Ontario Technology Corridor at Interop New York 2011 to attract new/expanding information communications technology (ICT) companies
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 4:00PM Ontario home to $40 billion of ICT revenue from the province’s top 250 companies – more than all other provinces combined. Two fine examples: Huawei and FileCatalyst
Executives from the Ontario Technology Corridor are attending Interop New York this week to show ICT companies from around the world that Ontario is the best place in North America to expand or relocate their businesses. According to Branham Group Inc.’s report entitled Canada's ICT Industry: A National Perspective released in August, The Canadian province is home to the highest concentration of leading ICT companies in Canada. 52.4% of Canada’s top 250 companies are in Ontario. Those companies contribute more revenue than all other provinces in Canada combined, with $41.1 billion coming from the top 250.
“Ontario continues to offer the talent and targeted financial incentives that make our region such a strong part of the ICT industry,” said Larry MacKinnon, Director of Business Development for Technology in London, Ontario and member of the Ontario Technology Corridor at Interop. “Our job at Interop is to add to our tremendous group of companies and help demonstrate that Ontario is a prime destination in North America for ICT investments.”
Federal and Ontario provincial research and development tax credits combine to give Canada the most favorable tax treatment among G-8 countries — giving Ontario innovation companies the ability to cut R&D expenditures by up to 63%.
Representatives from Huawei Canada will be at Interop New York 2011 to discuss their investments in the Ontario Technology Corridor. Huawei established a Canadian Headquarters in Markham, Ontario in 2008, and has since grown to 385 employees in both Markham and Ottawa.
A major part of Huawei’s investment in Canada has been a commitment of $67 million in R&D spending, with the establishment of a Research & Development Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. The facility, one of 20 in Huawei’s global network, opened in May of 2010, and has grown to over 120 employees.
The Ontario Government provided a grant of $6.5 million in support of the facility as part of the “Open Ontario Plan” program, and Huawei committed at the time to create 164 jobs over the next 5 years. The facility is on track to exceed that target and more over the next 12 months – well ahead of schedule.
An example of one of the Ontario Technology Corridor’s homegrown success stories is Unlimi-Tech Software, with FileCatalyst. Clients using FileCatalyst include Sega of America, Eurovision and Sandia National Labs. With 50% growth over the past two years, the company is bringing FileCatalyst Direct 3.0 to Interop. This product marks a world first in file transfer speeds, allowing large international enterprises to transfer files at full line speed over an encrypted 10Gbps connection, using machines built with commodity hardware. The FileCatalyst protocol can send a Blu-ray disc worth of data (24GB) in under 30 seconds, potentially thousands of times faster than other methods.
FileCatalyst technology has been developed entirely in Ontario. Many graduates from several Ontario universities are among the firm’s employees. The company’s Ottawa location attracts talent from across the country and internationally. The lab equipment used to develop FileCatalyst’s 10Gbps transfer technology was also funded in part through the Ontario Innovation Tax Credit, available to companies engaged in experimental development.
In addition to Huawei Canada and Unlimi-Tech Software, firms including Google, IBM, OpenText, RIM, Adobe, Cisco, and Microsoft take advantage of a motivated, loyal and ethnically diverse workforce. 55% of Ontario residents aged 25-64 have advanced education certificates, diplomas or degrees – compared to 51% for Canada as a whole and 39% for the U.S.