YTA News

 YTA Reveals Finalists for Technology Leadership Awards

Top tech companies to be honoured at YTA Awards Gala on May 30, 2013

 May 8, 2013 Toronto – Of the hundreds of Tech companies in the GTA, how do you select those to recognize as leaders in the sector?

Today, the YTA Awards Selection Committee has narrowed the field to the top finalists in five categories: the “Most Promising Start-Up”, “Momentum Company of the Year”, “Market Expansion Leader, “Tech Enabler of the Year” and “Tech Company of the Year”.

"We are delighted to announce the nominees for the 2013 YTA Technology Leadership Awards" said Dan Duffy, YTA Chair and President of Mid-Range Computer Group Inc.  "These are exciting, innovative, growing companies that are creating outstanding successes in one of the most enterprising technology regions of the world. We invite the entire GTA Tech Community to join us at a celebration of success when we announce the winners on the evening of Thursday May 30th".

Startup Canada first in the world to launch national grassroots entrepreneur-led network to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, communities and culture to succeed

Startup Canada, a national entrepreneur-led non-profit movement, today unveiled its first flagship venture, Startup Canada Communities, trailblazing a new approach to supporting entrepreneurs – from the bottom-up.

Startup Canada Communities gives entrepreneurs a single doorway to enter their local entrepreneur community to access mentors, space, funding and support to start and grow their businesses and to connect with other startup founders. It does this through local networked websites and entrepreneur-led events and activities that unite the entire community.

In York Region, one of 15 pilot communities across Canada, Startup York is being led by ventureLAB and will connect entrepreneurs and startup companies throughout the Region.

Startup Canada Communities is a response to the call-to-action from more than 20,000 entrepreneurs in 40 communities who made their voices heard during the Startup Canada National Tour last year, calling for stronger, more connected and more active local startup communities to accelerate entrepreneur success.

“Healthy and vibrant entrepreneurial communities at a local level are the heart of supporting and driving the growth of startups – community development and entrepreneurial development go hand-in-hand,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO of Startup Canada. “We are uniting and harnessing the momentum of the Startup Canada movement to form the foundations of a pan-Canadian network to network to inspire, support, and provide constant encouragement to entrepreneurs.”

A national platform with local impact

Entrepreneurs and enterprise support organizations in communities across Canada are welcoming the activities of Startup Canada and see this platform as an opportunity to come together, build critical mass, and accelerate the growth of local startups to create jobs and greater economic and social benefit.

Jeremy Laurin, CEO of ventureLab, who hosted a Startup Canada Town Hall in Markham last year, is supporting the startup community in York Region. “Startup Canada Communities is important because it coalesces the energies, best practices and innovations of individual Canadian startup communities, enabling each community to learn from the experiences of others,” said Laurin. “This has the potential to be a driving force in promoting and advancing entrepreneurship in Canada.”

For entrepreneurs, Startup Canada Communities makes it easy for them to navigate their community and connect with other founders. According to Shauna Harper, entrepreneur and Startup Canada Communities leader for Prince George, BC, “You can go to a lot of agencies and organizations to get help with different parts of your business – whether it’s the local BDC, the Chamber of Commerce or Communities Futures – but they all have restricted mandates and are not connected. Startup Canada brings it all together, making it easy for entrepreneurs to connect to support and other entrepreneurs.”

“Startup Canada is linking Canadian entrepreneurs in a way never before undertaken,” said Michael Legary, serial entrepreneur and founder of Seccuris, who also leads a community fabrication center for entrepreneurs in Winnipeg, MB. “The impact it has had in Winnipeg has been immediate and hugely successful in connecting our community together and helping us reach out to fellow Canadian entrepreneurs to better our businesses.”

It takes a community

Since launching one year ago today, the Startup Canada movement has taken on momentum of its own, amassing a following of more than 50,000 entrepreneurs and 300 partners, and catalyzing more than a dozen entrepreneur-led co-working spaces, accelerator programs and local campaigns across the country.

Startup Canada Communities is launching with 15 pilot communities as the first wave of its national network. The communities are: St. John’s, NF, Fredericton, NB, Charlottetown, PE, Quebec City, QC, Montreal, QC, Ottawa, ON, York Region, ON, London, ON, Kingston, ON, Winnipeg, MB, Calgary, AB, Lethbridge, AB, Smithers, BC, Prince George, BC and Langford, BC. . These communities were chosen for their varied levels of startup sector maturity and to build a coast-to-coast network diverse in community size, demographics, and industry sectors.

“There are many bright, innovative business people in Canada who just need a bit of help with resources and guidance to get their ideas off the ground,” said Ken Bautista, founder of Startup Edmonton and a Startup Canada Communities Project Advisor. “As an entrepreneur-led, entrepreneur-driven initiative, this will enable home-grown entrepreneurs to keep pushing the bar as the world shifts to a global knowledge-based economy where the renewable resource is creativity and innovation.”

Leveraging best practice

With an all-star Advisor Team supporting the project – including Bautista, Brad Feld (Boulder Colorado serial entrepreneur, investor and TechStars co-founder), Bjoern Herrmann (founder of Startup Genome), and Jonathan Ortmans (President of Global Entrepreneurship Week) – Startup Canada Communities is leveraging national and global expertise to advance the pilot and increase its impact.

“This grassroots model for entrepreneurial development is truly transformative and will position Canada as a beacon for entrepreneurs worldwide,” said Feld. “Startup Canada’s national network of communities will ensure that entrepreneurs of today and the generations to follow will have the necessary tools, communities and culture to succeed.”

Building Canada into a Startup Nation

While countries around the world vie to attract entrepreneurs, Startup Canada is breaking new ground with this approach of building a national grassroots startup community network.

“The world should be watching this project closely because Startup Canada is on to something that could revolutionize the way entrepreneurship is ignited and advanced in communities around the world,” said Ortmans.

“The real work begins now,” said Lennox. “We are supporting the next generation of Canadian businesses looking to scale and succeed in increasingly competitive global markets. This needs to be a national team effort.”

Results from the pilot project’s first year will be used to strengthen the model to support the launch of another wave of Startup Canada Communities in 2014. For more details on the network and the participating communities, visit www.startupcommunities.ca.

Canada’s ICT Industry sees continued growth in 2012, albeit modest

Ottawa, Ontario, April 23, 2013 – Branham Group Inc., a leading global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry Analyst and Strategic Marketing company, is pleased to announce the results for the 2013 Edition of the Branham300, which marks the 20th Anniversary of the listing. The Branham300 is the definitive listing of Canada’s top publicly traded and privately held Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, as ranked by revenues. Canada’s ICT industry continued to move forward in 2012, albeit at a modest pace, as cumulative revenues for the Top 250 Canadian ICT companies increased by 0.46% to $83B.

“While Canada’s ICT sector advanced only slightly in 2012, it did achieve a milestone in setting a new revenue record of $83B for the Top 250. When you factor in the performance of Blackberry, Canada’s top technology firm, and its decline of 7% in FY2012, the industry overall actually performed much better, with an overall growth rate of 3.58%,” said Wayne Gudbranson, President and CEO of Branham Group. “Another factor that has also had a major impact over the last year is the number of Canadian tech acquisitions. Leading companies such as Zarlink Semiconductor, Miranda Technologies, Algorithmics, Gennum, and March Networks are now under foreign ownership and are no longer on the list. This continues to be a major trend year over year.  Looking forward, Branham expects the industry to build on its 2012 performance and post strong single-digit growth in 2013.”

Growth Continues Across 3 of 4 Core Industry Sectors

The ICT Professional Services sector in Canada realized the sharpest rise in revenues over the past year, relative to each of the other industry sectors, as cumulative revenues increased 12.98% from $10.87B in 2011 to $12.28B in 2012. The xSP sector followed with 7.93% growth, slightly higher than the 5.91% growth experienced in 2011. While the Software sector experienced modest gains in 2012 (0.31%), this is well behind the growth levels experienced in 2011 (16.92%), largely due to the continued acquisition activity seen across the industry. The ICT Hardware and Infrastructure sector in Canada was the only major ICT sub-sector to experience a decline in 2012, dropping 10.13% compared to a 20.55% increase in 2011. The decline came largely as a result of Canada’s top ICT company, Blackberry, seeing a 7% decline in revenues for FY2012. As a result of the decline, Canada’s ICT Hardware and Infrastructure sector now falls to the number 2 position, representing 38.01% of Top 250 revenues, as compared to the xSP sector, which now sits on top, representing 41.16%.

Ontario sees a slight decline while others experience consistent year over year growth

The geographic composition of Canada’s Top 250 ICT companies remained fairly static in 2012, with 95.60% of companies being headquartered in Ontario, Quebec, B.C. or Alberta. These provinces also generated 97.79% of the Top 250’s total revenues. The ICT industry in Ontario saw the only decrease in overall revenues as compared to the others, dropping 3.88%, which is in stark contrast to the significant gains experienced a year earlier (16.30%). Quebec, B.C., and Alberta all had consisted gains in 2012, which where consistent with those in 2011. Despite the lack of representation of some of Canada’s other provinces and regions on this year’s Branham300, some of the country’s most creative and leading-edge companies are located in places like Fredericton, Halifax and Winnipeg, a testament that Canadian ICT companies do not have to be at the epicentre of the ICT industry to be considered at the forefront of tech innovation.

The Canadian ICT industry continued to move forward at a steady pace in 2012 and this is expected to continue well into 2013. Growth can be found throughout this year’s Branham300, with companies ranging in size from $5-$10M all the way to $1B+ experiencing improved market conditions compared to previous years. While Canada’s top technology player, Blackberry, must continue to execute and deliver with its new line of smart phones, the rest of the ICT contingent in Canada possesses the requisite talent and level of innovation needed to drive the technology industry forward for years to come.

Further details on the 2013 Edition of the Branham300 can be found online at www.branham300.com.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Bisson
Vice President, Consulting Services
Branham Group
613-745-2282 Ext. 117
abisson@branhamgroup.com

National Action Plan addresses urgent needs of province’s entrepreneurs

Startup Canada, a grassroots non-profit network committed to promoting a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, is calling for Ontario’s business leaders, policy makers and public institutions to look past individual interests and work together to create a true startup culture and supporting framework that reaches into classrooms and communities across the province.

Startup Canada’s call to action in Ontario is part of its national Action Plan, unveiled today to drive economic development, job creation and innovation across the country. The action plan is intended to make Canada one of the world’s top five entrepreneurial economies, in which job creation and economic growth spring from innovative entrepreneurs powered by supportive local communities and financial networks.

The new action plan grew out of Startup Canada’s 2012 national tour, the most extensive consultation process ever carried out with Canada’s entrepreneurial community. The tour revealed a number of common challenges that must be addressed to create a more dynamic and successful startup environment across the country:

• Canada needs to re-discover its entrepreneurial roots and embrace entrepreneurship as central to its national culture.
• Canada needs to cultivate savvier and more visionary early-stage startups to produce more high-growth companies with global reach.
• Canadian entrepreneurship must be fuelled from the bottom up through development of vibrant local entrepreneurial communities, led by entrepreneurs (not by bureaucrats or not-for-profits, as is often the case today), as the basis of a national entrepreneurship network.

“Ontario has a rich industrial and manufacturing heritage, a vibrant financial sector and broad expertise in IT, health care and life sciences,” said Rick Spence, a Startup Canada Advisor and former editor and publisher of PROFIT, The Magazine for Canadian Entrepreneurs. “With the right amount of innovation and collaboration, these are all industries of the future.

“Combined with world-leading educational research institutions and our highly skilled workforce, Ontario has all the ingredients to build a globally competitive entrepreneurial economy. Now our job is to bring together all these resources in a concerted approach that encourages Ontarians to think bigger and also provides the support they need to succeed.”

“Small businesses and startups are the most direct and effective vehicle for job growth and economic stimulation,” added Harley Finkelstein, CPO of Shopify. “As entrepreneurs and proud Canadians, it behooves us to unite as a community to inspire and support our local startups through mentorship, funding, and constant encouragement.”

The Way Forward

Startup Canada’s Action Plan will promote and support entrepreneurship as never before. It comprises three national initiatives that will be financed through sponsorship dollars and a crowd-funding campaign from coast to coast:

Startup Canada Connect: A free, highly social online meeting place that will connect and support Canadian entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to build more successful businesses.

Startup Canada Communities: A national entrepreneurial strategy must be founded on vibrant local communities led by existing entrepreneurial champions. Building on the network created through its 40-city national tour, Startup Canada will encourage development of strong local networks that will create the conditions necessary for entrepreneurial growth and success locally and nationally.

Startup Canada Campaign: Entrepreneurs across the country have told Startup Canada they need more role models - more access to stories of successful Canadian innovators and entrepreneurs. Startup Canada will lever mainstream media, social media and key national institutions to celebrate and tell the stories of Canadian entrepreneurs, providing authentic case studies to inspire and motivate new generations of startups.

To learn more about Startup Canada’s Action Plan, please visit www.startupblueprints.ca.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Victoria Lennox

Co-Founder, Startup Canada

press@startupcan.ca

(613) 316-6203

Leo Valiquette

inmedia Public Relations

(613) 769-9479

lvaliquette@inmedia.ca

About Startup Canada

Startup Canada is an entrepreneur-led movement to enhance the nation’s competitiveness and prosperity by supporting and celebrating Canadian entrepreneurship. Startup Canada is the first Canadian organization to harness the collective energies of entrepreneurs and enterprise support communities from coast to coast to promote a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and to create a unified brand as a rallying point for Canadians.

Startup Canada sponsors include Microsoft, Gowlings, Ernst & Young, Best Western Hotels, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program, Export Development Canada, Business Development Canada, RGA, Francis Moran & Associates The VideoBooth Company, Artik, Kick Ass Media, PubliAir, the Ottawa Technology Transfer Network, the Association of University Research Parks Canada, Blab Media, the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, the Evidence Network, Francis Moran & Associates, FreshBooks, Global Advantage Consulting Group, Podio, Backbone Magazine, HootSuite, ITWorld Canada, NextMTL, Paper.li and Techvibes.

- A guest post by YTA Sponsor Microsoft TechNet -

Think the release of Windows 8 means there’s toil and trouble brewing for desktop deployment specialists and IT project managers? Not so! It’s really not that spooky and here are 3 reasons why:

• There’s lots to like about Windows 8 for organizations. From AppLocker to BitLocker, from Client Hyper-V to Group Policy Management, there are many new and improved features for IT professionals to get excited about. Learn more
• The tools and methods used to pilot and deploy Windows 7 are the same tools used for Windows 8. Whether it’s MDT, WDS, MAP, ACT, SCCM or USMT - the tools used to plan a move from Windows XP can be used to deploy either Windows 7 or Windows 8.Learn more
• We’ve got you covered. We’re working hard to make sure you have the information you need to explore, plan and deploy Windows 8 into your organization. Check out the Springboard site as well as these posts from the Canadian IT Pro Connection blog for information about getting started with Windows 8:
• • Windows 8: Why you should be excited
  • Taking Windows 8 for a test drive
  • Windows 8 to go
  • Windows 8: Where’s the start button?
  • Keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8

As you plan for your new client OS deployment, don’t forget the backend. Although you can implement Windows 8 client without having Windows Server 2012 and vise-versa, you’ll get the most benefits when using the two together, including new BitLocker functionality, BranchCache improvements, Kerberos authentication capabilities, security auditing enhancements, smart card-related features and TLS/SSL (Schannel SSP) changes. As well, management of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 is coming to the System Center family of products with the System Center 2012 SP1 Beta in addition to a host of other enhancements.

Download Windows Server 2012 evaluation and start exploring the how Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 are better together.

Download System Center 2012 SP1 Beta to start testing your deployment and management of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

Un-lock New Networks. Un-leash Your Expertise. Un-Cover Answers to Business Issues - Be at the Small Business Un-Conference!

What is an Un-Conference? Check out this great video to learn more.

From the pre-event surveys, we know that participants want to talk about HR and Hiring Strategies, Financing for Small Business, Social Media Strategies for Small Business (that work!), Sales tools, mobile technologies and more!

There are several high profile participants who will be joining the conversations next week, including Rick Spence (Financial Post), Gary Saarenvirta (makeplain Corporation), Linda Vanderkolk (ClutterBGone), Kathleen Redmond (Centre for Character Leadership), Vern Cunningham (Alutron Modules) among others.

Only a few days left before the exciting Un-Conference Event on October 15 at Nineteen on the Park, Whitchurch-Stouffville, and we still have a few spots left, so please help us spread the word about this fantastic conference, and Plan to Attend!

For more information  on this exciting day and to register online, visit www.n6bizseries.ca/unconference

Please phone Nirvana Champion, Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville at 905-640-1910 x2301 with any questions about  the Un-Conference.

- A guest post by YTA Sponsor Microsoft TechNet -

I’m Chris Di Lullo, Technical Audience Manager at Microsoft Canada. I work on a team that is tasked with trying to help YOU by providing resources, answering questions and generally trying to help set you up for success with Microsoft-based solutions.

Twice a year, through something we call the Global Relationship Study (GRS for short); Microsoft Canada reaches out to you and asks for your feedback. If you receive emails or newsletters from us, read our blogs, connect with us on LinkedIn or you’ve attended our events in the last year or so, you’ll know we’re working hard to make sure you know about the ways you can provide us with feedback. GRS is a big one, and it’s in market right now, so we want to make sure you know about it.

The important details:

Timing – September 24^th to October 19^th
Sent From – “Microsoft Feedback”
Email Alias – “feedback@e-mail.microsoft.com”
Subject Line – “Help Microsoft Focus on Customers and Partners”

We want to hear from you.

We use your feedback to shape what we do each year. You tell us about how Microsoft can help make your job easier, how we can help position you to be that go to person at your organization, how we can help you grow your career and how we can help give you the skills you need to be successful. We want to make sure that you can say based on all the things we do to help support you, that you’re completely satisfied with Microsoft Canada.

We’ve really doubled down on getting you training and skills development. Whether it’s the 30 IT Camps we’ve held in the past 6 months in cities across Canada plus the 13 or so we have in the pipe), the Microsoft Certification study groups and voucher offers, the free online training at Microsoft Virtual Academy software evaluations (free trials) on TechNet, we’re focused on getting you what you need to help set you up for success.

Regardless of how you engage with us, you’d probably agree that we hear you. I’d also encourage you to continue to provide that great feedback. We thrive on it, we relish it, we wallow in it and most importantly of all, we action it. So please keep connecting with us and keep it coming! We’re listening.

Town recognized by professional associations IEDC and EDAC for economic development marketing

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill was recently honoured by two respected professional associations for its Economic Development marketing strategy and materials.

On October 1, Richmond Hill was awarded a Marketing Canada Award by the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) at its 2012 Conference held in Nunavut. And the very next day, during the 2012 International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Annual Conference in Houston, Texas, Richmond Hill was presented with an Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award.

“These are two prestigious honours for our work in promoting and showing why Richmond Hill is The Smart Place for Business!” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “We know Richmond Hill is a world class community rich with opportunities for both new and existing businesses, but it’s also nice to be acknowledged as such nationally and internationally.”

EDAC honoured the Town’s Sector Brochures with a Marketing Canada Award in the ‘under 4 pages’ category. EDAC is comprised of over 1,000 economic development professionals across Canada who work to enhance professional competence, advance economic development as a profession, and contribute to Canada's well-being.

IEDC awarded the Town’s new Community Economic Development Profile with the Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award in the category of General Purpose Brochure (population 25,000 – 200,000) based on the effectiveness of the promotion, innovation/creativity, quality and completeness of information. IEDC also credited the brochure’s effective creation of a positive image of Richmond Hill’s quality of life, cultural and educational attributes. IEDC is the world’s largest professional organization for economic development practitioners, with more than 4,500 members across the United States, as well as Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and other nations.

Following the completion of the Town’s Economic Development Strategy in 2010 and Sector Strategy in 2011, a marketing strategy was implemented in March 2012. The marketing strategy, branding and tagline of The Smart Place for Business were a true collaboration between Richmond Hill Council, Economic Development staff, the local business community, and external marketing consultant, The Letter M Marketing. Staff will be presenting both awards to Council at the October 22, 2012 Council Meeting.

To view the marketing materials or for more information on Economic Development in Richmond Hill, please visit BusinessRichmondHill.ca.

Cloud, it’s a term that has become one of those marketing buzz words that gets applied to pretty much everything these days. It’s kind of like what happened with HD (high definition) a couple of years ago, it ended up getting slapped on so many things that it almost lost its meaning.

The difference between what happened to HD and what is happening to Cloud is that while people get the concept at a high level, the details are not as clear. A great example of this is the path from Virtualization to Private Cloud.

To that end, we’ve pulled together the Microsoft Private Cloud story, complete with resources for each step along the way that will help you cement your role as a credible technical expert in your organization. We’ve even added some content to help keep you entertained.

• The ability to discover and fix application problems before they arise
• Complete scalability, reliability and great performance beyond just virtualization
• A comprehensive end-to-end management solution for applications and infrastructure across platforms and devices

I realize we’re fighting for your attention right now. Odds are you can’t wait to get outside and enjoy the weather, or you have an upcoming vacation on your mind. Clearly we have to step up and help you get over some of that friction. What better way to do that than to offer you a chance at a Mexican getaway* for seven nights and eight days for you and a guest?

So what are you waiting for? Visit the site to learn more.

- A guest post by YTA Sponsor Microsoft TechNet -

Over the past few months, Damir and I have been traveling across the country leading IT camps. I have been particularly focused on delivering private cloud camps, which are 6-hour hands-on workshops that lead participants through what it means to create a private cloud from a virtualized environment. We work through tasks to deliver IT by standardizing services using templates, automating the delivery of those services and setting up a self-service portal where users can select the services they need (which are then delivered automatically using the pre-configured templates).

The folks attending these workshops are a mixed bag: some work for large organizations or are consultants to large organizations and others work for small organizations or are consultants to small organizations. I inevitably get asked from one of the small business IT people: “How does all this cloud stuff relate to what I’m doing from my users and customers?” The short answer is: It may not. At least not all the private cloud stuff we talk about in the workshop. However, there are definitely cloud services that you can offer your users and clients and it’s definitely worth it, in my opinion, to understand the concepts behind the cloud model.

Understanding what it means to deliver IT services in a private cloud will help you understand how the public cloud works and what you should be looking for when choosing a vendor. It will also help you understand the direction our industry is heading and make sure you’re well positioned for the future, whether that includes adding cloud services to the offerings your provide for your users/clients or adjusting your skills so that you’re not caught in a situation where there is dwindling demand for the services you supply.

Read more about cloud services for small business.

If you have any questions about what cloud means for small business, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Ruth