks, companies working to increase the efficiency of our electrical grid are seeing much more rapid ROI. He cited Mississauga based Rugged Com which produces routers expressly for the hydro substation market as an excellent example of this.
He noted that netbooks are a burgeoning business. "Nine out of ten of the top selling laptops are netbooks," he said. Tapping Steven Speilberg to illustrate the vast amounts of data currently in storage, he also underscored the importance of content management and business intelligence tools (such as those produced by Opentext and IBM Cognos) to help us make sense of it all.
"Social networking is not a fad or a toy," Duncan said. He described Deloitte's own experience with their Predictions program. Placing program materials on Facebook, streaming promotional videos on YouTube photos on Flickr gave the company a breathtaking return. "Our attendance was up 100 per cent in Toronto ... half of the audience questions came from online sources," he said. He noted that understanding the importance of Web 2.0 tools as both talent attraction and retention tools will be critical for all businesses.
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Call For Nominations - ITAC IT Hero Awards
ITAC has officially launched the Call for Nominations for the 9th Annual
ITAC IT Hero Awards presented by Intel. The ITAC IT Hero Awards celebrate
and recognize creative applications of information technology that
significantly improve the lives of Canadians and readily demonstrate the
social and economic benefits. ITAC developed the awards program in 2001
collaboratively with Industry Canada as a feature of IT Week, a time to
reflect on the successful impact of IT on society. Now entering its 9th
year, the ITAC IT Hero Awards program has been expanded to include a
corporate-level award.
Program Highlights:
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There are two award categories:
Community IT Hero Award – an individual, group or not-for-profit organization who demonstrates the creative application of IT in improving the lives of Canadians. -
Corporate IT Hero Award – a for-profit public or privately-owned business that demonstrates the creative application of IT in improving the lives of Canadians.
An independent judging panel is assembled comprised of distinguished individuals with intimate knowledge of Canada’s IT sector. The awards will be presented at the Chair’s Dinner taking place June 23, 2009 in Toronto. We still have opportunities available for sponsorship. Please contact Cindy Scott at cindy.scott@firstavenueevents.com for more information and a copy of the sponsorship package. For more information or to nominate visit http://www.itheroawards.ca.
PST and Custom Software
ITAC members have encountered confusion and sometimes unexpected post-audit
assessments in the administration of the rules governing the application of
Ontario provincial sales tax on custom software. Lead by PWC’s Audrey
Diamant, ITAC’s tax and finance committee has worked closely with the
Ministry of Finance to improve clarity and simplicity on this issue. Audrey
has good news to share in this recent article she wrote for Canadian Tax
Highlights. To view the article,
click here
ITAC Meets With the Office of Procurement Ombudsman
The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman met with ITAC February 10, 2009 to
review its various services including alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms available to all businesses dealing with the Federal Government.
ITAC is pleased to participate with the OPO to ensure that SMEs learn about
the options open to them in terms of procurement disputes. Contact Linda
Oliver, loliver@itac.ca, for more information, or visit the Office of the
Procurement Ombudsman website:
http://opo-boa.gc.ca/
RFID Seminar -
Hosted by ITAC
March 4, 2009, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Ontario Investment and Trade Centre, 250 Yonge Street, 35th Floor, Toronto
Ontario
The ITAC RFID Forum is pleased to announce its inaugural event, the
ITAC RFID Application Seminar, at the Ontario Investment and Trade Centre in
downtown Toronto on March 4, 2009. The goal of the forum is to provide a
venue for the sharing of information that will stimulate interest,
innovation and business, create and enhance awareness regarding the use and
deployment of RFID in Canada and globally, identify and address key issues.
The event will feature presentations from Passport Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and
GO Transit, Healthcare
manufacturer GSK. For more information,
click here.
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ITAC Health
Presents: Ontario's eHealth Strategy Breakfast Event
March 31, 2009,
7:30 AM - 10:00 AM
The Old Mill Inn and Spa, Brule A/B Room, 21 Old Mill Road, Toronto
Sarah Kramer is the President and CEO of eHealth Ontario, the new
organization that will lead the development and implementation of eHealth in
Ontario. eHealth Ontario’s mandate is to harness technology to improve
patient care and safety. In March, eHealth Ontario will finalize Ontario’s
eHealth Strategy based on a draft published in January and feedback received
on it from the healthcare sector and stakeholders. The three clinical
priorities of the plan are diabetes management, medication management and
reducing wait times in hospital Emergency Departments. Find out about
eHealth Ontario, Ontario’s eHealth Strategy and how they will drive results
for patients through information technology. For more information,
click here.
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The Audacity of
Imagination: Microelectronics’ New Millennium
April 14th - 15th 2009
Delta
Hotel, 105 King Street East, Kitchener Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
A Strategic
Microelectronics Council of ITAC
Everyday life in the 21st Century is not exactly what was envisaged in the
early 1960’s TV shows like Star Trek and the Jetsons but technology is
impacting every aspect of our lives, both working and social - and not
always for the better.
However, much as we would like the pace of change to slow down, there is no
sign of this happening anytime soon - so get ready for a whole new
generation of technologies which will impact our lives: quantum computing;
solar energy; green-tech; mobile 4th Gen Broadband; imaging solutions.
This year’s Forum will provide an opportunity to get an advance look at some
of the most exciting emerging applications and allow us to understand the
impact of the underlying microelectronics–based technologies that enable
them: nano-electronics; photonics; MEMS; bio-tech and more. Join us as
experts from global enterprises discuss the opportunities for
microelectronics companies as emerging technologies get ready to change
consumers’ lives. For more information
click
here.
The Tremblant
Venture Forum 2009- Venture Capital Financing Solutions in Challenging Times
May 13 – 14, 2009
Fairmount Tremblant Hotel, PQ
The Tremblant Venture Forum (TVF) is Eastern Canada’s premier company
financing event.
It brings together leading North American venture capitalists, over 25 of
the most promising Canadian early-stage and growth-stage companies in ICT and
technology sectors,
prominent investment professionals, CEOs and entrepreneurs and professionals
who offer services to the ICT and Clean Technology Sectors and the VC Industry. For more information,
click here.
For a complete listing of all ITAC events go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/events/
The Eighth Annual RE$EARCH MONEY Conference Going
Global: Expanding the International Footprint of Canadian Technology Firms
In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade
National Arts Centre, Ottawa
March 12, 2009
As Canada’s domestic market is too small to support significant growth of
more than a few companies in any given sector, to succeed, our companies
must sell to the world. The Eighth Annual RE$EARCH MONEY Conference, Going
Global: Expanding the International Footprint of Canadian Technology Firms
will explore how best to help Canadian technology firms expand into other
countries to grow their business. The day begins with a keynote from David
Martin, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, SMART Technologies, a Canadian
company with offices in over 20 countries. Alan Barrell, now
Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Cambridge University, will share insights
gleaned from moving two U.K. firms into the international marketplace.
Andrea Mandel-Campbell, author of the provocative Why Mexicans Don’t Drink
Molson will be the luncheon speaker. Panels of experts from the private and
public sectors will share best practices from around the world. For
information and to register visit: www.researchmoneyinc.com
IN 09 The Interactive Exchange
March 17 - 19
Toronto, ON
ITAC members receive a special discount on gala and conference
registrations (Use the code ITAC26 while registering)
IN: the Interactive Exchange, formerly known as ICE: the Interactive Content
Exchange, is a
two-day, high level, cross-platform conference and market dedicated to the
business of
interactive digital media.IN 2009 attendees will include innovators,
entrepreneurs and executives from Digital Content,
Production, Game Development/Publishing, Marketing, Mobile Content, Social
Media,
Government and Academia. For more information, or to register, go to
http://www.inexchange09.com
Intel Premier IT Knowledge Awards – Call For
Nominations
Has your organization’s IT team or an individual really made an impact in
managing your client fleet or data center? If so, they may have an
opportunity to be recognized for their efforts through the Intel Premier IT
Knowledge Award from CIO and Intel. Honorees and their winning best
practices will be prominently featured in an upcoming issue of CIO magazine.
The deadline is May 29, 2009. For more details,
click here.
Woodgreen Volunteer Services – Call For Mentors in
the IT Profession
Woodgreen Volunteer Services is looking for IT professionals who can help
mentor newcomers to Canada enter the ICT workforce. A minimum commitment of
24 hrs spread over 16 weeks is required. Some of the areas of opportunity
include, helping newcomers build professional networks, tap into the hidden
job market, understand the Candian labour market and learn Canadian business
practices. For more information, contact: Kadija Barry, Host Volunteer
Coordinator, (416) 645 - 6000 Ext. 2343 or
kbarry@woodgreen.org.
The 21st Annual Profit 100
Every year the PROFIT 100 turns successful entrepreneurs into the
heroes of Canadian business. The PROFIT 100, now in its 21st year, is the
definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Its alumni include
some of the biggest names in Canadian business, such as Research in Motion,
Sleeman Breweries, Forzani Group and WestJet Airlines. Profit 100 companies
enjoy many great benefits including coverage in the June 2009 issue of
PROFIT Magazine and online at PROFITguide.com. PROFIT 100 leaders also
receive an exclusive invitation to the PROFIT 100 CEO Summit, Canada’s most
rewarding conference for entrepreneurial achievers. The entry deadline is
March 31, 2009. For more information or to enter online, visit
http://www.profit100.com
We want to hear from you! Please submit your company's news link or press release to Jason Grosse at jgrosse@itac.ca for posting on the ITAC website.
To submit articles/news items/comments or to subscribe/unsubscribe please send an email to Jason Grosse at jgrosse@itac.ca.
