ITAC Online - The Small Business Issue

As the national association of Canada’s information and communications technology industry, we support the deployment of information and communications technology (ICT) tools to improve productivity and to achieve our societal and public policy goals.

One of our mandates is to support the promotion and development of Canada’s early-stage ICT companies. They bring innovative solutions to the marketplace and they represent a pool from which our future global leaders will emerge.

This is what our Who’s Who in ICT Partnering Forum is all about. It allows small and medium sized companies to showcase their products and helps them partner with larger players, all to better their chances of success. This is done through face to face meetings, tabletop exhibits and our ‘power panel.’

Each year, our Who’s Who in ICT event is getting bigger and better. We have been lucky enough to have the International Trade Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade support us for the past several years. This year, we recognized a opportunity for partnership and partnered with Toronto Tech Week, a major yearly ICT symposium held by the City of Toronto and partners.

This is the essence of Who’s Who — developers, resellers and government, both domestic and foreign brainstorming, working together and partnering to advance small and medium sized ICT in Canada.

As the head of the ITAC SME Committee, Dan Mothersill says he works to provide start-up tech companies with the knowledge to mitigate the challenges associated with operating a small business in Canada.

The ITAC SME Committee was created at the request of members to address the wide variety of challenges small companies encounter. It focuses on areas such as: the right way to get financing, marketing your firm, exporting, and selling to the Provincial and Federal Government. The SME Committee also focuses on mentoring in areas such as accounting or sales.

“A lot of technology companies don’t get off the ground for lack of financing. A lot of people who start these companies don’t know the rules of the road — how do you position yourself? How do you market yourself? Really we’re going through an exercise (to) provide an orientation and an introduction to a number of ITAC SME members.”

Dan says there are two main challenges startups face. The first is a lack of ‘know-how’ on the part of some entrepreneurs, “Probably one of the largest challenges is around go big or go home. We’re really good in Canada, at innovation; (we) are world class engineers in the broadest sense … what we’re not as good at is selling. It is one of the reasons that you see a number of tech firms sell out or (get) taken over — they really don’t get a chance to grow to a size that makes them world class competitors.”

“I think that the biggest challenge is encouraging governments at all levels to actually buy the products and technologies that are created here … governments make it very difficult for newly established companies to sell to government … we’ve got to encourage more government procurement of the things that are created in this country.”

The goal of the SME committee is to fulfill the need to grow small companies, help educate them, and help them compete — all falling under ITAC’s mandate of growing IT in Canada

For more information on ITAC’s SME Contact: Barrie Marfleet, CFO and Ontario President, ITAC: Barrie.marfleet@itac.ca

Social Media as a Business Collaboration Tool, Jen’s Take:

Facebook:
Great for brands, it can be great for gathering opinion, but it’s a tough marketing tool for small and medium sized business.

LinkedIn:
Probably one of the most valuable small and medium business tools that there is online — It’s what I would put at the top of my list.

Twitter:
If you’re an expertise or opinion based business, Twitter can be fantastic at creating connections both locally and globally.

With a fresh injection of capital and a new partner, Sequentia Environics, formerly Sequentia Communications, is redefining how their clients engage customers on the web.

As is the case with many small business start-ups, growing up from a small firm to a not-so-small firm has been an interesting process.

Jumping in to the crowded Toronto agency market was about more than doing what the others were doing says Jen Evans, President of Sequentia Communications. “One of the key things was really refining a unique offering and business model,” she said, “We started out as a fairly commoditized type of agency specializing in return on investment public relations and marketing — that’s not necessarily a very distinct way of looking at how companies can engage their customers online.”

While Sequentia’s client list is varied, the overriding client base is technology companies. “We really like working with tech firms — it’s a great space for us because there is an element of novelty … the reality is that the tech companies tend to be more adventurous when it comes to trying new ways of marketing.”

“Technology is a critical part of our business, the web, digital communications, online, whatever you want to call it, has fundamentally changed the way people interact and acquire information,” says Jen. “It’s an exciting time to be experimenting with these tools, new ones of which seem to crop up weekly, and seeing how they can help companies improve visibility and engage more closely with their customers.”

Sequentia has developed several web-based solutions for clients including an information capture and online lead management SAAS.

Some of Jen’s early experiences working in technology were in the not-for-profit sector. She was involved at the local, national and international level with an association dedicated to women in technology, around the time of the first dot com boom.

Jen says her first job in tech came in the late 1990’s as an employee at Robert Herjavec’s company, Brak Systems. Robert is now well known to business fans across the country as one of the judges on Dragon’s Den. It was working with Robert that taught Jen valuable lessons about success.

“Watching a charismatic entrepreneur and born salesman take a business from fledgling to buyout was the best education a nascent entrepreneur could have had— I learned everything I know about selling from Robert.”

Two lessons Jen says she has taken from the formative years at Sequentia were “as an entrepreneur, there are going to be lots of setbacks, you just have be willing to keep going,” and “You can not bootstrap everything. At a certain point, if you want to get to a certain level at the company you need to bring in capital and experience.”

Recently, Sequentia has moved from ‘bootstrapping’ to bringing on an investor. Environics Communications has acquired 25 per cent of Sequentia. Jen says this has lead to some interesting and unexpected outcomes.

“The doors they (Environics) have opened … the companies that they have been able to introduce us to very quickly is astounding,” she said.

ITAC to Launch Environment and ICT Forum
ITAC plans to launch a new quarterly industry-government policy roundtable, the Environment and ICT Forum, with the initial meeting to be scheduled for November in Ottawa. The agenda for each meeting will consist of two or three substantial presentations on issues or initiatives of interest and updates on a variety of ongoing activities. Topics likely to be covered include the role of ICT in reducing the carbon footprint, product stewardship, the smart grid, reduction of toxic substances and design for the environment. Please contact Bill Munson at ITAC if you would like to be added to the mailing list and receive meeting notices and pertinent materials: bmunson@itac.ca or 905-602-8510 x223.

ITAC's Emerging Technologies Pavilion Debuts at Showcase Ontario
Fifteen of Ontario’s young emerging companies were on display at this year’s edition of Showcase Ontario, which featured the premiere of the ITAC Emerging Technologies Pavilion.

Barrie Marfleet, ITAC Chief Operating Officer and Ontario President, launched this new venture in cooperation with IT World Canada, and the CCIO’s Government office. The ITAC Emerging Technologies Pavilion was designed as an easy and cost-effective opportunity for smaller vendors to be involved in and contribute to Showcase Ontario.

The Emerging Technologies pavilion, allowed these smaller, often first time exhibitors demonstrate solutions and network with government decision makers.

For more information on how you can participate in the ITAC Emerging Technologies Pavilion, contact Barrie Marfleet, ITAC COO and Ontario President at: Barrie.Marfleet@itac.ca

MEDT Seminars on Attraction and Integration of Immigrant Workers in ICT - Materials Available
One of the deliverables from the 2007-08 consultations between the ICT industry and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade was the creation of a series of workshops on the attraction and integration of immigrant workers. The first two workshops were held in Toronto on May 1 and August 20. The presentations from these workshops are excellent resources for employers in our industry. To view and download the presentations, please go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/media_details/680

Healthcare Takes Centre Stage at ITAC’s Annual Ontario General Meeting
At ITAC’s Ontario Annual General Meeting and Reception (AGM), the spotlight was shining brightly on our health sector as Matthew Anderson, CEO Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), spoke to the capacity audience.

Matthew is the CEO of the Toronto Central LHIN, he addressed some of the challenges he faces. He also spoke about the challenges that the health care sector in Ontario as a whole has worked its way through and what the future may hold for LHIN’s. The presentation concluded with a lively question and answer session.

Also at the Ontario AGM, Richard Campitelli, Vice-President Professional Services, SAP was named Chair of the ITAC Ontario Board. He replaces Craig Sisson, Director Ontario Public Sector & Healthcare, Microsoft. Richard discussed his goals as Chair and some of the issues facing the ICT industry in Ontario.

ITAC’s Pre-Budget Submission
Representing, as we do, the most research and development intensive sector in the Canadian economy, ITAC has advocated the need for a full review of the SR&ED program for several years. Budget 2008 marked the end of a five-month review process in which ITAC and many of our members actively participated. While we welcomed the many measures undertaken to improve the administration of SR&ED, we were disappointed in the relatively minor improvements to the SR&ED program announced in the Budget, noting that they constitute a mere 1.1 per cent improvement in the level of support the program provides. To download ITAC's pre-budget submission, please click the following link (PDF): http://www.itac.ca/uploads/news/Pre_Budget_Submission_%20Aug_08.pdf

ITAC Health / ITAC Present the Ongoing Series of Ontario Ministry of Health Consultations
Oct.9, 2008, Toronto, ON
7:30 am - 10:00 am
The Old Mill Inn, Bruce B/C Room, 21 Old Mill Road
Last March, Gail Paech, Assistant Deputy Minister and Lead, eHealth Program, Ministry of Health & Long Term Care, updated a filled-to-capacity room on the direction of Ontario’s eHealth program. This event is the next regularly scheduled breakfast meeting with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s eHealth Program. Representatives from the eHealth Program will be providing a further update on the progress of the province’s eHealth Strategy and the development of a Diabetes Registry for all Ontarians. For more information, please go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/event_details/681/

14th Executive Forum on Microelectronics
October 15 - October 16th
Marriott Hotel, 100 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario Marketing Roundtable:
Join us for the first-ever combined CMC/ITAC SMCouncil award dinner on the evening of October 15th then enjoy a thought-provoking discussion with your peers as seasoned international executives share their views on what can spur the growth of Canada's industry. Take advantage of this year's Executive Forum on Microelectronics to test the assumptions for your strategic business plan and, possibly, discover that "key thought" and "key contact" which can make all the difference to your company's future success. For more information, please go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/event_exec_forum

ITAC Marketing Roundtable: Social Networking The Buzz and Biz of Online Communities
07:30 am - 10:00 am
October 15, 2008, MaRS Discovery District - 101 College Street, Room CR-2AB, Toronto, ON

At the next ITAC Marketing Roundtable, presented by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and sponsored by SMA, a broad-based panel of marketing executives and social network insiders will discuss their perspective on these emerging forms of communication and collaboration. For more information, go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/event_details/682/

Canadian Health Informatics Awards Gala
Nov. 19, 2008
Toronto, ON
Celebrating the outstanding achievements and excellence in the Canadian Health Informatics community, the CHIA Gala recognizes and honours the contributions of individuals and companies in the efficient use of information technology to improve the health of all Canadians. For more information, go to: http://www.healthinformaticsawards.ca/. For a complete, up to date listing of all ITAC events go to: http://www.itac.ca/index.php/site/events/

Ontario Government Announces Re-launch of Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy
On August 18th, the Ontario Government announced the re-launch of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy (AMIS). The $500 million AMIS program provides repayable loans interest free for five years, to support eligible investments in technology and innovation in Ontario.

In describing AMIS, then Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello announced:

“We heard from manufacturers who told us they wanted the program to be more accessible and offer a greater impact on the financial viability of a project. With these improvements, AMIS delivers.”

For more information, please visit: http://www.ontariocanada.com (click on the “Programs and Services” link) for more information and application forms.

Call for Nominations: Sharing the Flame, Recognizing Excellence in Learning
The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) is seeking nominations for its second annual recognition program, Sharing the Flame: Recognizing Excellence in Learning. Sharing the Flame highlights some of Canada’s most promising practices in learning—giving these initiatives the visibility they deserve, and helping others to learn from their success. CCL will recognize initiatives in the following learning themes: Aboriginal learning, Adult learning, Early childhood learning, Health-related learning and Work and learning. CCL welcomes entries from individuals and organizations with active projects related to any of the five learning themes (as above). Please complete and submit the Sharing the Flame Call for Nominations form by Wednesday, October 15, 2008. For more information, please visit www.ccl-cca.ca or email sharingtheflame@ccl-cca.ca.

Call For Nominations: Round Three of the Premier’s Catalyst Awards
The goal of the Catalyst Awards is to help build a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Ontario by recognizing excellence and leadership in innovation. The program’s five categories are: Best Young Innovator, Innovator of the Year, Lifetime Achievement in Innovation, Start-up Company with the Best Innovation and Company with the Best Innovation. For-profit corporations or employees or directors of those corporations are eligible for this award. The Catalyst Awards provide five awards of $200,000 for developing a commercially successful new, or significantly improved, product or service based on a breakthrough technology. The deadline for the Premier’s Catalyst Awards program is 5:00 p.m., Thursday, October 9, 2008. Please visit the Ministry of Research and Innovation website at http://www.ontario.ca/innovation or contact Jenna Dunlop at (416) 326 - 8458 or awards@mri.gov.on.ca for more details.

PST2008 Sixth Annual Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust
October 1-3, 2008
Fredericton, NB
The annual Privacy, Security and Trust research conference has quickly established itself as a leading forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest challenges and solutions covering a wide range of PST topics. The PST conference is unique in its broad approach including examining the issues from both the research and practice perspectives, encouraging multidisciplinary research, and fostering collaboration between academe, the private sector and government. For more information, go to: http://www.unb.ca/pstnet/pst2008/

Power Within Leadership Conference: Featuring Barbara Walters
Oct. 21, 2008
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
South Building - 222 Bremner Blvd.
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
ITAC Members will be given discounted rates
Experience the power Within. A leadership conference featuring leaders who will transform your business, professional and personal performance. To view the event flyer, go to: http://www.powerwithin.com/pdf/Toronto_2008_MM.pdf. To
register with the ITAC Member rate of $189+GST, contact: Miriam Mandel, Account Executive Power Within Inc., Tel (416) 591 - 4000 x244, E-mail: miriam@powerwithin.com

Ontario’s Digital Economy Conference
Muskoka, Deerhurst Resort and Conference Centre
October 1-3, 2008
Ontario’s Digital Economy Conference will focus on the transformation of Ontario’s economic, social and environmental future from the perspective of three themes. The conference will begin with a look at Ontario relative to other jurisdictions; study the use and impact of various creative applications; and consider how Ontario can best benefit from the use of technology in an expanding knowledge economy. For more information, go to: http://www.thedigitaleconomy.ca/index.php

IIC Presents: Trends in Global Communications Capturing the High Ground in an Uncertain World
Nov. 3 - 4, 2008
Hong Kong
Developments in communications are transforming people’s lives, altering the media landscape and exerting a ‘multiplier effect’ on national economies. Mobile telephony has dramatically altered the economic prospects of millions, particularly in the lesser-developed world. The new mobility coupled with broadband is changing how people interact socially and professionally; it is transforming their access to media content and services. The economic and social impact of the coming generation of high-speed fixed and mobile network technologies will be profound. For further information on the event or to receive a registration form contact Sebastian Mann at s.mann@iicom.org.

Technology World - Meet With Prospective British ICT Partners
Nov. 17 - 18, 2008
Coventry, UK
Following the success of Technology World 2007, this is a great opportunity for those looking to do business in the UK. For more information,
go to: http://www.technologyworld08.com

Canadian New Media Awards
November 18, 2008
Toronto, ON
The CNMA continues to offer the premiere forum for promoting and recognizing achievement in the new media sector and provides inspiration for those preparing to enter the industry. On November 18th, 2008 the industry will assemble at CiRCA nightclub and event theatre to honour this year’s winners in front of hundreds of their peers. The day is comprised of Pre-awards Finalist Showcase & Cocktail Reception, Evening Awards Ceremony and the After Party. For more information, go to: http://www.cnma.ca/index_e/

ID Theft Conference 2008
November 24 & 25, 2008
Vancouver, BC
ITAC Members will be given discounted rates
The BC Freedom of Information & Privacy Association (FIPA) is hosting the ID Theft Conference 2008, which will focus on the most important privacy and ID fraud issues that Canadian companies must deal with, both practically to maintain trust of clients and legally under the Privacy Acts. Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Officer of Canada, will be speaking about the legal obligations relating to ID theft and privacy laws, as well as how legislation can do more to curb ID fraud. All ITAC members can receive the "Friends of FIPA" registration fee, which offers a $100 discount off the early bird rate for a limited time. For more information, e-mail jim@idconference2008.com or call 604-839-4367. More conference info and the full agenda are posted on the website at: http://www.idconference2008.com

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