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Year in Review: Top 5 Canadian ICT News Stories of 2011

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:54:00 GMT

Many of the major headlines that developed in 2010 continued to evolve throughout 2011, with RIM, M&A activity and wireless wars (and potential wireless sector consolidation) remaining at the forefront of Canadian ICT news over the past twelve months. The recovery of the Canadian ICT Industry is still in the works, and while many achievements and success stories emerged in 2011, the bulk of the year was plagued by headlines of doubt surrounding Canada’s top technology firm and the poaching of Canada’s leading technology companies by foreign entities. The following includes Branham’s Top 5 Canadian ICT News Stories that occurred in 2011.

1. RIM Dominates Headlines Again in 2011; Not In A Good Way

The past twelve-plus months were turbulent to say the least for Canada’s leading Canadian ICT Company, Research In Motion (RIM). The Waterloo, Ont.-based Company started the year on somewhat of a high-note, reporting 30+% growth on both its top and bottom line for fiscal 2011, with total revenues clocking in at $19.9 billion and earnings reaching slightly more than $3.4 billion. These financials would be tremendous for the majority of firms in most other markets, but in the fierce mobile market with competitors like Apple and Google, which combined account for 61% of the global smartphone market, the stakes and expectations are high.

The appeal of the BlackBerry seems to have worn off and the failure of the PlayBook and repeated delays of its new line of BlackBerry’s have set the wireless pioneer back from the competition. Through nine-months of its 2010 fiscal year, RIM’s revenues are down by nearly 1%, a first in the company’s 27 year history. In addition, its sales in the U.S. are down significantly (-44% compared to the same period in 2011), with the majority of the company’s growth coming from outside of the North America and the UK, with its international client-base now accounting for nearly 60% of its business.

Following its third quarter release in mid-December 2011, the company’s long-time co-CEO team preached patience as shipments for their long awaited new line of BlackBerry’s were delayed again until late-2012. Patience is something that is running thin with Canada’s bellwether tech company. With its stock price down more than 75% over the course of 2011, outsiders are on the lookout for the BlackBerry maker, with recent reports indicating interest from Amazon.com and a host of others. The once recognized wireless leader still has time to turn things around, but unfortunately the patience amongst its once loyal fan base is wearing thin.

2. Canada’s Top Tech Talent Scooped Up By Foreign Players

Foreign players with war chests of cash that were built up over the course of the economic downturn were on high-alert for Canada’s top tech talent in 2011. Several tech multinationals, mainly headquartered in the U.S., picked-off leading Canadian technology companies over the course of 2011 with companies such as Algorithmics, Bridgewater Systems, Platform Computing, MKS and a host of others acquired in 2011 (check out Branham’s Top 5 Canadian ICT M&A Deals of 2011 for more details on these transactions).

These deals not only validate the innovative talent and leadership capabilities of home-grown Canadian companies, but they also stimulate the robust start-up communities that are located in tech hubs across the country. In addition to these mega M&A deals, several start-ups such as Rypple, Zite, Five Mobile, PostRank achieved successful exits over the past 12 months.

That being said, there is a need for the next generation of tech companies to emerge and lead the Canadian ICT Industry forward into 2011 and beyond. Waterloo, Ont.’s Open Text joined the billion dollar sales club this year and Ottawa-based Maplesoft Group has stated its long-term goal of surpassing the mark in the future as well. Are there any other rising tech firms that are in it for the long haul that will join them?

3. Canadian Tech Company’s Continue to Say No to IPO’s

While the U.S. IPO market showed some signs of heating up with initial offerings launched by the likes of LinkedIn, Zynga, Pandora and Groupon, public markets in Canada still remain very cold. Only two prominent Canadian technology companies went public in 2011 - Avigilon and NexJ Systems.

Vancouver-based Avigilon, a high-end designer and manufacturer of high-definition surveillance solutions, began to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol “AVO” in November 2011. The company’s share price has dipped slightly over the past two months, falling from its launch price of $4.50 per share to slightly more than $4.00 at the close of 2011, but Avigilon’s long-term prospects are strong as the company closes in on 100% growth in both revenue and earnings in its 2011 fiscal year.

NexJ Systems, headquartered in Toronto, completed a $44 million IPO on the TSX under the symbol "NXJ" in May 2011. The enterprise private cloud software company is also posting impressive growth recently, with $22.95 million in revenues through three quarters of its 2011 fiscal year, up 65% year-over-year. NexJ Systems continues to solidify itself as a CRM leader in the financial services vertical, with several blue chip banks and wealth management firms on its client list.

Look for IPO markets to heat-up in 2012 with several companies waiting for economic conditions in Europe to stabilize and North American markets to improve. Two potential Canadian IPO prospects to keep an eye on in the first half of next year are Solace Systems and BelAir Networks.

4. Wireless Upstart Wars Lead to Consolidation Talk

As 2011 comes to a close, the Canadian wireless landscape remains as muddy as ever with buzzwords like consolidation and public offerings being thrown around in recent weeks. Mobilicity, one of the first wireless upstarts out of the gates in 2010, shook-up its management team a couple of times in 2011, which eventually led to the resignation of its inaugural CEO Dave Dobbin in mid-November 2011. Following the departure, COO Stewart Lyons took the rains of the Vaughan, Ont.-based firm and will lead it through what will be an interesting period in early-2012.

Fellow wireless upstart, WIND Mobile also made headlines throughout 2011 as its start-up CEO Ken Campbell left the firm half-way through the year to pursue other opportunities, with Globalive Chairman (WIND’s parent company) Anthony Lacavera shifting into the chief executive role. The outspoken young telecom exec came out and stated that he wants WIND Mobile to be the consolidator, likely with the hopes of building up its arsenal to take on the The Big Three. The company has the financial backing, with the support of Egyptian-based Orascom, to pull off such a deal so look for more activity on this front in the first or second quarter of 2012.

With the impending 2012 auction of the much sought after 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands of spectrum by the Canadian Federal Government, the wireless wars that have developed over the past couple years will not slowdown anytime soon.

5. Canada’s Tech Start-Up Scene Is Hot

Seemingly, there has never been a better time to take a shot and start a business or join an emerging start-up as there was in 2011. Technology hubs across Canada – Waterloo, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and even Moncton and Halifax – are churning out agile and cutting edge start-ups that are receiving recognition not only at home but also across the globe. Publications such as Techvibes and Backbone have given these companies a voice, and the permeation of social media throughout the world has given these organizations a platform to get their message out to the masses at virtually no cost. The high-levels of M&A activity in the sector have also stimulated Canada’s technology talent pool, with some of the country's leading executives shedding their corporate suits and jumping into the start-up pool. Keep an eye out for the 2012 Branham300, which will launch in early-April 2012, where Branham will recognize another crop of Canadian start-ups that possess the talent and innovative pursuit to disrupt the future of ICT in Canada and abroad in the future.

Year in Review: Top 5 Canadian ICT M&A Deals of 2011

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:16:00 GMT

2011 was a year that saw several Canadian ICT Industry leaders picked-up by foreign technology multinationals. Industry leaders such as Algorithmics, MKS, Bridgewater Systems, Platform Computing, March Networks, MXI Security and many others were acquired over the course of the past year and will either not appear on this year’s Branham300 or this year’s edition of the listing will be their last to rank alongside Canada’s most prominent technology companies.

While the Top 5 Canadian ICT M&A Deals of 2011 listed below only include transactions where a Canadian ICT Company is being acquired, several examples in which Canadian ICT leaders acted as the consolidator also occurred in 2011. Notable deals that saw Canadian companies expanding their operations through M&A transactions in 2011 include OnX Enterprise Solutions’ purchase of Agilysis Technology Solutions for $64 Million, BCE’s $40 million buy-out of xwave from Bell Aliant, and Softchoice’s $17 million acquisition of fellow-Canadian UNIS LUMIN, to name a few. While these deals will undoubtedly impact the Canadian ICT Industry moving forward, the following five deals make Branham’s annual listing of the Top 5 Canadian ICT M&A Deals of 2011:

1. Technology Consortium Acquires Nortel Patent Portfolio

Date: July 1, 2011

Players:

Acquirer: Research In Motion (Current Branham300 Ranking: 1), Apple, EMC, Telefon AB LM Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony
Acquiree: Nortel (Current Branham300 Ranking: 14)

Value: US$4.5 Billion

Details: The mega-deal, which was finalized after a fierce four day auction that saw the price-tag for Nortel’s much sought after patent portfolio surpass any analysts expectations, essentially marked the end of Nortel’s bankruptcy proceedings and closed the book on its 116-year-old history. The $4.5 billion dollar bid was won by a consortium comprised of some of the world’s most recognized technology brands, including: RIM, Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony. While not all of the tech juggernauts disclosed their share of the buy-out, Waterloo, Ont.-based RIM reported that its purchase consideration was roughly US$770 million. While the patent portfolio included intellectual property ranging from wireless technology to fibre-optics, and internet search to social networking, it is believed that the players in the consortium participated in the auction to both gain access to the IP and to protect themselves from patent litigation in the future.

Additional Information

2. IBM Acquires Algorithmics

Date: September 1, 2011

Players:

Acquirer: IBM
Acquiree: Algorithmics (Current Branham300 Ranking: 40)

Value: US$387 million

Details: The acquisition of Algorithmics by IBM marks the end of one of Canada’s leading software companies and a pioneer within the business analytics and financial risk management space. While Algorithmics was majority owned by Fimalac, a holding company based in France, the company maintained a strong Canadian presence with its corporate headquarters and much of its senior management team in Toronto. When the acquisition closes, Algorithmics along with its 900 employees and 350 clients (including 25 of the top 30 banks) will be integrated into IBM’s Software Group.

Additional Information

3. PTC Acquires MKS

Date: May 31, 2011

Players:

Acquirer: PTC
Acquiree: MKS (Current Branham300 Ranking: 74)

Value: CDN$292.5 million

Details: In an effort to bolster its presence in the software application lifecycle management space, Massachusetts-based PTC announced a bid to overtake MKS, one of the oldest software companies on Waterloo, Ont., in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly CDN$292.5 million. With the acquisition, PTC is poised to reshape the way manufacturers integrate hardware and software, with increased focus on product quality, improved time-to-market and reduced costs. After the transaction it was announced that MKS’ chief executive would remain with the company and lead the still Waterloo, Ont.-based operations along with the roughly 200 former MKS employees located in the region.

Additional Information

4. Amdocs Acquires Bridgewater Systems

Date: June 17, 2011

Players:

Acquirer: Amdocs
Acquiree: Bridgewater Systems (Current Branham300 Ranking: 49)

Value: CDN$211 million

Details: Following a year in which it posted more than 40% revenue growth, increasing sales from $66.68M in 2009 to $93.38M in 2010, it was announced in mid-June 2011 that Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems was to be acquired by customer experience systems innovation leader Amdocs for CDN$211 million. The move was made because it enabled the Canadian company to accelerate its corporate growth strategy, and expand across the world with the global reach of Amdocs. Bridgewater Systems continues to operate as a division of Amdocs and the management team that that guided the company through its IPO and recent acquisitions remains in place today.

Additional Information

5. IBM Acquires Platform Computing

Date: October 11, 2011

Players:

Acquirer: IBM
Acquiree: Platform Computing (Current Branham300 Ranking: 62)

Value: Financial Terms Not Disclosed

Details: In what was a busy year for Canadian ICT acquisitions for IBM, the U.S.-based multinational announced the takeover of Platform Computing in early-October 2011 for an undisclosed sum. While financial details were not disclosed, it is likely that IBM paid a hefty price for Platform Computing, given the company’s traction in the emerging field of distributed computing, not-to-mention its annual revenues, which reached US$72 million in 2010. The Markham, Ont.-based company brings along with it a list of over 2,000 clients, including 23 of the top 30 largest global enterprises. Platform Computing’s operations will be integrated into IBM’s Systems and Technology Group.

Additional Information

Tech Bytes: December 2011's Major ICT Industry News

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:13:00 GMT

The ICT Industry is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing industries in Canada. The following provides a snapshot of the happenings within the Canadian ICT Industry for December 2011:

December 23, 2011 – MOSAID Technologies announces closing of acquisition by Sterling Partners
December 22, 2011 – Talent Technology acquires VisualCV.com for an undisclosed sum
December 19, 2011 – DragonWave announces cost reduction measures in EMEA operations
December 19, 2011 – RuggedCom responds to acquisition rumours by Beldin
December 19, 2011 – Versatile Systems announces first quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 19, 2011 – Glentel acquires three retail operations for an undisclosed sum
December 19, 2011 – Nightingale Informatix acquires Medrium for $1.75 million
December 16, 2011 – TELUS announces fiscal 2012 financial targets
December 15, 2011 – Research In Motion reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 15, 2011 – Open Text announces appointment of new President and CEO effective January 2, 2012
December 14, 2011 – Constellation Software acquires Markinson Technologies for an undisclosed sum
December 14, 2011 – Enghouse announces full fiscal 2011 results
December 14, 2011 – PNI Digital Media announces full fiscal 2011 results
December 14, 2011 – CounterPath announces second quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 14, 2011 – Diversinet appoints interim CEO
December 13, 2011 – PNI Digital Media announces new additions to management team
December 12, 2011 – Webtech Wireless appoints new Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing
December 9, 2011 – March Networks to be acquired by Infinova for $90.1 million
December 9, 2011 – BCE acquires ownership position in Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment
December 9, 2011 – Rogers acquires ownership position in Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment
December 9, 2011 – Vecima Networks reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 9, 2011 – March Networks announces second quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 9, 2011 – WiLAN acquires digital TV and display patent portfolio for US$8 million
December 9, 2011 – RDM announces full fiscal 2011 results
December 6, 2011 – PNI Digital Media announces departure of President & COO
December 5, 2011 – FlexITy Solutions appoints new Vice President, Business Development
December 5, 2011 – International Datacasting announces third quarter fiscal 2012
December 2, 2011 – Research In Motion announces third quarter provision related to BlackBerry PlayBook
December 1, 2011 – Softchoice completes acquisition of UNIS LUMIN
December 1, 2011 – Mitel announces second quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 1, 2011 – Descartes Systems Group reports third quarter fiscal 2012 results
December 1, 2011 – TECSYS reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results

Branham300 Executive Interview: Mike Winterfield, President, Randstad Professionals

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:14:00 GMT

Recently, Branham sat down with Mike Winterfield, President at Randstad Professionals. The following statements summarize some of the key points that Mr. Winterfield would like to pass along to the Branham300 community. Alternatively, listen in on the conversation between Branham and Mr. Winterfield in its entirety here.

Rising through the Ranks with an ICT Staffing Leader…

I have worked my way from the ground-up to where I am today. I started out as a summer intern about sixteen years ago and since then I have worked in a variety of roles within the company. This has provided me with some very good perspective on what different people in the company are doing and the importance of all of the different types of roles within the company.

About three years ago, I moved over to run the Randstad Engineering division. I did that for about two years, and then about six months ago I assumed the lead role of the Randstad Professionals brand, which encompasses the engineering division, the technologies division, along with a variety of other areas.

Evolution of Randstad in Canada…

When I joined the company sixteen years ago, it was owned by the original founder. Since then, I have experienced five different ownership structures. The first two buyers, after the company was sold by the original founder, purchased the company for financial reasons. The two most recent purchasers acquired the company with strategic motives. Randstad Holdings is the current ownership group, and they definitely approached the acquisition of the business from a strategic point of view, looking to expand their presence in Canada and abroad.

I think the biggest difference with having a strategic owner like Randstad is that the team here has been able to go back to focusing on learning again. We have also been able to leverage the brand and leverage the best-practices that Randstad brings to the table. For people that have been in the industry for a long time, that’s an exciting opportunity. We have been able to revisit and challenge the thoughts and ideas we’ve had for years.

The team at Randstad Canada is really lucky because the revenue and profit generated here is valued and appreciated by Randstad Holdings. I definitely feel like we’re given a lot of leeway to run the Canadian operations as we see fit, and the parent company provides us the flexibility to create Canadian specific strategies. When I look at Randstad Holding, I view them more as being there to give us support and give us guidance when we do need it.

Impact of the SFN Acquisition…

We are really excited about the acquisition of SFN and the positive impact it’s going to have on our North American operations. After all of our investigations into SFN, it was pretty clear that they seemed to share many of the same values and visions that we do, so there was great alignment in the deal. In Canada, we were already the largest HR services provider, and the SFN acquisition helped to cement that. In the US, it had a huge impact bringing us up to be the third largest HR service provider. From an ICT perspective in Canada, the impact of SFN is actually a little bit smaller than some of the other industries in terms of the staff that were focused on that industry, but SFN brings with them a very loyal and strong client-base and we should be able to leverage many of those client relationships moving forward.

Randstad’s Corporate Culture…

There are two main things that we tend to talk about, when we talk about culture at Randstad. The first is an expression we’ve coined - “good to know you”. When we talk about “good to know you” it really involves everybody. It’s getting to know our candidates, getting to know our clients, getting to know our co-workers and building a good relationship with them. By having that strong relationship, we believe that better enables us to make an ideal match between candidates and employers, and not only meet their needs but exceed their expectations.

The other focus for Randstad in terms of culture is on people being our most important asset. I think a lot of companies say that they care about their team, but unfortunately a lot of them only pay lip service to it. We’re one of the world’s biggest employers, so we understand that success is driven by people. So what we try to do is ensure that people are given the best work environment – training, opportunities, and support – so they can develop into their full potential.

Randstad’s Outlook for 2011 and into 2012…

I think that while it’s difficult, it’s very important to try and not forecast and run our business based on what we hear in the media. We have some very well-known, tried, tested and true indicators that tell us how our business is doing. We compare these metrics month over month, quarter over quarter, and year-over-year and most of them are quite strong. In fact, our data shows that the ICT Sector has remained very strong throughout the course of 2011. In fact, permanent job orders are higher in 2011 than they were 2010 year-to-date, as are contract placements. This shows us that despite what the media reports say, the ICT sector in Canada is definitely hiring.

The markets that we’ve seen the most upswing in recently are the financial services and banking sector, as well as government. In terms of the types of roles that are in high-demand right now, we have seen a notable increase in companies looking to hire business analysts, web developers, and different infrastructure support type roles.

Hiring Trends that need to Change…

We tend to see two things happen when employers are coming out of a soft market. One is that they will tend to slow down the hiring process and two is that they will sell less to the candidate. Employers need to change both of these things. In today’s market, we are seeing situations where candidates are receiving multiple offers and what often happens is companies take too long to make a hiring decision. After all of that work to eliminate it down to the person they would like to bring on board, they are actually too late and the candidate that they have extended an offer to has already accepted an offer from another firm, and sometimes it’s a competitor.

Right now there are some very talented, highly educated people out there that are being dismissed a little bit too early in the hiring process in my opinion. One of the things employers can do is partner with an agency like ours to get some help in going beyond the resume, in order to identify the right candidate that may be short on experience but certainly has the capabilities to do the job. There are also a lot of candidates out there that have recently switched fields. This type of candidate may have some very strong ICT experience that was developed in a different field, but some employers aren’t as open to making the investment to channel this experience to their hiring needs. With labour shortages in ICT on the horizon, this approach to hiring needs to change.

Leveraging Canada’s National Brand to Attract Talent…

The famous brain-drain trend that is often talked about, with Canadians moving down to the US because there is more money to be made, has actually reversed in the past two years. There are some pretty interesting studies on this, but the net-effect is that we are seeing more Americans applying in Canada than the reverse.

Recently, we also commissioned a study that revealed some pretty interesting data indicating that Canada is actually the second highest rated nation in the world in terms of people feeling good about the current economic situation here. What this means is that we can really leverage the national brand when trying to get people from other countries to immigrate to Canada and take on some of the jobs that we have here. There are a lot of projects out there that other countries have tried to staff, and they are now staffing them in Canada, because the process is faster, there is a higher availability of talent, and the cost of conducting the projects here is quite reasonable.

ICT Staffing and the Government…

I don’t think the government’s desire to spend less is the problem. We’re all facing that problem. With what has been going on in the economy, companies and government are trying to get good value for their money. However, I do think the public sector would be better served if they utilized more private sector practices and processes. An example of this would be how they qualify candidates. The most common private sector practice would be to qualify top vendors and then allow them to compete on price and quality. Comparatively, most government agencies require a new RFP for every single job, which really increases costs. You really end up limiting your talent pool with these practices, because there is only a certain number of vendors that are will to go through this process over-and-over due to the length of time and level cost to complete it. So I think it’s more the systems and processes in place that are the problem, and not the government’s pressure on vendors to reduce price.

Parting Advice for the ICT Job Market…

For new grads or for ICT jobs seekers, we really believe that ICT is a great industry to be in. It’s an exciting industry, it’s fast moving, it’s growing and it’s going to continue to provide the tools that we need to live our lives. Stick with this industry. If you don’t have the experience to land that first job, find either traditional or non-traditional ways to get that first bit under your belt and build from there.

For companies, whether you are hiring right now or will be hiring in the future, you really need to plan ahead and you need to find your partners in advance. You need to get creative in how to staff your teams so that you don’t get stuck looking for the same person that everybody else is looking for at the same time everybody else is looking for them.

Branham300 Executive Interview - Trent Dilkie, VP Strategic Initiatives & CSO, Gibraltar Solutions

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:14:00 GMT

Recently, Branham sat down with Trent Dilkie, VP Strategic Initiatives & CSO at Gibraltar Solutions. The following statements summarize some of the key points that Mr. Dilkie would like to pass along to the Branham300 community. Alternatively, listen in on the conversation between Branham and Mr. Dilkie in its entirety here.

Getting Started in Big Business…

I went to school for mechanical engineering, but technically I’ve never really applied it. Early on I discovered that my real passion was in computers. I really enjoyed applying computers and related technologies to solve engineering or real world problems.

As soon as I graduated university I started out in a job writing software for CAD/CAM automation at Husky. I did that successfully for quite a while and it eventually led me to the role of Vice President, Information Technology. After a few more years, I started to feel as though that portion of my career had run its course.

Leaving Husky was certainly a huge turning point in my career, because I went from being a customer to being a supplier of IT, so I kind of started working on the other side of the fence.

Starting a Business based on Emerging Technologies…

When we started Gibraltar, it was basically four or five guys doing consulting work. We didn’t necessarily have a clear direction of where we wanted to go as a business, but very early on we recognized some technologies that we believed would soon drive change and revolutionize the way things were done. These technologies were heavily involved around application and server virtualization. Gibraltar was definitely a leader in this space at the time in terms of implementing them in our business, and more importantly introducing them to our customers, and we continue to strive to be considered a leader in this space today.

Adjusting to the Start-up Life…

The biggest thing you notice when going from a billion-dollar firm to starting-up a business is the overall access to resources. At Husky, if I needed money to invest in a piece of technology I could get the money. I had to build a business case to demonstrate that the investment made sense, but ultimately the money was there. In a smaller company, especially when you’re just starting out, it’s really hard to tap into the treasure chest. It isn’t impossible, but it’s extremely difficult, especially because banks aren’t all that willing to give out money to young developing companies, because they see so many of them fail in their first couple of years. Managing the financial aspect of the business was probably one of our biggest challenges in the early years of the business, especially for me coming from a background in big business.

The other big change for me coming from Husky was I was used to having human resources policies and process, and all the back office operations that are required to run a business in place. When we started Gibraltar we didn’t really have any of this. We realized pretty quickly that this would be an important part of building the business and attracting people to work here, so we ended up hiring an HR professional who understood that area. It was a smart move for us because it allowed us to focus on the business side of things, while also ensuring that we were putting the necessary policies in place to build a long-term and sustainable business.

Building a Business that has a Family Atmosphere…

One of the key differentiators for us compared to a lot of our competition is we genuinely feel that we want to run a company that is rewarding for our employees. We want them to be paid well, have good benefits and make sure they feel as though they are part of the team. We also, for the most part, only bring on full-time staff because we believe that really cohesive teams can’t be built with a rotating door of contractors.

Growing the business…

Gibraltar has really relied on organic expansion to grow the company. The fact that we didn’t go and get venture capital to get things moving along faster, probably slowed our growth early on to some extent, but ultimately we feel that our organic growth is probably one of our biggest strengths. The fact that we have come all this way as a result of building a good reputation, listening to our customers and going above and beyond their needs, without any outside financial help is a huge testament to the team here and our relentless focus on the customer.

Dealing with the Economic Slowdown…

During the recession, I think the biggest thing that the team here did is that we didn’t panic about things. If anything the economic crisis really forced us to focus our efforts on the things we do really well and the things that make us successful. We didn’t slow down on training and investing in our own infrastructure and research. If anything, we increased our investment in these areas.

I actually think that there is no better time to increase investment in your company than during a recession, when everyone else is cutting costs. It’s a lesson I learned from the President of Husky back when I worked there in the mid-1980s during a horrible recession. He always said that when times were bad, that’s when you have to spend the most money. You have to position yourself to be the absolute leader when the recession ends. He’s a brilliant guy, so I have to believe he’s right in many ways. So it was a conscious decision for Gibraltar to continue to invest throughout the past couple years.

Technology Trends on the Horizon…

The information technology market is changing rapidly, and that’s not going to stop. Companies – small, medium and large – don’t want to buy computers, install software, or run their own IT infrastructure anymore. They want a service provider to come in and run everything for them so they can focus on their business and not the infrastructure that supports it. I believe that we are on the leading edge of helping our customers understand this technology movement, and how to incorporate the shift into their day-to-day business.

I think one of the biggest things driving it is the Gen X and Gen Y and Millennial generations, because they have grown up with things like Hotmail, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter and they are completely comfortable with someone else running their IT infrastructure. In fact, I believe that they probably prefer it.

I also see a big change in how IT is administered within an organization in the near future. Traditionally, IT has been pushed down on the employee, whether they like it or not. I think it’s going to shift completely to a pull system, or maybe a better name for it is a self-service environment, very much like the Apple App Store. I see it as an empowering shift for employees. When a new employee comes on board, they get a device and they get set-up on the corporate app store, and they download what they need. The entire infrastructure of the system will have compliance, workflows, licensing and a number of other things built in. It will reduce cost and increase user satisfaction, because now they feel like they have a say in the whole process.

The Remote Workforce Movement…

I saw a great presentation a couple of weeks ago in Ottawa on the shift to a remote work environment. The person presenting was a young guy that had recently become a manager. During the presentation, he said something that really stuck with me. Throughout his entire university career, he did most of his work at Starbucks using Wi-Fi. He was essentially trained in school to be a remote worker. So I wondered to myself why we force these new recruits to enter an office environment when they are already trained to work from wherever there is an internet connection. This generation is really going to drive the shift to a distributed workforce because they essentially come out of school with all of the skills needed to be successful in this model.

There are a number of different things that companies need to consider from a technology perspective when shifting to a distributed workforce model, but I think the main one to consider is eliminating the data on the end devices and shifting it all to a virtual desktop that hosts all of the information in a secure data centre. There are huge benefits associated with this for the company from a security standpoint. Mainly, the data never leaves the data centre, you can easily lock the data down, and if the employee ever looses a computer it’s no big deal because there isn’t any sensitive data stored on the device. There is also next to no productivity loss associated with losing a device either, because you can just give them another one and they are off and running again.

Parting Advice...

Always present a very positive image when you are with a customer, even if the answer is no. For example, if a customer says to me ‘can you do this’ and it’s something that we can’t do, I’m perfectly willing to say ‘no we can’t do that, but if you let me come back next week with some ideas I am sure we can do something’. The customer will not only appreciate your honesty, but when they ask you to do something that you can do, they will be confident that you have the tools and expertise to deliver.

Another piece of advice I have for those that are looking to start their own business, is to start it when you are young. Take your chance when you are in your 20s and 30s, because you will learn a lot and even if you aren’t successful you still have the rest of your life to recuperate. When you get to be in your 50’s or 60’s, it’s not as easy to recover from your mistakes.

Branham300 Executive Interview - Hees Ham, Owner, ExitCertified

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:58:00 GMT

Recently, Branham sat down with Hees Ham, Owner of ExitCertified. The following statements summarize some of the key points that Mr. Ham would like to pass along to the Branham300 community. Alternatively, listen in on the conversation between Branham and Mr. Ham in its entirety here.

Branching Out and Starting-Up a Business…

At the end of my first year at Queens, I actually ran a College Pro Painters franchise, so that was probably my first official step into entrepreneurship. I also grew up with self-employed parents, so I had really been exposed to it all my life. I think I always knew I was going to start my own company, but what I didn’t know was the type of business I was going to get into.

After Queens, I joined a large organization and while it was great from a development perspective, I always new it wasn’t for me. I left after a year to join a small technology training company and stayed on board there for about five years. After the owner of that company sold to another buyer, I felt it was a great opportunity to go off on my own, so that’s when Tim Mabey and I started up ExitCertified.

Company Vision and Philosophies…

From the beginning our vision was to try and become the largest technology training organization in Canada, but it wasn’t something that was always at the forefront for us. When we first started out in business, I think we were very much focused on survival, and managing growth as effectively as possible. Now that we’re more established and have a more secure foundation, I think the long-term vision is now starting to come up a lot more in our discussions. We’re really proud of the fact that we have been able to stay focused on what we feel we do very well, which is managing all facets related to technology training for customers.

From the get-go, we have always had a strong philosophy about good partnering, and ensuring that we partner with trust, respect and open lines of communication. We have taken that philosophy or approach and applied it with our employees, suppliers, vendor partners and a variety of other areas within the business. We believe it has worked effectively for us, and it’s an approach we will continue to use moving forward.

Transitioning to the Next Stage of the Business Life-Cycle…

We surpassed the $20M mark this past year, and technically I’m not sure at what point you’re considered a medium-sized organization, but I think for us the next major challenge that we're working on is transitioning the business to the next stage of its life-cycle. We’re effectively transforming ExitCertified from operating like a small company to more of a medium-sized organization. In order to do that, I think it requires a shift in thinking. While at the base level what made us successful as a small company needs to continue, the complexity of the business changes as you get larger and therefore I think it requires more of a strategic approach. When we were smaller we could almost react to day-to-day activities, now I think we have to be a lot more strategic and proactive about how we go about things.

Competing in a Market Dominated by Large Players

In the beginning, it was challenging to convince customers to trust their training needs with a new organization that had limited brand recognition. As the business started to prove itself in the marketplace and grow over the years, it became much easier for us to compete with a lot of the bigger players in the market. I think what really helped us get to this point, in addition to the approach that we take to business, was our ability to not only understand customers’ needs, but react to them in a very timely and efficient manner. I think this is one of the benefits of being a smaller organization, and it’s also something we don’t want to forget as we make the transition over to being a medium-sized firm.

Adapting to Emerging Trends in the Technology Training Market…

The most dominant trend within the technology training market in recent years is the acceptance and adoption of distance learning, that being defined as training happening virtually and not in a traditional classroom environment. Since our business has been primarily about delivering training in a traditional classroom setting, we’ve had adapt to this change. While some believed that this trend would completely replace classroom training, I think that we’ve now seen that both forms of training are going to co-exist into the future and it’s really going to come down to the learner and what kind of training is best suited to their needs and style of learning.

Reacting to Declines in Corporate Investments…

The market in Canada has been extremely challenging and unpredictable over the past couple of years. Business owners have been forced to decide whether they are going to insulate their business and shed costs, or make the riskier move and further invest. I think that Canadians in general are more on the conservative side, so the decline in investment in research & development, sales & marketing and general & administrative doesn’t surprise me that much, but they do concern me, particularly around the R&D. Although it isn’t as applicable to our business, it concerns me because I worry about the level of innovation happening in Canada. I think that the responsible move that Canadians are making might help in the short-term, but when market conditions improve, I really worry about Canada falling further behind in terms of innovation.

Entering the US and Major Differences in Canada-US Market Dynamics…

The unknown of operating in a foreign market was scary to us. One of the biggest challenges that we faced was actually around corporate culture and trying to figure out how we were going to sustain what we built in Canada in our expansion efforts. Obviously there are general differences between Canadians and Americans, but for us it was more of a distance issue than anything else. Our first expansion in the US was in California, which is a long way from Ottawa, so it was challenging to easily expose our US-based employees to our culture and how we do business.

The magnitude of opportunities, the size of deals and the pace of business are major differences when comparing the US market to Canada. We can close a $100K deal with a US client quicker than we can close a $10K deal in Canada, and I believe that there are just as many of those $100K deals to be had in the US as there are the $10K deals in Canada.

The other main difference that we see, particularity in the technology training market, is that the market in the US is a lot more fragmented than in Canada. What I mean by this is that in Canada everybody is going after the same large customers, whereas in the US, while it is arguably a lot more competitive with a lot more players, it amazes me the number of opportunities that we bid on where we don’t run into competition.

Outlook on the Technology Training Market…

The training industry seems to operate in its own style, and so while I try and look for macro indicators that would help us predict where our business, either in the Canada or the US, is going, I’ve learned over the year’s that reading the headlines isn’t a great indicator for what our business is going to do. Overall, I can say that our market conditions have improved, but I think most of that has been driven by the US, and not the Canadian side of our business. Our Canadian business has actually been undergoing softness for a couple of years now, and we are not really seeing any indicators that suggest it is improving or will improve in the near term.

Parting Advice…

For me, I’d have to paraphrase Steve Jobs’ Stanford address – simply love what you do. I feel very fortunate that for the past ten years that when I get up in the morning, it’s never occurred to me that I have to go to my job. I go to work every day and I look forward to it because I love what I do. There are obviously good days and bad days, but I cannot say that this has ever felt like a job to me. I think to have that is a true blessing and I would hope that everybody can strive to find that because I think it makes a huge difference in one’s overall happiness.

Branham300 Company Spotlight: Randstad Canada

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:57:00 GMT

Since its inception, the fundamental goal of the Branham300 has been to raise the profile of the Canadian ICT industry, identify its leaders, as well as illustrate the depth and breadth of innovative technology that is offered by Canadian ICT organizations on a national and international stage. Each month, the Branham300 NOW newsletter profiles industry leaders in an effort to bring well deserved exposure to organizations that are catalysts of growth within the Canadian ICT industry.

Randstad Canada is an undisputed leader within the Canadian ICT Staffing marketplace. It's original roots reach back more than 35 years, with the company currently operating out of 85 branches across Canada. The following profile highlights Randstad Canada's past and present accomplishments and its plans for the future.

Where Randstad Canada Came From...

Randstad was founded in 1960 by Frits Goldschmeding. Since then, we have expanded to 52 countries, representing more than 90 per cent of the global HR services market.

Randstad entered the Canadian marketplace in 1997, bringing our general staffing solutions to Canada and built its success from its vision which is based on a commitment to serve clients by providing them with the highest caliber talent available in every represented market.

Following the global acquisition of our international parent company Vedior NV in 2008, Randstad became one of the largest staffing and HR services firms in the world.

During the first quarter of 2008, Randstad acquired Sapphire Technologies & ATS Reliance, Canadian industry leaders in IT and Engineering/Technical staffing respectively, as part of a global acquisition of staffing companies. Through strong service and operational excellence, all of the Randstad divisions have grown to become market leaders in their current operating markets.

Where Randstad Canada is Today...

Over the last 36 years, we have experienced rapid growth to become a leading recruitment network in the Canadian market. Through a combination of organic growth, together with acquisitions, we have built expertise across multiple industry sectors and deliver quality services through our national network of offices.

As part of our strategy to build a well-recognised recruitment and HR services brand that supports both clients and jobseekers, Randstad Canada recently acquired SFN Group, strengthening our position in Canada as the number one provider of staffing and HR services. The combination of Randstad and SFN Group means greater depth of service for all of our clients and candidates, whether they are at the local level or served by our expanded network across North America.

Today, Randstad Canada employs approximately 800 employees within 85 branches across 8 provinces in Canada. The combined divisions of Randstad Canada have over 36 years of experience.

Where Randstad Canada Plans to go Tomorrow...

Staffing and HR services represent one of the world’s fastest-growing industries. Our operational performance and profitability is underpinned by the building blocks of our strategy, our focus on future growth and the strength of our core values. We will continue to be a world leader in matching demand for and supply of labour and HR services. In doing so, we continue to apply our founding ethos: “to know, to serve, to trust.” We believe in the value of work as a unifying force that shapes society for the better. Our contributions to society and our ability to influence our industry to set high standards, best practice and benchmarks, will continue to drive us everyday.

This is how we’ve earned the title of one of the “Best Workplaces in Canada” by the Great Place to Work® Institute for 5 consecutive years and other notable awards. Randstad’s IT division is also a two-time CIPA (Canadian Information Productivity Awards) winner for its CONNECT™ technology, which offers customers a variety of ways to automate and improve the IT talent management process.

For more information on Randstad Canada, visit www.randstad.ca.

Branham300 Company Spotlight: Gibraltar Solutions

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:57:00 GMT

Gibraltar Solutions is a virtualization technologies specialist that works with clients and their IT team members to transform existing computing infrastructure for greater efficiency, flexibility, and security. Throughout the recent recession, Gibraltar Solutions not only stayed the course, it also continued to grow and increase revenue profitably during turbulent times. The following profile highlights Gibraltar Solutions' past and present accomplishments and its plans for the future.

Where Gibraltar Solutions Came From...

Established in 1996, Gibraltar Solutions specializes in the design, integration, and optimization of high-quality, enterprise-level IT infrastructure solutions. We help commercial, industrial and government customers across Canada automate, streamline and manage their business processes to improve productivity, performance and profitability.

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Gibraltar’s ongoing success is rooted in our commitment to creating a culture of integrity and respect with our customers and our people. Among other achievements, we are consistently ranked as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by Profit Magazine and recognized by Everything Channel as one of the top 500 solutions providers in North America.

Where Gibraltar Solutions Is Today...

As one of Ontario’s leading virtualization solutions provider, we are a single-source provider of consulting expertise, and hardware and software solutions customers need to leverage virtualization and cloud computing in the ways that make best business sense for them.

No single path or combination of technologies is likely to yield an ideal outcome for any two organizations. In every case, the process to a virtual infrastructure will mean striving to achieve a tailored fit, implemented in a way that minimizes business impact and maximizes return on investment. Getting that tailored fit means selecting the right partner. Gibraltar’s proven history as a virtualization specialist extends across more than fifteen years and many thousands of customer engagements across Canada; as a result, Gibraltar is one of the best positioned solutions providers to advise organizations on what a virtualized infrastructure can help them achieve, and how best to go about achieving it.

Where Gibraltar Solutions Plans To Go Tomorrow...

Building on the strength and experience of our virtualization practice, we want to enable organizations to further reduce costs and improve service levels by transitioning to cloud computing. As with any new computing evolution, cloud computing comes with both opportunities and challenges. We plan to help guide organizations in understanding the in-depth issues critical to achieving their desired benefits and developing a roadmap for a smooth transition.

For more information on Gibraltar Solutions, visit www.gibraltarsolutions.com.

Branham300 Company Spotlight: ExitCertified

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:57:00 GMT

ExitCertified is a is global provider of authorized technology training services. Since the Ottawa-based company's foundation in 2001, it has experienced consistent growth, most recently generating 20 percent year-over-year growth in its 2011 fiscal year. The following profile highlights ExitCertified's past and present accomplishments and its plans for the future.

Where ExitCertified came from...

ExitCertified was established in July 2001 to provide a premium solution to the IT Training and Education market catering to both corporate clients and government agencies in North America. With Ottawa as its head office, the organization’s primary focus is on technology training, offering Operating Environment, Database Administration, Networking and Security, Server and Storage, Programming and ERP courses across multiple modalities including Instructor Led, Virtual, and Self Paced.

Core competencies focus around providing high-end corporate training solutions through partnering with industry leading hardware manufacturers and software organizations.

Where ExitCertified is Today...

Since the running of the first training session in November 2001, the company has grown from eight employees, one permanent centre with four classrooms, and one authorized partnership, to 70 employees, 11 centres with 50 classrooms, and 10 authorized partnerships. It now offers over 10,000 titles from the largest hardware and software providers in the marketplace. Current relationships exist with Oracle, IBM, Apple, SAP, Symantec, Red Hat, VMWare, SpringSource, HDS and BMC.

2011 marks an important year for ExitCertified and it represents their tenth year of being in business. To cap off this significant milestone, they have also been the recipients of the following awards this year:

Oracle University North American Partner of the Year for 2011
Red Hat North American Premier Training Partner of the Year for 2011
Named to TrainingIndustry.com’s Top 20 IT Training Companies for 2011

ExitCertified continues to be exclusively focussed on providing customers with exceptional customer service and delivering the highest quality training to help organizations maximize their return on major hardware and software investments.

Where ExitCertified Plans to go Tomorrow...

As ExitCertified continues to evolve and further differentiate itself from the other options in the IT training industry, their next area of focus will be the implementation and expansion of a proprietary solution around the delivery of authorized vendor training. One of the major shifts the training industry has witnessed over the last few years is the adoption and acceptance of non-traditional Instructor Led Training. This includes Live Virtual Training, Online E-Learning, and a system that ExitCertified launched two years ago called Multimedia Video Presence, or MVP. MVP is a virtual solution that offers full video and audio capability to deliver classes to multiple locations at the same time while preserving the same critical components that make traditional instructor led training so effective. While there is still an instructor delivering the class, students are able to interact live and in real time, and labs are performed and monitored by the instructor. With hundreds of successful deliveries already under its belt, ExitCertified is now exploring the next phase of this project, adding the ability for customers to take instructor led training from the comfort of their home or office by joining courses that are being taught live in ExitCertified classrooms.

ExitCertified will continue to come up with creative solutions for their customers to allow them to get the training they want, when they want it, and how they want it.

For more information on ExitCertified, visit www.exitcertified.com.

Tech Bytes: Fall 2011's Major ICT Industry News

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:57:00 GMT

The ICT Industry is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing Industries in Canada. The following provides a snapshot of the happenings within the Canadian ICT Industry for Fall 2011:

November 18, 2011 – Axia reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 18, 2011 – TIO Networks reports full fiscal 2011 results
November 17, 2011 – Absolute Software reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 15, 2011 – Tranzeo Wireless appoints interim CFO
November 14, 2011 – IMRIS reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 14, 2011 – CriticalControl reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 14, 2011 – Mediagrif reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
November 14, 2011 – Mediagrif acquires LesPAC for $72.5 million
November 14, 2011 – Webtech Wireless reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 14, 2011 – Norsat International reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 14, 2011 – Tranzeo Wireless reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 14, 2011 – IDC reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 11, 2011 – Nortel reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 11, 2011 – Solium Capital reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – CGI reports full fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – CAE reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
November 10, 2011 – Hartco reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – Cyberplex reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – Zedi reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – Frontline Technologies reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – Intrinsyc reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 10, 2011 – Call Genie reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 9, 2011 – SMTC reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 9, 2011 – RuggedCom reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
November 9, 2011 – Redline Communications reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 9, 2011 – WiLAN reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 9, 2011 – DDS Wireless reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 9, 2011 – TeraGo reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 8, 2011 – Softchoice reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 8, 2011 – Computer Modelling Group reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
November 4, 2011 – TELUS reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 4, 2011 – Telesat reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 4, 2011 – Pason Systems reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 4, 2011 – DragonWave to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks business unit
November 4, 2011 – Miranda Technologies reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 4, 2011 – Novadaq reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 3, 2011 – BCE reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 3, 2011 – Softchoice acquires UNIS LUMIN for $17 million
November 3, 2011 – MTS Allstream reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 3, 2011 – SMART Technologies reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
November 3, 2011 – NexJ reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 3, 2011 – Espial reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 2, 2011 – Sierra Wireless reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 2, 2011 – Constellation Software reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 2, 2011 – Hemisphere GPS reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
November 2, 2011 – Mitec Telecom announces sale of Military Division for $1 million
October 31, 2011 – Angoss Software reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 28, 2011 – MDA reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 28, 2011 – Diversinet reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 27, 2011 – MOSAID Technologies acquired by Sterling partners for $590 million
October 27, 2011 – GLENTEL reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 27, 2011 – OSI Geospatial reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 27, 2011 – Sangoma reports full fiscal 2011 results
October 27, 2011 – Serenic reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 26, 2011 – Rogers Communications announces Chief Financial Officer transition
October 26, 2011 – Cogeco reports full fiscal 2011 results
October 26, 2011 – OpenText reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
October 26, 2011 – Rogers Communications reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 26, 2011 – Call Genie completes acquisition of Upsnap Services
October 25, 2011 – 20-20 Technologies announces major management changes
October 25, 2011 – C-COM Satellite Systems reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 24, 2011 – CAE acquires Haptica for an undisclosed sum
October 24, 2011 – Hartco appoints Chief Information Officer
October 24, 2011 – Epic Data appoints new Vice President, Sales
October 21, 2011 – IBM completes $380 million acquisition of Algorithmics
October 20, 2011 – Celestica reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 20, 2011 – Shaw Communications reports full fiscal 2011 results
October 20, 2011 – Enablence Technologies reports full fiscal 2011 results
October 19, 2011 – Aastra reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 17, 2011 – Gibraltar Solutions appoints new COO
October 14, 2011 – Guestlogix reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 14, 2011 – Mitec Telecom reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
October 13, 2011 – GFI Solutions appoints new Executive Vice President & CFO
October 11, 2011 – EXFO reports full fiscal 2011 results
October 11, 2011 – IBM acquires Platform Computing for an undisclosed sum
October 6, 2011 – Sandvine reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 5, 2011 – DragonWave reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
October 5, 2011 – Firan Technology reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
October 5, 2011 – SAND Technology announces sale of product line for $8 million
October 4, 2011 – Uniserve appoints new CFO and Financial Controller
October 3, 2011 – Computer Modelling Group announces appointment of Vice President, Marketing

Branham300 Executive Interview - Gerry Remers, President & COO, Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc.

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:13:00 GMT

For the past 20 years, Branham has tracked the Canadian ICT Industry and the leading companies that comprise it. As part of Branham’s ongoing efforts, we speak with leading executives from across Canada to gather first-hand insight on current trends and recent developments within the Canadian ICT Industry. Recently, Branham sat down with Gerry Remers, President & COO at Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc. The following statements summarize some of the key points that Mr. Remers would like to pass along to the Branham300 community.

Choosing Between Academia and Business, and Major Career Milestones…

I finished a Masters in Philosophy, and at the time I had to make a decision whether to pursue a PhD in Philosophy and get into the academic world or turn to business. I chose the business route, and earned an MBA at York University and then studied at the University of Cologne, Germany.

After that, I started out in individual contributor roles – product management research and marketing – at Electrohome in Kitchener. Following that, I shifted over to Nortel, working in similar positions. Nortel was a really good proving ground for a lot of people working there at the time. It was a very professional environment and, being a global company, it provided a lot of opportunity. For me, it was a really great learning experience in terms of development in the earlier stages of my career.

I rejoined Electrohome in 1994 as the Director of Marketing for the Projection Systems division, which at the time was a new division within the company, before taking over responsibility for the entire division in 1996. The next few years were pretty challenging for me and the company because the projection business was struggling to turn a profit. Eventually, the board of directors recognized that there really wasn’t a succession plan at Electrohome and in early 1999, John Pollock, who was the company’s CEO, asked me to become President of the Projection Systems division and find a buyer for it.

Lessons Learned from the Electrohome Deal…

The first attempt to sell the Projection Systems division actually happened in 1998, and that faltered, in large part, because too many deal-making intermediaries were involved. Using investment banks and other intermediaries during the first attempt really slowed things down and complicated the process. It really demonstrated to me that the business leaders themselves need to be intimately involved and/or put in charge of the process of major business deals, not through an intermediary.

The next time around, it wasn’t as complicated a process because there was a willing buyer (Christie Digital) and seller (Electrohome). Christie was looking for new technology and we were looking for capital to invest in product development because we didn’t have the resources on hand to continue with the division and see the technology development all the way through. So the deal really made sense for everyone, because we basically filled gaps in one another’s capabilities and emerged as a much stronger company after the deal was finalized.

Adjustments Made when Joining Christie Digital…

When I look back and think about it, it was a big transition for everyone at Electrohome when we were acquired by Christie Digital. We went from being a public company to a private company. And from a Canadian-owned company to one whose ultimate parent-company is Japanese. From a company that was focused on its traditional dealer channels to a much larger focus that included the entertainment and film industries, which was a market that was changing rapidly. I think the key to success for us at the time was being tolerant and welcoming of change, and understanding that we would have to adjust to a new way of doing business.

Christie Digital Canada’s Decade of Success…

When we first merged the two companies, it was late-1999/early-2000. The first year’s combined revenues were about $100 million and we had a headcount of about 200 people. This year, we expect to exceed $800 million in sales and we currently have about 1,400 staff. We really have had a lot of growth, and a lot of success over the past decade and that really comes down to a joint-effort by our staff.

One of the key things that I believe in is that businesses succeed because of the people that drive them. I have always tried to surround myself with a very strong senior management team and we have really focused on talent acquisition and nourishment throughout the organization. As a result, we have a very engaged workforce – they like the business that we are in and they know that we are very concerned about their health, their well-being and their development as an individual.

What’s Next for Christie…

There is huge and really unlimited opportunity in the area of visual communication, so we are going to continue to develop new products and new solutions to meet the needs of this market. The fact of the matter is we’re going to see pixels everywhere. Whether it’s in the boardroom, the car, or at home, we’re going to see a lot more intelligent display surfaces all around us. The trick for Christie in all of this is finding the business model that makes the most sense, to effectively capitalize on the opportunity that exists.

Innovation in Canada…

To really understand what’s going on in terms of innovation in Canada, one has to consider what has happened in the overall business climate over the past three years. There is the rise of RIM and the demise of Nortel, both of which have strong track records of innovation in Canada. There is a lot of merger and acquisition activity going on with foreign-owned entities acquiring Canadian companies, and these organizations traditionally spend less on R&D in Canada. Obviously, the global recession that began back in 2008 also had a huge impact on how companies invested in research and development. Macro-factors like these have really affected the total spend in this area.

I have heard the phrase used that R&D is a lagging indicator, in that spend in this area lags economic conditions, whether it be economic success or failure. So if companies find that they are in a difficult business environment, they will probably look to cut sales and marketing, research and development and other expenditures to improve their bottom line – this is what happened over the past three years. While corporations are now beginning to rebuild their balance sheets, the global economic environment remains very unstable and as a result companies still are not investing as much in R&D as in the past, not only within Canada but also in other foreign markets.

This is obviously a very serious issue for Canada because it means that innovation isn’t going to happen at a level that is necessary to sustain growth. It really has become a vicious cycle.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Region…

The Kitchener-Waterloo Region actually has a long history of business leaders that have given back to the community. It really goes all the way back to the 1955-1956 timeframe when Carl Pollock, who was the CEO of Electrohome at the time, and other business leaders in the Region got together and founded a scientific and engineering-oriented university – the University of Waterloo. This was a very far-sighted move because they understood that in order for the Kitchener-Waterloo Region to be successful, it needed to a strong talent pool. Today, the region is a leading educational hub, with schools like Wilfred Laurier, the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College continually producing top talent and new entrepreneurial thinking.

Many of the larger companies in the region – Christie, OpenText, RIM, Agfa and many others – tend to share the same belief that we all benefit if there is a strong community here in Kitchener-Waterloo because a strong successful community is going to encourage the right type of talent to locate here.

Competing Outside of Canada and the Need for Top Talent when Operating in Global Markets…

Christie Digital exports approximately 90% of what we produce; we have always had a very global orientation to our business. As opposed to competing within Canada on a national scale, we have always competed on a global scale and I hope this is true for a lot of the other companies in Canada. We all need to recognize that ours is a global opportunity and that we can’t be successful if we are only trying to succeed on a national level.

With this global outlook, we also have to recognize that we need the best talent possible because we will be competing with global giants. In our business, we are competing against companies like Sony and Panasonic, which both have fairly deep resource pools, so we need to ensure that we have the talent here that enables us to compete on the world stage.

Prosperity begins by creating value, and in order to create value you have to have people that understand the customer, the market, the technology and the trends, so that your workforce recognizes the opportunities for growth for the company.

Entrepreneurship in Canada…

Entrepreneurship, like leadership and innovative thinking, needs to be developed. For the most part, people aren’t born with innate entrepreneurial tendencies; they need to be educated in this area to enable these skills. Even for people who work within larger organizations, the development of these skills is critical. There is a need at each level of an organization for leadership qualities that are very similar to skills that are categorized as entrepreneurial - risk taking, leading a group of individuals, and taking ownership of problems for example.

The other factor is that we need people that are willing to take risks and start companies in order to drive new economic growth. The Canadian economy cannot rely on only employment at mid-to-large sized organizations. We need to nourish start-ups, and encouraging entrepreneurship is necessary to get these start-ups off the ground.

Parting Advice…

I always go back to a quote by a philosopher named Heraclitus who said “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” I sometimes use that quote internally to say to people that things change and we have to be prepared to adjust. I find at times that big egos and/or entrenched thinking become a road block to success. In my opinion, in order to make progress you have to be willing to adapt to circumstances and question or challenge assumptions. Without that mindset, you will never see the bigger picture.

Branham300 Company Spotlight: Christie Digital Systems Canada

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:37:00 GMT

Since its inception, the fundamental goal of the Branham300 has been to raise the profile of the Canadian ICT industry, identify its leaders, as well as illustrate the depth and breadth of innovative technology that is offered by Canadian ICT organizations on a national and international stage. Each month, the Branham300 NOW newsletter profiles an industry leader in an effort to bring well deserved exposure to organizations that are catalysts of growth within the Canadian ICT industry.

Christie Digital Systems Canada is a global visual technology company, which offers diverse solutions for business, entertainment, and industry. Over the past decade, the Kitchener-based company has experienced rapid growth with revenues increasing from approximately $100 million in 2000 to more than $800 million (projected) in 2011. The following profile highlight’s Christie Digital Systems Canada’s past and present accomplishments and its plans for the future.

Where Christie Digital Systems Canada Came From…

In 1999, Christie acquired Electrohome Projection Systems, an international manufacturer of commercial projection systems. Electrohome Projection Systems was a division of Electrohome, Inc. Canada’s largest consumer electronics manufacturer based in Ontario, Canada. The marriage of capabilities led to the establishment of Christie’s digital projection operations.

Today, Christie is the only single source provider of high performance digital projectors and visual solutions in North America and one of only a handful in the world. The worldwide head office is located in Cypress, California with engineering and manufacturing headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, with a second manufacturing facility located in Shenzhen, China.

Christie is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc. of Japan. Ushio is a leading manufacturer of specialty and general illumination lighting solutions and is publicly traded on the Nikkei-Dow (Tokyo) under the symbol JP:6925.

Where Christie Digital Systems Canada is Today…

With expertise in film projection since 1929 and professional business projection systems since 1979, the firm has built on this solid base to establish a reputation as the world’s single source manufacturer of a variety of display technologies and solutions for cinema, large audience environments, control rooms, business presentations, training facilities, 3D and virtual reality, simulation, education, media and government. Typical of its market leadership, Christie has installed more than 100,000 projection solutions worldwide.

Christie’s broad range of technologies include DLP Cinema™ projectors, LCD and DLP™ projectors, rear screen projection modules, video walls, and cutting edge projection technologies for 3D, virtual reality and simulation. Whatever the application, Christie solutions are purpose-built to meet unique projection requirements, and are backed by industry-leading service and support ensuring complete customer satisfaction.

Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world, boasting 12 major patents, 2 academy awards and countless industry awards. It is one of three licensed manufacturers to make and sell projectors featuring Texas Instruments’ (TI) Academy Award winning DLP Cinema® technology. Christie was the first licensee of DLP Cinema® technology and the first Digital Cinema technology to be adopted by the Hollywood community. Other ‘firsts’ include being the first with a 2K digital projection solution, the first to offer a 4K ready solution, and the first to introduce TI’s new advanced Series 2 DLP Cinema® technology.

Innovation is the watchword at Christie, and the talent of its workforce has resulted in several new product introductions. For example, the Christie Matrix StIM™ is the worlds’ first light emitting diode (LED) driven DLP® simulation projection system. It is industry-renowned and has won several awards for new technology and simulation display expertise. The infrared signatures stimulate actual Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) allowing operators of the system to use their own night-vision goggles rather than special training goggles. With the NVGs responding just as they would in the real world, users can see both visible and infrared images, independently at the same time, for a more natural training experience.

The Christie Matrix StIM™ is recognized industry-wide as a game-changing solution that allows those in the military and training industries to do their job with greater efficiency, greater performance and lower operating costs. It’s also the first intelligent projection system to enable real-time balancing and optimization of color, brightness and black levels on a frame-by-frame basis and it’s the first system designed for simulation and training with solid-state LED illumination, with no consumables for a virtually maintenance-free system.

Taking display technology to a new level, Christie® MicroTiles™ are built on proven DLP® technology and specifically designed for maximum image quality in demanding indoor, high ambient light environments. These individual, lightweight modules lock together quickly and easily to form any size or shape of digital display. Leveraging the strengths of both DLP® projection and Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, Christie MicroTiles offer substantially brighter images and a much wider color palette than conventional flat panel LCD and plasma displays. With no practical limit to the number of tiles in a display, Christie MicroTiles produce a virtually seamless canvas with an unlimited number of super-fine pixels.

In 2007, Christie’s manufacturing facilities in Canada (Kitchener, Ontario) and the United States (Cypress, California) became ISO 14001 certified. ISO 14001 provides a framework to establish and maintain an Environmental Management System (EMS) within an organization. Key elements include identifying products, services and activities which may have an environmental impact and, where necessary, implementing appropriate controls for them. This involves setting specific environmental goals which are monitored to ensure continual improvement, compliance to applicable laws and regulations and a commitment to the prevention of pollution. For example, by following RoHS guidelines, Christie ensures that hazardous materials are not in its products and they are RoHS compliant. All Christie products conform to the European Union (EU) Directive 202/95/EC Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). As well, the firm has partnered with qualified electronic recycling centers across Europe, in compliance with WEEE, so that customers can dispose of projectors in an environmentally conscious manner.

Where Christie Digital Systems Canada Plans to go Tomorrow…

The firm announced the next generation of its 3-chip DLP® Xenon platform – the Christie® J Series – at the IBC Show in Amsterdam, September, 2011. This new platform targets a variety of applications within the rental, staging and fixed install segments, requiring high brightness, superior performance and crisp, clear images – all in a compact, rugged and reliable package.

Christie has taken its highly successful Xenon product line and evolved it with exciting new features like embedded Christie Twist™ that allows for image warping without the need to purchase additional electronics cards. Driven by a Xenon illumination system that offers the best color reproduction and stability, J Series also offers lenses with Intelligent Lens System (ILS™) functionality and three resolutions, SXGA+, HD and WUXGA.

On the cinema front, in a move designed to accelerate the development and adoption of next-generation 3D digital cinema, Christie® and James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc., have signed a milestone, five-year agreement to exchange research, testing, development and technical support on the industry's most exciting new technology. The cooperation between two of Hollywood’s digital cinema powerhouses heralds a significant shift in how movies will be made and shown in theaters.

Cameron said he selected Christie for this ‘journey of discovery’ because the company is fully committed to his vision and shares his dedication to continually push the boundary of digital cinema. The full potential of 3D and high frame rate technology to fully immerse audiences in the world of the movie before them is the holy grail of cinematography.

As part of its agreement with Lightstorm, Christie will supply the latest Solaria™ Series of 3D-capable projectors, ongoing access to emerging research and development on 3D, and input into Lightstorm’s mission-critical engineering related to 3D and high frame rate innovation. Christie will also assist in outfitting Cameron’s new production facilities, including two screening rooms that will serve as virtual production sites for the next two installments of Avatar, the most successful film in history which used ground-breaking 3D technology from Cameron.

In exchange, Lightstorm will share with Christie its findings into 3D, high frame rates and the enhancements, format, and color space requirements for achieving the optimal viewing experience. This knowledge in turn will be used to enhance Christie's 3D technology as it relates to desirable projector and server functionality, as well as help Christie create market-leading tool kits for exhibition and post-production markets and applications. Lightstorm will provide sample content for testing and demonstration of technical enhancements, for the overall promotion of Christie's 3D technology.

As the world shrinks and the need for increased security and mission-critical public and private services expanded, Christie is pouring more research into and delivering solutions for the most complex control room environments. Offering the latest generation monitoring and surveillance technologies for all levels of government, Christie display solutions represent the ultimate in 24/7 reliability and security for briefings, monitoring, surveillance, military and emergency operations centers.

Display technologies that offer the ultimate in visual performance and reliability is an absolute requirement in today’s volatile global landscape, where rapid access to accurate and timely information is critical to effective decision making. Christie video walls monitor, control and interact with all of a government’s or company’s visual assets – from any source – in real time. They are extremely reliable customizable display solutions that deliver high performance image quality and content flexibility, allowing security teams to review data and react to any issue instantly.

For more information on Christie, please visit www.christiedigital.com.

Tech Bytes: September 2011's Major ICT Industry News

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:37:00 GMT

The ICT Industry is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing Industries in Canada. The following provides a snapshot of the happenings within the Canadian ICT Industry for September 2011:

September 28, 2011 - Vecima reports full fiscal 2011 results
September 26, 2011 - CGI announces senior leadership changes in U.S. operations
September 26, 2011 - SMTC acquires ZF Array Technology for approximately $9 million
September 26, 2011 - QHR Technologies acquires software business from Healthscreen Solutions
September 26, 2011 - Superclick to be acquired by AT&T subsidiary for approximately $15 million
September 22, 2011 - Zarlink acquired by Microsemi for approximately US$525 million
September 21, 2011 - Gennum reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
September 20, 2011 - Acrodex appoints new CTO
September 20, 2011 - Axia NetMedia reports full fiscal 2011 results
September 15, 2011 - Research In Motion reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 15, 2011 - Superclick reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
September 14, 2011 - MOSAID sells non-strategic patents for US$11 million
September 14, 2011 - CounterPath reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 12, 2011 - 20-20 Technologies reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
September 12, 2011 - WiLAN appoints Vice President, Patent Administration
September 12, 2011 - DDS Wireless appoints CFO
September 9, 2011 - Versatile reports full fiscal 2011 results
September 8, 2011 - Descartes reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 8, 2011 - Webtech Wireless announces executive appointments
September 8, 2011 - TECSYS reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 7, 2011 - March Networks reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 7, 2011 - MOSAID Board recommends rejection of WiLAN offer
September 7, 2011 - Mediagrif reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 6, 2011 - OpenText acquires Operitel for an undisclosed sum
September 6, 2011 - Pason Systems appoints President and CEO
September 6, 2011 - International Datacasting reports second quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 2, 2011 - COM DEV reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
September 2, 2011 - WiLAN initiates litigation against Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, Dell, HP, HTC, Kyocera, Novatel and Sierra Wireless
September 1, 2011 - Mitel reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
September 1, 2011 - Zarlink Board recommends rejection of Microsemi offer
September 1, 2011 - Algorithmics acquired by IBM for approximately $387 million
September 1, 2011 - Enghouse reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
September 1, 2011 - MOSAID acquires Nokia patent portfolio

Tech Bytes: Summer 2011's Major ICT Industry News

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:54:00 GMT

The Canadian ICT Industry didn't take the spring/summer months off in 2011, as a flurry of activity took place at Canada's leading ICT companies from from April to August. The following provides a snapshot of the happenings within the Canadian ICT Industry from April to August 2011:

August 24, 2011 - CAE acquires METI for US$130 million
August 24, 2011 - Nightingale reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
August 24, 2011 - VIQ Solutions reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 23, 2011 - Research In Motion announces new BlackBerry Curve smartphones
August 23, 2011 - Computer Modelling Group reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 23, 2011 - NexJ appoints new Senior Vice President, Technology
August 23, 2011 - QHR Technologies reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 22, 2011 - Sangoma acquires assets from VegaStream for $1.4 million
August 18, 2011 - Zarlink Board responds to unsolicited Microsemi bid
August 18, 2011 - MOSAID Technologies responds to unsolicited Wi-LAN offer
August 18, 2011 - Absolute Software reports full fiscal 2011 results
August 18, 2011 - QHR Technologies acquires EMIS
August 17, 2011 - WiLAN announces takeover offer for MOSAID Technologies for C$200 million
August 17, 2011 - Quorum reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 16, 2011 - WiLAN expands management team
August 16, 2011 - PNI Digital Media reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 15, 2011 - Redline Communications reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 15, 2011 - Adeptron reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 15, 2011 - Webtech Wireless reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 15, 2011 - Tranzeo reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 12, 2011 - Solium Capital reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 12, 2011 - Espial Group reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 11, 2011 - Nortel reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 11, 2011 - Hartco reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 11, 2011 - Miranda reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 11, 2011 - Zedi reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 11, 2011 - PNI Digital Media announces departure of CTO
August 11, 2011 - Intrinsyc reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 10, 2011 - CAE reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
August 10, 2011 - OnX Enterprise Solutions acquires assets from Novator Systems
August 10, 2011 - Cyberplex reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 10, 2011 - RuggedCom reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
August 10, 2011 - Norsat reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 10, 2011 - Icron Technologies announces going-private transaction
August 9, 2011 - SMART Technologies reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
August 9, 2011 - Softchoice reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 9, 2011 - SMTC reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 9, 2011 - IMRIS reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 9, 2011 - Hemisphere GPS reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 8, 2011 - Pason Systems reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 5, 2011 - TELUS reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 5, 2011 - MTS Allstream reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 5, 2011 - Pason Systems acquires 3PS for US$25 million
August 5, 2011 - WiLAN announces changes to management team
August 4, 2011 - Telesat reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - BCE reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - Sierra Wireless reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - CriticalControl reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - WiLAN reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - DDS Wireless reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - TeraGo reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 4, 2011 - Novadaq reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 3, 2011 - Constellation Software reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 3, 2011 - Research In Motion Introduces new BlackBerry 7 smartphones
August 3, 2011 - Redknee reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 3, 2011 - NexJ reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
August 2, 2011 - Vecima Networks divests of Radio Spectrum for $8 million
August 1, 2011 - OnX Enterprise Solutions completes acquisition of Agilysys Technology Solutions
July 29, 2011 - MDA reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 29, 2011 - Nortel completes sale of patent portfolio for US$4.5 billion
July 29, 2011 - Mitec Telecom reports full fiscal 2011 results
July 29, 2011 - RDM reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 28, 2011 - Maplesoft Group appoints new President
July 28, 2011 - Creaform reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 28, 2011 - Serenic reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
July 28, 2011 - Angoss Software reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 27, 2011 - Zarlink reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
July 27, 2011 - PEER 1 Hosting announces new additions to its leadership team
July 27, 2011 - Glentel reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 27, 2011 - ODESIA Group announces termination of Mexican operations
July 26, 2011 - Rogers reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 26, 2011 - CGI reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 26, 2011 - Uniserve divests of Eastern customer base for $2 million
July 26, 2011 - C-COM reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 26, 2011 - Counterpath reports full fiscal 2011 results
July 25, 2011 - Research In Motion announces retirement of COO
July 22, 2011 - Celestica reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 22, 2011 - Zarlink Board responds to Microsemi's announcement
July 21, 2011 - Nightingale reports full fiscal 2011 results
July 20, 2011 - Aastra Technologies reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 19, 2011 - RDM appoints new Vice President, Sales
July 18, 2011 - BCE announces executive leadership team appointments
July 14, 2011 - Rutter reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 14, 2011 - Chartwell Technology acquired by Amaya for $22.77 million
July 13, 2011 - Hartco announces $6 million investment in PEI-based ScreenScape Networks
July 12, 2011 - Descartes acquires Telargo for US$9.6 million
July 12, 2011 - SAND Technology appoints new President
July 11, 2011 - OSI Geospatial reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 7, 2011 - Cogeco reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 7, 2011 - TECSYS reports full fiscal 2011 results
July 6, 2011 - DragonWave reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 6, 2011 - Firan Technology Group reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 5, 2011 - RDM appoints new CFO
July 5, 2011 - DragonWave announces resignation of Vice President, Worldwide Sales
July 4, 2011 - Lyrtech reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
July 1, 2011 - Research In Motion acquires Nortel patent portfolio as part of consortium
June 30, 2011 - Nortel announces winning bidder of its patent portfolio for US$4.5 billion
June 30, 2011 - Mitel reports full fiscal 2011 results
June 30, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires Youbill
June 30, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires ProSoft Technologies
June 29, 2011 - Shaw Communications reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 29, 2011 - ViXS Systems expands its executive management team
June 29, 2011 - International Datacasting reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
June 29, 2011 - Quorum reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 29, 2011 - NTG Clarity Networks reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 28, 2011 - EXFO reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 28, 2011 - Adeptron begins trading on the TSX-Venture Exchange under the symbol "ATQ"
June 28, 2011 - ODESIA Group reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 27, 2011 - TIO Networks reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 23, 2011 - SMTC appoints Regional Vice President, Business Development
June 23, 2011 - Serenic reports full fiscal 2011 results
June 22, 2011 - Gennum reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 21, 2011 - SMTC appoints permanent co-CEOs
June 21, 2011 - Icron Technologies reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 16, 2011 - Research In Motion reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 16, 2011 - MOSAID Technologies reports full fiscal 2011 results
June 16, 2011 - iWeb completes privatization; shares delisted from TSX Venture Exchange
June 14, 2011 - Mediagrif reports full fiscal year 2011 results
June 14, 2011 - Mediagrif appoints new CFO
June 14, 2011 - Zedi acquires ENRAK Consulting
June 14, 2011 - NexJ reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 14, 2011 - Chartwell Technology reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 9, 2011 - COM DEV reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 9, 2011 - Webtech Wireless reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 8, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires Fitronics
June 8, 2011 - March Networks reports full fiscal 2011 results
June 8, 2011 - OSI Geospatial announces appointment of President and CEO
June 7, 2011 - MXI Security acquired by Imation
June 6, 2011 - WiLAN reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 3, 2011 - Rutter completes divestiture of its engineering business for $800,000
June 2, 2011 - Cyberplex reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 2, 2011 - Enghouse Systems reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 2, 2011 - Descartes reports first quarter fiscal 2012 results
June 2, 2011 - Zedi announces first quarter fiscal 2011 results
June 2, 2011 - DDS Wireless announces departure of CFO
May 31, 2011 - Hartco announces first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 31, 2011 - Redline Communications reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 31, 2011 - CriticalControl reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 31, 2011 - WiLAN begins trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol "WILN"
May 31, 2011 - Adeptron voluntarily de-lists its shares from the TSX
May 31, 2011 - TeraGo completes acquisition of MetroBridge
May 31, 2011 - iWeb reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 30, 2011 - Rutter closes sale of its Voyage Data Recorder business for $2.5 million
May 30, 2011 - Enablence Technologies reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 30, 2011 - Adeptron reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 29, 2011 - Diversinet reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 27, 2011 - BSM Technologies reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 26, 2011 - CAE appoints new CFO
May 26, 2011 - Computer Modelling Group reports full fiscal 2010 results
May 26, 2011 - PNI Digital Media reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 25, 2011 - Zarlink reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 25, 2011 - RuggedCom reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 19, 2011 - CAE reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 19, 2011 - Hemisphere GPS reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 19, 2011 - QHR Technologies appoints new CFO
May 19, 2011 - BSM Technologies announces appointments to executive team
May 18, 2011 - SMART Technologies reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 18, 2011 - NexJ completes IPO; begins trading on the TSX under the symbol "NXJ"
May 18, 2011 - Novadaq appointments Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations
May 18, 2011 - Sangoma reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 17, 2011 - Solium Capital reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 16, 2011 - Redline Communications appoints new CFO
May 16, 2011 - Nortel reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 16, 2011 - Tranzeo reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 13, 2011 - Vecima Networks reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Nortel completes sale of assets in GDNT Joint Venture to Ericsson
May 12, 2011 - BCE reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - IMRIS reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - TeraGo reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Norsat reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Novadaq reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Espial Group reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Intrinsyc reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 12, 2011 - Chartwell Technology announces business combination agreement with Amaya
May 11, 2011 - PEER 1 Hosting reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 11, 2011 - Creaform reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 11, 2011 - Mitec Telecom completes sale of Satcom product line for $2.9 million
May 10, 2011 - Softchoice reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 10, 2011 - SMART Technologies announces appointment of new Vice President, Asia Pacific
May 10, 2011 - Versatile Systems reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 9, 2011 - Axia reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 9, 2011 - Absolute Software reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 5, 2011 - TELUS reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 5, 2011 - SMTC reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 5, 2011 - DDS Wireless reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - Sierra Wireless reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - MTS Allstream reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - Constellation Software reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - Pason Systems reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - DragonWave reports full fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - Redknee reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 4, 2011 - iWeb announces agreement to take corporation private
May 3, 2011 - Glentel reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 2, 2011 - Hartco appoints Vice President and General Manager, Eastern Canada
May 2, 2011 - WellPoint Systems acquired by P2 Energy Solutions
May 2, 2011 - RDM reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
May 2, 2011 - Lyrtech reports full fiscal 2010 results
April 29, 2011 - PNI Digital Media announces departure of Executive Vice President, Sales
April 29, 2011 - OSI Geospatial reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 29, 2011 - Uniserve reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 28, 2011 - CGI reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 28, 2011 - Quorum reports full fiscal 2010 results
April 27, 2011 - Aastra Technologies reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 27, 2011 - WiLAN files application to list on the NASDAQ
April 27, 2011 - TeraGo announces acquisition of MetroBridge for $6 million
April 27, 2011 - Dyadem acquired by IHS
April 26, 2011 - Rogers reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 26, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires Northpointe Institute for Public Management
April 26, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires assets from Innoprise Software
April 26, 2011 - International Datacasting reports full fiscal 2011 results
April 26, 2011 - NTG Clarity Networks reports full fiscal 2010 results
April 21, 2011 - Videotron announces appointment of Vice President, Multiplatform Content
April 21, 2011 - Celestica reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 21, 2011 - Celestica acquires operating unit from Brooks Automation
April 19, 2011 - C-COM reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 15, 2011 - Constellation Software acquires assets from Efficient Workflow Solutions
April 14, 2011 - GuestLogix reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 14, 2011 - Angoss Software reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 13, 2011 - Shaw Communications reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 13, 2011 - Mitec Telecom appoints new CEO
April 13, 2011 - Belzberg Technologies merges with Frontline Technologies
April 12, 2011 - Mediagrif announces the departure of CFO
April 8, 2011 - Cogeco reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 6, 2011 - Sandvine reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 5, 2011 - Firan Technology Group reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
April 4, 2011 - Radiant Communications reports full fiscal 2010 results
April 2, 2011 - BCE completes acquisition of CTV, launches Bell Media business unit
April 1, 2011 - Enghouse acquires CosmoCom for US$20 million

Tech Bytes: March's Major ICT Industry News

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:43:00 GMT

The ICT Industry is one of the fastest growing and most rapidly changing Industries in Canada. The following provides a snapshot of the happenings within the Canadian ICT Industry for March 2011:

March 31, 2011 - Redline Communications reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 31, 2011 - EXFO reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 29, 2011 - Cyberplex reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 29, 2011 - Cantronic Systems announces sale of North American business
March 29, 2011 - TIO Networks reports second quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 29, 2011 - C-COM Satellite Systems reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 28, 2011 - Novadaq Technologies reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 28, 2011 - Icron Technologies reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 28, 2011 - Solium Capital reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 24, 2011 - RIM reports full fiscal 2011 results
March 23, 2011 - Belzberg Technologies reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 23, 2011 - Intrinsyc Software reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 22, 2011 - Hemisphere GPS reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 22, 2011 - RIM begins accepting orders for BlackBerry PlayBook
March 17, 2011 - Chartwell Technology reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 17, 2011 - Norsat International reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 15, 2011 - 20-20 Technologies reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 14, 2011 - COM DEV reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 11, 2011 - Nortel completes sale of Multi Service Switch business to Ericsson
March 9, 2011 - SMTC reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 9, 2011 - Enghouse reports first quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 9, 2011 - Descartes reports full fiscal 2011 results
March 8, 2011 - Open Text acquires weComm, a mobile application solutions provider
March 4, 2011 - Nortel reports full fiscal 2011 results
March 4, 2011 - Diversinet reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 3, 2011 - Telesat reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 3, 2011 - Telesat acquires Canadian payload of ViaSat-1 satellite
March 3, 2011 - March Networks reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 3, 2011 - MOSAID Technologies reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 3, 2011 - DDS Wireless reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 3, 2011 - TECSYS reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results
March 2, 2011 - Wi-LAN reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 2, 2011 - Bridgewater Systems reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 2, 2011 - Constellation Software reports full fiscal 2010 results
March 2, 2011 - Enghouse acquires CosmoCom, an IP contact centre solutions provider
March 1, 2011 - Mitel reports third quarter fiscal 2011 results