TECH TALK 2021

A YEAR OF GROWTH, SUCCESS AND INNOVATION IN KANATA NORTH PLUS The grand opening of Hub350 POWERED BY

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

TECH TALK 2021 1

WELCOME

The launch of Hub350

A

s we embark on opening Hub350 – the park’s first ever state-of-the-art town hall technology centre – at the end of October, there are so many partners and people to thank for their monumental efforts in supporting the Kanata North Business Association on this journey.

Most importantly, the KNBA team, board of directors and 540+ member companies anchored in Canada’s largest technology park.

We also need to thank: • • • •

The world class teams at KRP and Linebox studio Sir Terry Matthews and all of our colleagues at Wesley Clover and L-SPARK Our anchor partners: RBC, Salesforce, TELUS, uOttawa, Carleton, Queen’s, Algonquin Our partners in government: Stephen Willis, Michael Tremblay, Mayor Watson, MPP Fullerton and MP Sudds.

And from me personally, my husband Jon, two boys Braedon and Connor and the amazing support systems of family and friends that have pulled together to assist our team in bringing this project to life.

Hub350 will serve as the gateway to the technology park and a meeting place for the community. The centre will promote growth on a global scale by bringing together industry, academia and finance professionals in Kanata North to further support its member companies.

In 2019, our organization began actively consulting with our 540+ member companies to gather input for the City of Ottawa’s new Official Plan. As part of this ongoing consultation process, we have worked together as an ecosystem to identify the forces that will shape the Kanata North technology park over the next 20 years.

Together we have explored the art of the possible under the leadership of our chair Vicki Coughey and with the contributions of the many global brands anchored in Canada’s 2 TECH TALK 2021

largest technology park.

The park as we know it is an evolving and balanced ecosystem of old and new, with a long legacy in telecommunications. Today, it is also recognized as a world-class application leader in connected and autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and Internet of Things.

This expertise is anchored by Kanata Northbased BlackBerry QNX, making Ottawa Canada’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) capital. We are now home to more than 90 startups, corporations and post-secondary institutions that are contributing intelligence to connected and autonomous vehicles of the future.

As an Ottawa Area X.O partner, the technology park is home to the city’s public test track, where the first Canadian on-street autonomous vehicle test was launched. The Kanata North technology community is the perfect Smart Cities living lab to demonstrate the deployment of homegrown technologies on real, live city streets.

There is unprecedented growth happening worldwide related to 5G and increasingly, investments are being made in the communications industry. In the context of the current environment and the pandemic – the demand for research, development and essential services related to connectivity and 5G have increased requirements exponentially for business in Kanata North.

As a result, the park continues to impact

employment both locally and nationally.

Companies in the technology park contribute $13B to Canada’s GDP and generate over 33,000 jobs.

Technology is the second highest employment sector in the city – following the government – with the addition of more than 1,000 new jobs every year.

And, with the recent commitments from the University of Ottawa and now Carleton University to establish satellite campuses in the park, we are fostering a close integration of post-secondary institutions with our members to develop and attract talent.

The technology park is a vital engine driving Ottawa’s economic development. Our companies contribute $170M in annual returns to the city. All of the above demonstrates that there is a critical need for planning policies that ensure continued momentum of employment and economic prosperity, which is beneficial to the entire city.

Together we must continue to raise the profile of Ottawa as a 5G global technology hub in order to attract new talent, technology companies and jobs.

This can be accomplished by: •

•

•

•

Supporting our post-secondary institutions to connect their students to experiential learning opportunities in Canada’s largest technology park.

Developing Kanata North as a complete and connected living lab community for local, national and international talent to live, work, play and learn.

Integrating all infrastructure and technology related to “Smart Cities” in a mixed-use commercial and residential community.

Improving transportation infrastructure to connect talent and support future levels of growth by developing and deploying CAV technologies to showcase Ottawa as Canada’s AV Capital.

We are at a critical point in time that will determine the future potential for our city.

In collaboration with all of the partners mentioned above, we have an amazing opportunity to foster a future vision for the Kanata North technology park as a world-class model for innovation, technology, infrastructure and economic development.

Hub350 is just the beginning!

Jamie Petten president and executive director, Kanata North Business Association

CONTENTS OP-ED

BY TERRY MATTHEWS

4

KANATA NORTH EMERGING FROM THE PANDEMIC

6

OPENING THE DOORS

10

PARTNER Q+A: TELUS

12

PARTNER: INVEST OTTAWA

13

PARTNER: ACADEMIA

14

PARTNER Q+A: RBCX

15

PARTNER: SALESFORCE

16

IN THE NEWS

17

WHERE WE WORK SOLACE 8 YOU.i TV 9

WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON AUSCULSCIENCE 18 FUNDING 19

WHERE WE LIVE NOKIA 22 AV TECHNOLOGY 23

WHERE WE WORK BLACKBERRY CYBERSECURITY

24 25

NEWS BRIEFS STORIES FROM THE PARK 20-21, 26-27 TECH TALK 2021 3

OP-ED

An environment for continued Canadian technology growth and success

BY TERRY MATTHEWS, WESLEY CLOVER

A

s we witness the opening of the impressive new Hub350 business and technology center here in Kanata North, I can’t help but think back to all the developments I have seen in the past that have led us to this point, and look forward with anticipation for all the new ones that are sure to come.

From start-ups through SMEs to multinational players, Hub350 is designed to provide local technology businesses and community members with an integrated new environment and services for collaboration, innovation, partnering, funding and growth. The truth is the timing could not be better!

When Mike Cowpland and I started technology company Mitel here in Kanata in 1972, there was not a lot of infrastructure and other corporate activity going on. However the area was ripe with talent and opportunity, and the Mitel team built a world leader 4 TECH TALK 2021

in the voice communications and semiconductor industry. The business community began to grow around us as well. In 1986 I went on to create what would become a giant in the data networking industry – Newbridge Networks – and the momentum in the local technology environment continued to increase.

An ecosystem of spin-offs and startups and new entrants of all sizes to the area each found Kanata North to be the right place in the Canadian technology landscape to center their operations.

It was a location with access to topnotch universities and talent, business and solution experience, international suppliers, channels, other partners and more. And those characteristics continue to apply to this day, in an accelerated manner.

Mitel continues to be an active member of the community (as evidenced by their support for Hub350). Newbridge has morphed into the largest network development center for international leader Nokia. Ciena, Ericsson, Dell, Apple, Cisco, many other multinationals are here, along with literally dozens of SMEs, most focused on technology solutions for global markets. At last count there were more than 500 companies operating in Kanata North, employing more than 23,000 workers. Importantly, the technology specialization within

those firms has diversified tremendously.

The focus today spans existing and emerging software, devices and platforms for use in enterprise, medical, educational, communications, defence, transportation, manufacturing and many more applications.

Companies that supply enabling services and components to these innovators are here. Our local academic institutions are now physically present, committed to satisfying the unending thirst of such an economic engine for new graduates. Our roads are busier, there is a housing and construction boom. And it is not going to stop.

Why do I say that?

One major reason can be summed up in a single digit and a single letter – “5G.” The next generation of wireless networking technology that is revolutionizing communications around the globe. Not just human communications, but critically, machineto-machine communications. 5G is the technology that will truly enable IoT – the Internet of Things. It will provide the backbone on which innovative and powerful new applications will operate. Applications such as even more advanced medical technologies, more efficient robotics and manufacturing processes, more intelligent agriculture, safer Smart City applications, smarter buildings and other infrastructure

for cleaner, greener environments, more advanced VR/AR for commercial and personal uses, and of course, the continued evolution of connected and autonomous vehicles.

That list is long, some solutions are near and some are further away, but so many of the Kanata North companies noted above are committed to making those solutions a reality, at the enabling networking level and the advanced application level that rides on top.

And that commitment is well founded.

Estimates suggest 5G could create as many as 250,000 jobs and contribute as much as $150 billion to the Canadian economy over the next 20 years.

Kanata North has the heritage and the future potential to seize much of those rewards. No other area in Canada has the combination of experience, talent and commitment to 5G, in complementary fields of networking, software, data, computing, applications and other technologies, that the Kanata North technology park has.

That is why TELUS decided to become a founding member of Hub350, and committed together with the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) and CENGN (the Canadian Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks) to deploy advanced new infrastructure and supporting programs to leverage the faster, more powerful, more reliable features of 5G wireless networking technology.

I am very pleased TELUS has chosen to bring their new “5G Innovation Zone” to Kanata North and Hub350, to accelerate the growth of this industry for our area and for Canada as a whole.

Yet TELUS is just one of the founding partners of Hub350. RBC, Salesforce, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and more than a dozen others are now here, or soon to be announced, as partners in Hub350 as well. I suspect they all share the vision of how much more Hub350 and the Kanata North technology community can and will become. And I look forward to continuing to do my part in helping the Kanata North, Ottawa – in fact the Canadian – technology industry build on its solid heritage and play an even more relevant role in the international stage.

The timing is perfect!

TECH TALK 2021 5

KANATA NORTH

The future is bright for Kanata North How Canada’s largest technology park is emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever

D

espite the challenges and economic uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, the Kanata North technology park has survived, thrived and perhaps, even become stronger as a result.

With innovative new technologies in high demand, the pandemic provided a steady stream of business for tech companies big and small.

From supply chain management software to cybersecurity and telecom connectivity, Kanata North companies saw an influx of new business and opportunities.

Throughout the last 18 months, companies in the tech park have pivoted, expanded, acquired new talent – and new companies – reinforcing its status as Canada’s largest technology

6 TECH TALK 2021

park, and as the premiere place to live, work, play and learn.

Now, as the community begins to emerge from the pandemic, it’s time to harness that success and further strengthen Kanata North’s position as a leader in tech, says Leo Lax, executive managing director of L-SPARK, a local accelerator program.

And, thanks to advancements in some emerging sectors, the park is well suited to do it.

With companies such as Nokia and Ericsson – to name a few – pushing the envelope in 5G technology, Kanata North has become synonymous with ground breaking tech.

Having access to leading technical innovators was especially important during the pandemic when connectivity was in high demand.

“COVID forced everybody to live online,” says Lax. “The companies here help build that network.”

For example, the pathways that enabled telecom companies to ensure their customers were able to have seamless Zoom calls are a result of technology that was designed and built right here in Ottawa.

“Our community helped Rogers, TELUS and Bell Canada make sure that everybody had workable internet connections and made sure there was enough network capacity to allow everybody to get online,” says Lax. “They were able to respond very quickly to the shift and delivered all the things that were needed in order for us to continue to do business.”

Meanwhile, companies such as Ross Video and You.i TV are paving the way in digital streaming and video production, capitalizing on the surge in demand for content and new virtual

KANATA NORTH event capabilities, while cybersecurity leaders such as Trend Micro are continuing to keep companies safe in the new digital world.

“This virtual transformation has made all these companies more interactive with the community, their customers and their partners,” adds Lax. “They are all operating in rapid fashion.”

Advancements in autonomous vehicle technology also puts Kanata North in a position of strength as it emerges from the pandemic.

Companies such as BlackBerry QNX, Kongsberg Geospatial and TÜV SÜD have all invested in the future of AV in the community, pledging financial support and equipment to develop improved testing facilities.

“Many companies in the tech park are concentrated in those markets, and as a result, businesses are as busy as ever,” says Jamie Petten, president and executive director of the Kanata North Business Association. “5G technology and AV provide a lot of future opportunities.”

With the development of the Area X.O testing track, which includes

special sensors, intersections and potential distractions to test a vehicle’s ability to respond in real time, it’s a technology that Lax says is more within reach than ever before for Kanata North.

“There is now enough know-how and experience that we can ensure autonomous vehicles can be deployed into the general population safely,” Lax says. “There are still hurdles, but there is significantly more information available to deploy them in a safe fashion.”

THE RETURN TO COMMUNITY The vibrancy of the Kanata North tech park community is also returning as we approach the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

Known for community barbecues, fitness initiatives and a strong feeling of connection, employees in the park are making their way back to the office after a lengthy period of remote work.

The opening of two new co-working spaces in the community – Catalyst

Kanata on Steacie Drive and TCC Canada’s new space on Innovation Drive – also point to a wider return of employees to the park and a growing demand for workspace to accommodate expanding local teams.

“Right now we have 1,000 roles for positions within the park that are open today,” Petten says. “It’s a very exciting time.”

The grand opening of Hub350 – the KNBAs newest innovation space in the heart of the technology park – will also serve as a meeting hub for local members and a place to reconnect with the community.

“This will be a gateway to growth, to finance, to talent and to success,” says Petten.

Throughout this speciality publication, readers will be immersed in stories of growth, innovation and success – all from Canada’s largest tech park. While the last year brought a lot of economic uncertainty, the one thing that remains evident is the strength and resiliency that exists within Kanata North.

TECH TALK 2021 7

WHERE WE WORK

THE TEAM AT SOLACE IN FRONT OF THE KANATA NORTH OFFICE. PHOTO SUPPLIED.

Solace ‘steps on the gas’ towards new market opportunities A company with a decades-long history in Kanata North is continuing its local hiring spree, beefing up its R&D team to meet growing international demand for its data transfer technology.

Software designer Solace is recruiting employees on a recurring basis, ramping up its product development as more sectors turn to virtual networks and programs to help operate their businesses.

Founded 20 years ago, Solace is a well-known name in the financial sector, originally providing hardware to banks and stock traders to streamline data across their networks.

As the world turned towards virtual platforms, the company followed suit, 8 TECH TALK 2021

creating faster, more affordable software versions of its hardware technology.

With its streamlined service, Solace is now breaking ground in new markets, helping big-name clients with its data and event management services.

“This thing that we became good at is now being adopted globally across all sectors,” says Shawn McAllister, chief technology officer at Solace. “Our market opportunity is massive, so this is the time when you step on the gas.”

FLEXIBILITY IN TECH

The company recently took its eventmesh software – a platform that communicates any digital occurance in a business to all necessary parties

– one step further, moving the technology to the cloud as a softwareas-a-service option.

Providing hardware, software and SaaS products that can connect and work in unison has allowed the company to target bigger, multinational clients that need a complex overview of their company’s systems.

Solace’s technology is currently being used by the Hong Kong International Airport, moving large amounts of flight and passenger data on a daily basis. The team is also working closely with French automaker Groupe Renault, and several other companies in the connected vehicle space.

“Our team’s ability to evolve our technology is really how we’ve moved into new markets,” McAllister says. “At the core, we’ve always been focused on real-time information exchange; we just changed how we delivered that service.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

As the company continues to grow its Kanata North team, McAllister says he is excited about bringing on new talent and fine-tuning Solace’s approach to data flow.

With a multitude of job opportunities available in cloud software development, user interface design and low-level software, Solace is eager to incorporate innovative minds to their team to continue to push the company into new retail markets.

“There’s so much more that we want to develop into our systems and offer to our customers, we just need to build it,” says McAllister. “The market is moving quickly, and that’s causing us to be bullish in our hiring.”

And as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary in the Kanata North tech park – a community in which McAllister has spent his career working – the team at Solace remain excited about the future and what it could mean for the company.

“We love being part of the Ottawa community, and it would be great to see even more big local success stories,” he adds.

WHERE WE WORK

Kanata software firm You.i TV sold to WarnerMedia in US$100M deal Kanata-based You.i TV ​– which attracted more than US$50 million in venture capital over the past decade as it developed cross-platform video apps for customers around the world ​– was sold to U.S. media giant WarnerMedia LLC at the end of 2020.

In a story reporting the deal, the Globe and Mail pegged the value of the transaction at more than US$100 million.

Since its founding in 2008, the roughly 200-person company has built a high-profile list of customers that includes AT&T ​– the parent company of WarnerMedia and a significant investor in You.i TV ​– Fox and Toronto’s Corus Entertainment as well as major professional sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL. Along the way, the firm landed millions in equity funding from bigname investors, starting in 2015 with $15 million in funding in a round led by California-based Kayne Partners. That same year, the company landed at No. 7 on Ottawa Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing companies on the strength of rising demand for its user interface software that helps people interact with devices from TVs. Since the acquisition, co-founder Jason Flick has left the company, saying it was like “his third child” but that it was time to move on.

“I will be forever grateful to the entire team that helped me to build such an amazing world-class company,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “I have so many fond memories of the people, places, and projects. In our own way we have made a mark in the world.”

Warner was already one of the

“You think technology is what matters when you start this whole thing off, but really it comes down to people.”

— JASON FLICK, CO-FOUNDER OF YOU.I TV LEFT THE COMPANY AFTER ITS ACQUISITION IN 2020. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY YOU.I TV

Ottawa firm’s biggest investors. Flick said You.i will now be focused largely on building platforms to deliver Warner’s streaming services, including

HBO Max, on even more devices – whether it’s cars, video-game consoles or set-top boxes.

After nearly two decades in the trenches, Flick is proud of the role he’s played in the emergence of a new generation of thriving Ottawa tech enterprises.

“I really think we pushed people to do things that they wanted to do and they didn’t know they could do in an environment that they enjoyed working in,” he said. “You think technology is what matters when you start this whole thing off, but really it comes down to people.”

TECH TALK 2021 9

Opening the doors at

I

t’s a multifaceted space Kanata North Business Association’s Julia Frame not only calls a gateway of growth to Canada’s largest technology park, but the key to putting Kanata North on a global stage as a place to live, work, play and learn.

Hub350, located at 350 Legget Dr., is a brand new ecosystem for academic, industry and finance partners to co-exist and collaborate in the heart of Kanata North. Now, after months of anticipation, the time has finally come to welcome guests to the new innovation centre.

“We will be able to connect members of the park with resources they need to support their growth, whether that be financing, talent or up-skilling or re-skilling,” Frame explains. “We will also view the space as a town hall for our community — a place for networking, collaborating, programming and events,

10 TECH TALK 2021

all of which will help ensure a better post-COVID future.”

The hub, the KNBA says, represents the creation of a physical community to support members and their employees, community partners and sponsors. It will also be the truest intersection of nature and technology, says Jamie Petten, president and executive director of the KNBA. She adds, “Part of this initiative is establishing a finance community, that hasn’t been present in Kanata North to date, through our ecosystem of strategic partners.”

A FRESH NEW SPACE Josée Anne Pronovost, architect and partner at Linebox Studio — the firm who brought the vision to life — says the role of the hub is to serve as a link, a space for forces to join and connect.

High ceilings, open spaces, clean lines and natural tones helps make the space one that can easily foster ideas and productivity.

Frame describes the space as trendy, with a comfortable atmosphere, which she says Linebox has done a great job of bringing to life.

“It’s a bit of a breath of fresh air,” says Pronovost. “It’s a revamp in a certain way, offering flexible space to the community.

It’s bringing innovation and different types of spaces that we traditionally see more in modern-type offices, to a new audience. It’s meant to be open and spark conversations.”

Also available at Hub350 are headquarters for businesses – versatile office spaces, meeting rooms, kitchenettes, a big bar, an event space and a pitching space. The hub also offers various hot desks, classrooms, boardrooms, lounge

areas with photo booths and a media centre for broadcasting.

It’s a place where resources are available all in one collaborative and dynamic workspace in an effort to strategically attract world class talent and companies, while showcasing Kanata North as Canada’s destination to do it all.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT Hub350, which is powered by the Kanata North Business Association, is divided into three pillars — academic, private industry and finance — and then further split into spaces with a wide range of resources that help those pillars

succeed and fulfill their purpose to support their continued growth.

There are already almost a dozen partners that operate with the hub, the anchor partners being Salesforce, RBC, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University and TELUS. Executive partners include Mitel and Wesley Clover; with associate partners Stratford, the Queensway Carleton Hospital and Ottawa Tourism.

When it comes to the finance pillar of the hub, Petten explains that the KNBA hopes that the presence of anchor partners such as RBCx will attract other financial institutions to set up shop at

Hub350 and bring the ecosystem full circle.

At the moment, both of Ottawa’s universities are utilizing space at the hub and, of course, all kinds of private industries are as well.

Hub350 is also set to be the physical home of Discover Technata — Canada’s largest aggregated digital tech job board.

As part of the business association’s economic recovery plan to accelerate innovation throughout the pandemic, Discover Technata is looking to attract job seekers from around the world to Kanata North.

Currently, there are hundreds of companies recruiting workers on the job board and close to 1,000 roles available locally with member companies in the tech park.

“We want to attract businesses to this world class institution,” Petten says about the hub’s future. “We want to tell the story of both the legacy of what’s been built in Kanata North over the decades and what the future of technology looks like in Kanata North through the Hub350 opportunity.”

This envisioned future, she adds, also includes focusing the spotlight on the hub’s tech companies, defining what their future in the community will look like and what the hub’s companies need to continue to do the world-class work they have become so known for.

— By Dani-Elle Dubé

TECH TALK 2021 11

PARTNER

What to expect from Hub350 Hub350, a centre for global tech innovators based in Kanata, outside of Ottawa, is set to energize the nation’s business scene with 5G-enabled solutions to real-world problems. We asked Samer Geissah, TELUS director of technology strategy and architecture, to tell us more about the project, and what it means for Canadian economic development, innovation and job creation. medic using augmented reality glasses to stream live instruction from an ER doctor. Instead of just offering great connectivity, we can leverage additional network capabilities, MEC and 5G slicing to deliver an end-to-end better user experience.

Q+A

WITH TELUS’ DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY, SAMER GEISSAH

WHAT IS TELUS’ INVOLVEMENT IN THE HUB350?

We’re here, along with our partners, to use connectivity and technology to solve real problems through collaboration with subject matter experts, product owners, and the involvement of academia.

The traditional approach to product development is to come up with a bunch of hypothetical-use cases. But TELUS’ approach through Hub350 is more practical and hands-on – we don’t know what the best solution is until we work together to try it out in the innovation hub. The goal for us is fixing real-world problems – like an ambulance

12 TECH TALK 2021

HOW CAN BUSINESSES WORK ON 5G INNOVATION AT HUB350?

We’re building a 5G lab that’s a completely autonomous and controlled environment. For every business cohort that comes into the program, of which there will likely be two to three per year, we will issue multiple challenges.

The goal is to use 5G connectivity and network services to fix problems that matter to our customers, both consumers and enterprises. For example, we’re leveraging 5G services and connectivity to enhance video analytics for retail enhancement, connected workers and many connected X telematics use cases. We are also working on how to collaborate with other Hub350 partners and the over 500 enterprises that call Kanata North home, to address their challenges using 5G technology. We’ll publish the challenge, then gather all the pitches, filter them, and pick 10 to execute. Once the product is executed, if successful, we’ll support them in putting together a proper go-to-market strategy.

CAN YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF THE PROJECTS WE MIGHT SEE? One of the use cases that will most

likely be part of the first cohort is drones as a service. We have a partner called AirMarket that is using 5G-connected drones with high-definition onboard cameras to deliver live feedback into a command-and-control centre. One of the things we’re testing is whether we can use this technology to detect wildfires in their early stages before they do real damage, and we can suppress it when it’s fairly small. Performing industrial plant pipe inspection more cost effectively or quickly to limit operational impacts is another use case for a connected autonomous drone. We will have a few more use cases previewed at the launch event.

WHY KANATA? Historically, there is an incredible amount of IP that has come out of this region.

Canadian technology giants, like Nortel, BlackBerry and Mitel, actually paved the way for creative innovation globally. I grew up in the Middle East and I knew about Mitel. When I was studying in the America I knew what BlackBerry was doing and what Nortel was doing.

I think coming back now with 5G to revive that – it’s a really nice boost to the region. But building up Hub350 will be an agent to propel us back to global technical leadership. It would be nice to see some really big Canadian companies coming out and that feeling is shared by the partners we have. If we shoot for the stars when it comes to that leadership, I think we’ll see some amazing byproducts when it comes to economic development and the creation of jobs. TELUS believes Canadian leadership could be much more important globally and is triggered by the creation of intellectual wealth.

We believe investing in such endeavours is one way we can give back where it matters -– making superior, globally recognized engineering and technology leadership available to all.

PARTNER

L5 TEST FACILITY DEMONSTRATION IN OTTAWA. PHOTO BY DAVID KAWAI

The world needs Ottawa In a world where a pandemic persists, Ottawa is driving Canada’s economic recovery. Globally-recognized as innovative, future-ready, and the best place to live, work, play and learn, our region is differentiated from other cities in North America. Together as a community, we are building back better. We are competing and leading in global markets. And we are creating a stronger, healthier, more resilient, and innovative economy and future for all.

As Canada’s capital, Ottawa is the best place to collaborate. Government departments, agencies and research institutions provide a ready supply of expertise across a broad range of sectors and industries. The capital is a leader in smart mobility, including connected and autonomous vehicles, communications technology, digital media, fintech, govtech, 5G, photonics and SaaS. International tech giants such as Amazon, Apple and Nokia, as

well as homegrown stars including Shopify, Assent Compliance, Rewind, Klipfolio and MindBridge AI, call the city home.

With operating costs among the lowest in North America, Ottawa is ranked as the most affordable major city (Mercer 2020) and offers low overall living costs. Drawing from a consumer base of nearly 20 million within a 400 kilometre radius, Ottawa companies pay less for engineers, designers, and computer scientists than their U.S. counterparts, thanks to a low Canadian dollar and an attrition rate in the single digits.

Ottawa is a global tech hub with an enviable spirit for entrepreneurship and innovation. Boasting more than 77,000 tech workers, Ottawa has the highest concentration of tech talent in North America (CBRE 2021) at 11.6 per cent of the total workforce.

Innovation is driving the Ottawa economy. Researchers, developers, and entrepreneurs from every walk of life are developing game-changing disruptive technology solutions, from artificial intelligence and machine learning to cybersecurity, IoT and next-generation networks. This R&D community is supported by 65

government research labs and fuelled by graduates from world-class STEM programs at six local post-secondary institutions.

Anchored by BlackBerry QNX, Ottawa is also home to more than one hundred SMEs, multinationals, and other organizations that are contributing a wealth of expertise, technology, and intelligence to smart mobility solutions. This thriving cluster is buoyed by Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration operated by Invest Ottawa. Leveraging powerful public-private partnerships, this state-of-the-art facility offers a safe and secure environment to create, test and demonstrate future mobility, autonomy and connected technologies in many sectors. Combining diverse expertise with Ottawa’s internationally recognized strengths in telecom and cybersecurity, Area X.O operates one of the most advanced communications infrastructures in the world; a 1,866-acre private test facility; and a public test track in Kanata North tech park, the largest of its kind in Canada.

Ottawa is the also the best region to do business. The city is home to business meetings and events attracting tens of thousands of delegates from across Canada and around the world. Events hosted in the city positively boosts the local visitor economy which is fuelled by an estimated 11 million visitors per year and $3 billion in economic output generated for the Ottawa community.

The ThinkOttawa program, founded

by Invest Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism and the Shaw Centre, celebrates Ottawa’s proud spirit of partnerships as it works to drive more conferences and events to the city in the future to further drive economic impact.

Written by Ottawa Tourism and Invest Ottawa, founding partners of Hub350

TECH TALK 2021 13

PARTNER “Through the Hub350 collaboration, Queen’s researchers and students will have unique opportunities to engage with over 500 members affiliated with the Kanata North technology park. Alongside the centre’s other academic anchors, Queen’s will leverage its academic strengths to advance member companies, build effective research collaborations and promote our local talent.” — DR. NANCY ROSS, VICE-PRINCIPAL, RESEARCH AT QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY.

Hub350’s Academic pillar Hub350 is an ambitious initiative that will catalyze the trajectory of Canada’s largest technology park in Kanata to become a world class innovation ecosystem.

An innovation ecosystem is a network of interconnected entities that collaborate on a shared set of technologies, knowledge and skills to create transformative impact through new products and services. The goal of Hub350 is to accelerate the potential of the vibrant companies already based in Kanata North and to grow their numbers by inviting closer collaboration with other partners.

Hub350 is based on three pillars of innovation that exist in the world’s most productive ecosystems; industry, finance and academia. While the role of industry and financing may be quite evident, the contribution of academic institutions to innovation is equally critical.

“As a shared academic anchor sponsor of Hub350, Algonquin College is broadening its commitment as a trusted provider of talent, training, research, and services for members of the Kanata North Business Association. We look forward to leveraging Hub350 to work closely with our industry partners to better understand their challenges and to identify opportunities to collaborate on developing agile and relevant solutions to them.” — PATRICK DEVEY, PH.D., ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, GLOBAL, ONLINE, AND CORPORATE LEARNING, ALGONQUIN COLLEGE

At the most fundamental level, universities are immense sources of talent. Post-secondary institutions attract the best talent from all over the world, to study and to foster knowledge creation, and to work and contribute to local business and regional development.

In Ottawa, we are fortunate to have various and diverse post-secondary institutions in our city attracting local and global talent, world-class researchers and scholars.

Another important contribution of post-secondary institutions in an ecosystem is the breadth and depth of knowledge that exists within them.

Leveraging knowledge on policy, community, and business in tandem with technical knowledge contributes to a systemic perspective on pressing issues of economic and social development, digitization and sustainability.

Hub350 values the vital role of academic institutions in creating a vibrant innovation ecosystem. In order to benefit from the opportunity, our regional post-secondaries will need to step up as well by fostering innovation internally, breaking down disciplinary silos in research and collaborating with one another. Above all, we need to be accessible and responsive to partners in industry, finance and government.

Imagine what we can achieve together when we do.

Written by Dana Brown of Carleton University, in partnership with uOttawa, Algonquin College and Queens University – founding academic partners of Hub350

“Connecting talent and technology is the single most important contribution we can make to a soaring innovation ecosystem in Kanata-North. Each year, hundreds of uOttawa students engage with Kanata North companies as co-op placements, interns, employees and volunteers. Together with Hub350, our growing uOttawa-Kanata North satellite campus is creating positive impact each day by enabling tighter connections within our business and technology community. More connected, more impactful, two pillars of uOttawa’s Transformation 2030 strategy. “ — GUY LEVESQUE, ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCH SUPPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE, UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

14 TECH TALK 2021

PARTNER

RBCx helps tech companies from startup to scale-up In June, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced the launch of RBCx, a full-service platform to accelerate the entrepreneurial journey at every stage of growth. RBCx provides access to capital solutions, innovative products and services, and operational expertise to help technology companies scale.

Since launch, RBCx has announced LP investments in some of Canada’s most celebrated venture capital funds, including Golden Ventures, Lumira Ventures, Amplitude Ventures, StandUp Ventures, and Version One Ventures.

In this interview, Ray Rashed, director, RBCx discusses what this new division means for the Canadian technology ecosystem. Rashed joined RBC in 2018 with an interest in supporting scaling technology companies and leads the RBCx team in the Ottawa region.

Q+A

WITH RBCX’S OTTAWA REGION DIRECTOR, RAY RASHED

CONGRATS ON THE LAUNCH OF RBCX! CAN YOU SUM UP THE PLATFORM IN A FEW SENTENCES? Entrepreneurs need committed partners to help them navigate the

hardest pain points of scaling a tech business. That’s where we come in. RBCx support entrepreneurs – from startup to scale up – who are disrupting business models, industries and sectors. Our clients have access to our market partnerships, innovative capital solutions, specialized operational talent and advice, and RBC’s global footprint at their fingertips.

WHAT TYPES OF COMPANIES ARE YOU LOOKING TO HELP? We support all types of tech companies – including software, hardware, fintech, life sciences, cleantech, and agtech. Our platform has been designed to service companies across all stages, from preseed to IPO, and beyond. We are proud to work with some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs and companies in the industry including Dapper Labs, Drop, Kinaxis, Ada, Nudge, and so many others.

Leading RBCx is Sid Paquette – a veteran investor in Canada’s tech

ecosystem – who joined in March 2020. Prior to RBC, Paquette was a managing partner at OMERS Ventures where he led several multistage investments in high-growth companies – including 360insights, Hootsuite, InteraXon, Klue, League, Vidyard, and Xanadu. After joining, Paquette recruited a team of industry experts from the venture capital and tech financing ecosystem, including Tony Barkett and Tyler Kirk, who joined from Silicon Valley Bank, and Nicole Kelly and Anthony Mouchantaf who also joined from OMERS Ventures.

SO YOU’RE JUST OVER FOUR MONTHS IN THE MARKET – WHAT’S BEEN THE FOCUS FOR THE TEAM? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON? We have lots on the go, but people and products to name a couple.

Products: We have been developing and enhancing capital products to benefit entrepreneurs, companies and funds in Canada. In September, we launched a venture debt product which is new to RBC. People: We have also been rapidly growing the team – now over 100 team members coast-to-coast across relationship management, credit advisory, venture capital, and operations.

WHAT’S NEXT? We are committed partners for Canadian tech companies – and we’re here to help at any stage. We are just getting started – and we will continue to build and support the innovation economy through this platform and fulfill our mission of accelerating the entrepreneurial journey. Stay tuned!

TECH TALK 2021 15

PARTNER

Embracing a digital-first world, SMBs can have the confidence to thrive The grit and innovation shown by small and medium businesses (SMBs) during a time of great change has been a triumph. It has also been a testament to the perseverance and creativity of SMBs and the communities in which they operate.

While many businesses suffered in the pandemic, others seized entrepreneurial opportunities. This is according to Salesforce’s latest Small and Medium Business Trends Report which surveyed more than 2,500 SMB owners and leaders globally to discover what has changed for them over the past year and how that impacts their future.

The results highlight several ways SMBs can succeed in a digital world.

PRIORITISE EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER TRUST The most successful SMBs are those that are taking action to earn employee and customer trust. Research shows that, in Canada, communicating transparently, responding to personal needs, and asking for feedback rank as the top three ways SMBs are earning employee trust.

To boost customer engagement, SMBs are working hard to innovate.

Around the world, these businesses have adopted new practices to meet rising customer expectations; nearly half (47 per cent) globally are more careful about their customer communications, and 42 per cent have expanded the ways customers can reach them. In Canada, the pandemic has impacted how SMBs are interacting with their customers

16 TECH TALK 2021

TIFFANI BOVA, GLOBAL GROWTH AND INNOVATION EVANGELIST AT SALESFORCE

with nearly half (44 per cent) offering more flexibility to customers and 29 per cent prioritizing developing relationships over one-time transactions.

After more than a year of adjusting to customer demand and bringing new innovations to the fore, however, SMBs still face significant hurdles such as personalizing customer engagements, responding quickly to inquiries, engaging customers on preferred channels, and providing a connected experience. It’s clear that effective use of technology will continue to be a differentiator for SMBs.

EMBRACE A DIGITALFIRST WORLD Despite some new restrictions on in-person interactions, communities and customers still want to support SMBs. In response, SMB leaders are prioritising moving their business online so they can connect with

customers from the comfort of their homes. In Canada, 90 per cent of SMBs have moved a portion of their operations online over the past year.

Safety and convenience for customers and employees is driving this shift.

It’s fair to say that the pandemic and its economic impact forced many SMBs to digitize. They had to make sure their employees could communicate, collaborate, and do business safely in a changing world. Globally, in addition to their accelerated tech investments, growing SMBs are most likely to leverage technologies like customer service software, email marketing software, and ecommerce software. Notably, project or task collaboration tools saw the largest uptick in adoption over the past six months.

FORESEE LONG-TERM CHANGES FROM THE PANDEMIC Running an SMB has never been easy — and recently, it’s only become harder. However, certain traits can set SMB leaders up for success.

Those characteristics include market knowledge, problem-solving skills, and being flexible and agile. In Canada, 75 per cent of SMBs feel that operational shifts they’ve made over the past year will benefit their business long term. In an increasingly unpredictable world, qualities of perseverance and adaptability will help them succeed, whatever the future brings.

Written by Tiffani Bova, global growth and innovation evangelist at Salesforce

IN THE NEWS

MITEL’S KANATA NORTH CAMPUS. IMAGE: JHVEPHOTO - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Kanata North lands new Hub350 partners As anticipation around the tech park’s new innovation centre, Hub350, continues to build, the Kanata North Business Association has been busy drumming up support for the space from some of the area’s biggest names.

Telecommunications giant – and former tenant of 350 Legget Dr. – Mitel recently partnered with the technology park business association to sponsor and name the centre’s state-of-the-art boardroom.

As one of the first companies in Kanata North, it was a natural fit for Mitel to be involved in the next generation of innovation, says Al Hurren, senior vicepresident of product development at Mitel.

“With Hub350 being constructed in our previous headquarters, it creates a special connection for the Mitel team and we look forward to seeing Hub350 become a centre of innovation that helps more cutting-edge companies to grow and succeed,” he says. “As longtime residents of Kanata North, it’s an honour for Mitel to partner with KNBA on this exciting project.”

Local management consulting firm Stratford Group has also joined the Hub350 team as an associate sponsor, a move president Jim Roche says is fueled by the company’s desire to give back and inspire the community.

“We are delighted to partner with Hub350 and look forward to contributing to the continued success of Canada’s premiere technology park,” he adds.

The Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) and Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation have also signed on to collaborate with the KNBA at Hub350.

The hospital will host regular forums, educational sessions, and provide health and wellness resources of importance to everyone in the Kanata North community.

“We are honoured to be named the official health and wellness partners of Kanata North Business Association, Canada’s largest technology park,” says Dr. Andrew Falconer, president and CEO of QCH. “This partnership will help the hospital extend its work beyond the current walls of the QCH campus, connecting us with more than 500 companies in the community we serve. We look forward to working with the KNBA to develop resources, educational programs and a speaker series that will help increase the health of our community.”

Ottawa Tourism, Kanata Hub350 partner to elevate local tech community Local tech leaders will soon have the opportunity to leave a mark on their

industry and play a role in the capital’s economic recovery thanks to a new partnership between Ottawa Tourism and the Kanata North Business Association.

The local destination marketing organization will have a presence in the KNBA’s new Hub350 space – a centre intended for industry, academic, finance and community partners to co-exist and collaborate.

The partnership puts Ottawa Tourism’s destination expertise in the hands of local leaders who are interested in bringing world-class business conferences to the capital.

Ottawa Tourism’s presence in the park will be a resource for those local leaders who are interested in being an ambassador for the city and showcasing the innovation happening within their sector.

Tech park members will have access to business event resources and conference planning expertise, making it easier for them to picture an event or conference taking place in their city, says Stephanie Seguin, assistant director of sales, business events at Ottawa Tourism.

“We want to educate tech leaders on the role they can play in bringing their city and their sector to the world’s stage,” says Seguin. “And now, Ottawa Tourism will be on hand to help them achieve that.”

Partnerships such as ThinkOttawa and Hub350 are part of a long-term strategy for Ottawa Tourism to further develop the capital’s presence in the events space.

And by tapping into thriving sectors such as Ottawa’s technology community, the team will be able to make the connections needed to drive that vision forward.

“Our aim is to draw people to Canada’s capital to experience those business and networking events,” says Julia Frame, director of partnerships at the KNBA. “We are really excited to be a part of this journey with Ottawa Tourism and to share our enthusiasm about the community with the world.”

TECH TALK 2021 17

WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON

AusculSciences’ touchless stethoscope gets green light from Health Canada AusculSciences is gearing up for a busy year ahead after receiving word its remote-operated stethoscope will be hitting the medical market in Canada.

The company – which entered into a partnership with Innovative Solutions Canada in 2020 to test its sensor-based technology – received its medical device license from Health Canada, giving the company the goahead to sell the Auscul-X system to hospitals across the country.

The Auscul-X system connects acoustic sensors on a patient’s body to a monitoring device through a wireless network, allowing a doctor or nurse to monitor a patient’s lungs or heart from outside the room.

With COVID-19 cases lingering throughout the country, remote care technologies are expected to be in increasing demand as hospitals look for ways to further protect their staff.

The more than 20-person team worked closely with local institutions such as the cardiac critical care unit at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute to measure the technology’s effectiveness in keeping potentially infectious doctors and nurses away from patients who are recovering from complex cardiac surgery, said John Phillips, vice-president of business development at AusculSciences.

“We’ve all seen the statistics of the number of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers who have been affected

by COVID-19 primarily through contact with their patients,” Phillips said. “They really need to be protected from the virus to be able to do their job properly, and we’re trying to help them do that.”

18 TECH TALK 2021

JOHN PHILLIPS DISPLAYS AUSCULSCIENCES’ SENSOR TECHNOLOGY. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

TAKING A NEW APPROACH While this new technology wasn’t on the company’s radar, the coronavirus pandemic forced the team to think outside the box after the initial research and testing projects they were engaged in had to be put on hold, said Phillips.

“Like many other businesses, we had to pivot our approach, but we were able to do that using the technology that we’ve been developing for the past five years,” he said.

The Auscul-X system allows a physician to monitor a patient’s lungs

or heart from outside the room, or even from 100 kilometres away.

The sensors in the Auscul-X system are effective for up to three days before needing to be changed, which could alter the way doctors care for patients even after COVID has passed.

“The approval of Auscul-X in Canada represents an important milestone for AusculSciences, and a critical enhancement to the protection of healthcare professionals,” said Michael Lahr, president of AusculSciences. “We are thrilled to be able to offer this innovative solution to the market.”

WHAT WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON

Major funding deals in Kanata North SOLINK LANDS $23M SERIES-B FINANCING ROUND AMID PANDEMIC PRODUCT SHIFT Buoyed by a timely pivot that’s seen usage of its products soar throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kanata North’s Solink has plenty of extra runway for future growth thanks to a major funding round near the end of 2020.

The local security and data analytics software firm landed a $23-million series-B round led by the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Previous investors Valor Equity Partners, ScaleUp Ventures and BDC IT Ventures also participated in the round.

Solink’s products integrate video surveillance footage with technology such as point-of-sale platforms and inventory tracking tools. Its artificial intelligence software then analyzes that data to help clients flag suspicious activities and spot inefficiencies in workflows.

Many of Solink’s 900 customers are quick-service restaurants and retailers that were forced to close their doors when the coronavirus swept the globe.

Then the company soon realized store owners needed a way to monitor their properties remotely, so it quickly added an upgrade to its platform that would alert customers on their desktops or mobile devices every time someone entered their premises, with instant links to video footage.

Solink offered the new security alert function to all of its customers for free, a move that clearly paid off. A few weeks into the pandemic, use of its products had jumped 70 per cent.

“You have the ability to really get a full 360 (degree) view of your business

without actually being in the business,” said Solink CEO Mike Matta. “For us, we saw it as an opportunity to say, ‘Look, we’ve got the best sensor possible on location.’ (Video) doesn’t lie.”

Founded in 2009, the firm has consistently been ranked as one of Ottawa’s fastest-growing companies, and Matta hopes the influx of venture capital – which brings the company’s total funding haul to more than $40 million – will help it stay in that groove.

While it’s currently focused on the banking, retail and restaurant sectors ​– among its customers are franchises of Tim Hortons and Five Guys Burgers & Fries – ​ Matta says Solink has plenty of room to branch out into other verticals.

CMC MICROSYSTEMS RECEIVES $18M TO GROW NATIONAL MICROTECHNOLOGY NETWORK A recent addition to the Kanata North tech park received a multimilliondollar funding round from the federal government to increase the reach of its national design program.

CMC Microsystems, which opened an R&D office at 400 March Rd. in February 2020, announced $18.3 million worth of funding over the next three years from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), which will go towards supporting microtechnology research in Canada.

The company’s National Design Network connects universities, colleges and researchers across the country with the software they need to develop innovations in nanotechnology. The products are then used in developing other technologies such as biomedical diagnostic tools and 5G.

“This welcomed investment in the facility comes at the right time as innovation in microelectronics, photonics, sensors, and mobile computing are foundational for advances in Canada’s digital economy,” said CMC president Gord Harling.

“Researchers need access to stateof-the-art tools at affordable rates to explore research challenges and develop innovative products. That’s what our facility does for them.”

To date, the company has supported the creation of 250 tech startups in Canada – 74 within the last five years alone.

LYTICA, SOLACE AND YOU.I TV LAND FEDDEV FUNDS Three Kanata North tech firms received millions of dollars in federal funding to help expand their market reach as well as grow their employee headcounts.

The Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario announced in 2020 that Lytica, Solace and You.i TV collectively received repayable loans totalling $11.2 million, with the goal of supporting the scale-up and growth of the three leading tech firms.

Lytica, which received just over $1 million, will focus on transitioning its AI market insight technology into a SaaS model to better serve clients with ondemand customizable services.

Solace will continue to use its $7 million loan to amplify its latest event streaming and management service PubSub+. The monetary assistance will allow Solace to advertise its technology to new market verticals while also accelerating the company’s growth.

The remaining $3.1 million was delivered to video streaming software company You.i TV prior to its acquisition by WarnerMedia.

While the financial support will help further strengthen the innovation within the companies, it will also fund nearly 150 new jobs in the region, further elevating Kanata North’s position as Canada’s largest tech park.

TECH TALK 2021 19

NEWS BRIEFS

NOKIA SHOOTS FOR THE MOON WITH LTE TECHNOLOGY

FOUR KANATA NORTH COMPANIES APPEAR ON LIST OF CANADA’S FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES Four members of the Kanata North tech park are being recognized for their significant growth, landing on the Globe and Mail’s annual list of the country’s fastest-growing firms.

The list – which ranks over 400 companies from across Canada based on revenue growth over the last three years – is a significant sign that the technology sector in Kanata has no intention of slowing down.

Both Martello and RBR are return names on the list, with ProntoForms and Fully Managed also making an appearance. > NO. 148: MARTELLO TECHNOLOGIES Martello, which came in at No. 205 on the list in 2020, designs software to support cloud-based services and monitors the performance and productivity of the tools to ensure its clients are getting the best user experience. In 2021, the company reported a 297 per cent growth in revenue over the last three years. > NO. 373: PRONTOFORMS A newcomer to the list this year, ProntoForms reported a 79 per cent revenue increase, raising their annual revenue to between 10 and 25 million dollars. The mobile forms technology maker currently employs more than 170 staff.

CRANK SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY USED IN FIRST SOLAR ELECTRIC VEHICLE California automaker Aptera Motors has partnered up with a Kanata North tech firm to create the world’s first solar electric vehicle – a car designed to run without the need for daily charging.

User interface designer, and Kanata North’s 2019 team of the year Crank Software was chosen to create the vehicle’s infotainment display, housing critical information systems about the vehicle including the speedometer

20 TECH TALK 2021

MARTELLO TECHNOLOGIES CEO JOHN PROCTOR. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

> NO. 401: RBR Returning company RBR also reported a strong year, with over $10 million in annual revenue on the books – a 67 per cent increase over previous years. The company did dip slightly on the rankings from No. 386 last year to No. 401 in 2021. > NO. 429: FULLY MANAGED Closing out the rankings for Kanata North is local IT management firm Fully Managed. The company reported a 57 per cent revenue growth over the last three years, landing them a spot on the list. The digital business transformation company employees over 370 people and services more than 3,000 customers in North America.

and navigation.

The Crank team used its Storyboard software to create a design that was intuitive and efficient to allow drivers to focus on the road, while still keeping an eye on the screen.

“We are aligned in our efforts to transform industries by bringing together experts from design, UX, and development to work better together to accelerate exceptional embedded GUI experiences,” said Brian Edmond, president and co-founder of Crank Software.

The three-wheeled solar powered vehicle became available for pre-order on Dec. 4, 2020, with production expected to begin in 2021.

As the Nokia team in Kanata North continues to develop its 5G technology for driverless cars and better community connectivity, the multinational company has found a new out-of-thisworld application for its communication technology.

The telecom giant said it is partnering with NASA to build the first-ever cellular network on the moon, which will help create the foundation for future human presence in space.

The LTE network will allow for critical communication between control centres and data transmitters as well as provide better control over lunar rovers. Providing wireless connectivity for astronauts will also allow for more seamless communication and video streaming while on the job.

Nokia’s communication system is being designed to withstand the harsh lunar conditions, with NASA aiming to have a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2030.

HOW UOTTAWA IS HELPING BUILD A PIPELINE OF NEW CANADIAN ENTREPRENEURS AND TECH STARTUPS IN KANATA NORTH The launch of Alacrity Ottawa by the University of Ottawa and Wesley Clover could be considered the climax of a story years in the making.

For almost 15 years, the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering has worked with its generous alumni to develop a growing number of competitions, resources and curricula with a common goal – to educate engineering students on what it takes to bring a winning product to market.

It’s not just about helping engineers understand the role they play in the innovation ecosystem, but also equipping them to become entrepreneurs themselves.

The University of Ottawa founded its Kanata North campus in 2018 as the next step, to connect academic research and its brightest young minds with the needs of industry in emerging markets.

Through Alacrity Ottawa, uOttawa and Wesley Clover will educate, train and support engineering graduates with mentorship and investment opportunities meant to foster a pipeline of new Canadian tech startups.

“Alacrity Ottawa is for those bright minds who want to learn what it takes to become an entrepreneur, but don’t yet have a strong business idea and are looking for a challenge from industry,” said Veronica Farmer, director of partnerships and commercialization for uOttawa Kanata North.

Alacrity Ottawa will be supported by Wesley Clover’s L-SPARK technology accelerator in Kanata North, as well as the uOttawa Faculty of Engineering’s new Master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Engineering Design (MEED).

NEWS BRIEFS ROSS VIDEO MAKES ACQUISITION NUMBER 18 Video production technology powerhouse Ross Video just acquired its eighteenth company to date, bringing California-based D3 LED under the Ross umbrella.

Founded in 2006, D3 is a leader in creating LED displays, working with broadcasters and companies such as ESPN, Gap and Victoria Secret.

Ross intends to use D3’s expertise in custom LED experiences to broaden the company’s scope of work in live production as well as in virtual and extended reality.

“We’re excited to welcome the amazing D3 team to Ross,” Ross Video CEO David Ross said in a statement. “It’s great to add another world-class brand to the Ross family, and I can’t wait to have our R&D teams collaborate and help our customers overcome their creative, business and technical challenges.”

D3 is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Ross Video, which acquired Miami-based video streaming software company Primestream back in June – pushing the local company past the 1,000 employee mark.

“Acquisitions have played an important role in our success,” adds Ross, who just celebrated his 30th year with Ross Video, a company founded by his father in 1974.

DAVID ROSS, CEO, ROSS VIDEO. PHOTO BY VALERIE KEELER, VALBERG IMAGING

ERICSSON ESTABLISHES NEW 5G TEST LAB IN KANATA NORTH Swedish telecom giant Ericsson unveiled a new virtual testing and collaboration space that will allow customers to unlock new opportunities enabled by 5G technology.

Located at the company’s Kanata North R&D office, the Open Lab is a virtual and physical space for fast and interactive collaboration and co-

creation with communications service providers and ecosystem partners.

Working closely with operators and enterprise customers globally, the testing centre is designed to help clients test the latest 5G Radio Access Networks technologies.

5G RAN uses radio frequencies to provide wireless connectivity to devices such as virtual reality technology, autonomous vehicles and cloud gaming platforms.

With the help of the Open Lab,

Ericsson and its customers will be able to discover new uses for the systems as well as provide real-time feedback and software updates.

“We have created this collaboration to develop architectures and common operating standards that complement existing 5G ready technology,” says Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice-president at Ericsson. “With Ericsson Open Lab, we invite our customers and partners to co-create and bring new cloud innovations to 5G.”

TECH TALK 2021 21

WHERE WE LIVE

Kanata North tech career opens new leadership opportunities for Nokia developer Over her 15-year career, Nokia developer Kelly Ryan has helped ensure some of the world’s most advanced telecom hardware can operate in real-world conditions and designed solutions that transform how digital data is collected and processed.

Equally rewarding, however, have been the leadership opportunities her career has opened to engage, mentor and network with incoming talent, increasing the strength of the local tech ecosystem and her community as a whole.

Starting her career as a hardware qualification engineer in 2006 – running various environmental stress tests on equipment, from earthquake simulations to lightning tests – Ryan has transitioned through various roles at the company, working on both tech projects as well as community outreach initiatives.

“I absolutely love being an engineer and the potential it gives you to control your career and steer it in the way that you want to go,” she says. “You really have the opportunity to try so many different things.”

After spending the bulk of her career working with hardware, Ryan transitioned roles in 2020 to become a digital solutions developer at Nokia, working with teams throughout the company to digitize and automate the data collection, data mining and reporting process – making it simpler and more efficient for engineers to get the answers they need.

22 TECH TALK 2021

“There is a strong sense of community and you end up making a lot of life-long connections, which makes it feel special.”

THE FUTURE OF TECH However, it’s not only the technology that gets Ryan excited about her job.

She regularly engages with future generations of skilled workers through several Nokia-led programs that connect employees with students as well as the wider community. Ryan says it’s an opportunity to share her passion for tech with up-and-coming talent and open their eyes to new career possibilities.

For four years, Nokia’s Future Tech program has provided paid summer jobs to grade 11 students with an

interest in engineering. Participants work on technical projects for seven weeks, gaining invaluable handson experience before they’ve even graduated high school.

Ryan plays a key role in organizing the annual program, and says the opportunity to see the students learn and get excited about their future careers is well worth the investment.

“I consider myself to be lucky,” she says. “I get to work on technical jobs, but I also get to work on these amazing outreach activities.”

Supporting fellow women in tech is another passion project for Ryan, who co-founded the local StrongHer group at Nokia roughly seven years ago.

The group offers women in the company the chance to connect with one another at lunch-and-learns, career development workshops or simply over coffee.

“Working with like-minded women is something I really value and it brings a lot of enjoyment to my work life,” she adds. “I am really excited to see if we can improve on our diversity in our workforce, as it would make the environment that much more positive.”

WORKING IN TECH With so much opportunity in Kanata North, Ryan says she is excited to see what the next generation of engineers and developers will bring to the table.

“When you step back and look at Kanata North, you realize that it is unique in a lot of ways,” she says.

“There is a strong sense of community and you end up making a lot of lifelong connections, which makes it feel special.”

Ryan urges anyone interested in a career in tech to take the plunge or reach out to those working in Canada’s largest technology park to hear first-hand about the amazing work happening in the city.

“If you think you might be interested in engineering, or somebody suggested it to you, give it a shot,” she adds. “You might be surprised at the career it will lead to.”

WHERE WE LIVE

CANADA’S FIRST TEST OF A DRIVERLESS CAR ON PUBLIC ROADS TOOK PLACE IN KANATA NORTH IN 2017.

Kanata North business group pushes AV rapidtransit pilot project The Kanata North Business Association is touting a multimillion-dollar pilot project that would see autonomous buses run along March Road and Highway 417 as well as an AV shuttle service that could be ferrying workers around the area’s tech park as soon as next year.

In a presentation to the city’s transportation committee, the KNBA said it’s looking for public- and privatesector funding partners for the project, which is expected to carry a price tag of nearly $35 million.

Under the proposal, electric autonomous buses would travel the 9.8-kilometre “Blue Line” starting from the new Moodie LRT station that’s slated to open in 2025 and be the new western terminus of the expanded east-

west Confederation Line. Buses would run along Highway 417 on existing shoulder lanes before turning north on to March Road to Innovation Drive.

Meanwhile, smaller self-driving shuttles dubbed “robo-taxis” would use the 10.5-kilometre “Green Line.” The vehicle would carry groups of 10-15 passengers north on Moodie Drive from the LRT station, travelling along Carling Avenue to Leggett Drive before looping into the Kanata North tech park.

The pilot project would be the first in Canada to use full-sized autonomous buses on a rapid-transit route.

THE FUTURE IS AUTONOMOUS Invest Ottawa CEO Michael Tremblay, whose agency would play a key role in overseeing the project, said the

proponents are currently pounding the pavement for funding from the federal and provincial governments as well as private-sector partners.

Tremblay added that the National Capital Region has become a global hotbed for AV research and development thanks to facilities such as Area X.O, a 16-kilometre test track for autonomous vehicles on Woodroffe Avenue, and a growing number of local startups catering to the industry.

“These are companies that have already blazed a trail in global markets,” Tremblay said. “It puts a spotlight on what our region is really well-known for. This is just another way for us to showcase some of the incredible capabilities our region has.”

Kanata North has always played a prominent role in the development of AV technology in the city. In 2017, the Kanata North business park hosted Canada’s first test of a driverless car on public roads when a grey Lincoln powered by BlackBerry QNX technology took a spin down a stretch of Legget Drive between Herzberg and Farrar roads.

TECH TALK 2021 23

JHVEPHOTO / STOCK.ADOBE.COM

WHERE WE WORK

Carleton University establishes a lasting future in Kanata North with BlackBerry QNX partnership Days after announcing it would be opening a new innovation centre in the heart of Kanata North, Carleton University is doubling down on its presence in the tech park, unveiling a multimillion-dollar partnership with tech leader BlackBerry QNX. The local university has signed a five-year, $21-million deal with the telecom giant in order to gain access to its extensive network of embedded software technology and connected systems expertise.

Carleton students and researchers will have access to the technology through the school’s new embedded operating system software research lab in the Advanced Research and Innovation in Smart Environments (ARISE) building on Carleton’s campus.

BlackBerry’s technology can be 24 TECH TALK 2021

used in multiple applications including in the automotive sector, medical devices, robotics and automation.

The partnership will also provide 600 BlackBerry QNX software development seat licences on an annual basis to students in Carleton’s School of Computer Science and Faculty of Engineering and Design programs – providing them with even better hands-on training.

“As a Carleton University graduate and active alumnus, I know first-hand the passion that exists within the student body and faculty community to go beyond the classroom and foster the skills that will allow graduates to make an impact from day one of their working careers,” John Wall, senior vice-president and co-head, BlackBerry Technology Solutions, said in

a statement. “With our new partnership, we’ve created a unique experiential learning environment that is designed to do just that, providing students with the foundational tools and technologies that will enable them to solve real industry problems upon graduation.”

The partnership follows Carleton’s announcement that it will be taking up 2,000 square feet of space at Hub350 – Kanata North’s new innovation ecosystem facility designed for industry, finance and academic partners to connect and collaborate.

Construction on the university’s space – which will include meeting rooms, a café and a garden terrace – is set to begin in June, with a move-in date expected in late August.

Carleton University is the second academic institution to establish a presence in the tech community after the University of Ottawa opened a satellite campus in November 2018.

The presence of the two universities – along with partnerships with Algonquin College and Queen’s University – is good news for the more than 540 companies located in the area. Many are in tight competition to find the next generation of top talent – a search that will only get easier with a direct connection to the city’s top postsecondary institutions, says Victoria McGlone, chief operating officer at the Kanata North Business Association.

“Partnerships with world-leading institutions like Carleton University is crucial to the growth and success of our member companies,” says McGlone.

“We are thrilled to officially welcome Carleton to the park.”

The university’s presence in the Kanata North community will also provide better access to co-op placements, strategic partnerships and learning opportunities for the school’s current and future students, she adds.

“We are confident that Carleton’s presence in Kanata North will play a key role in connecting their students and research faculties with real-world technology companies, innovating on a global stage.”

WHERE WE WORK

As the threat rises, so too does Kanata North’s cybersecurity industry With the pandemic, the monumental shift to remote working (and remote access) has only served to heighten the risk of cybersecurity threats.

Kanata North is a growing global technology hub for cybersecurity. Here are a few of the great companies in Kanata North and the innovators who have chosen to call the area home.

TREND MICRO Trend Micro Inc. is a multinational that established itself in the National Capital Region in 2009 with the acquisition of Third Brigade. The company develops enterprise security software for servers, containers and cloud computing environments, providing automated security for marquee names like VMware, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Back in 2009, virtualization of server environments was a new industry and Third Brigade was quickly making a name for itself in virtualization security. With the acquisition of Third Brigade, Trend Micro established a centre of excellence in Kanata North. The local operation has continued to be at the forefront of securing enterprise cloud computing. It has evolved to deliver security from the cloud with a SaaS model, to enable enterprise end users to secure their use of the cloud with tools that automate the process.

“The cool part of that is it’s a whole new mentality to deliver applications,” said Steve Neville, director of market strategy for Trend Micro. “The way security is now delivered is very

TREND MICRO’S KANATA NORTH OFFICE. PHOTO: JHVEPHOTO - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

different than the way it used to be.

Organizations still need that perimeter protection, but they also need to be able to deliver security for all the ways that the cloud is being used.”

INTERSET/MICRO FOCUS In March of 2020, Interset also became a local centre of excellence when it was acquired by U.K.-based IT firm Micro Focus.

Interset’s proficiency is in applying machine learning and behavioural analytics for cybersecurity. This has become an integral part of Micro Focus’s flagship ArcSight Intelligence product – a complete threat detection, analysis and compliance management security information and event management solution.

The Ottawa team is also pivotal to an ArcSight partnership that Micro Focus forged with another big player

in the industry – CrowdStrike, which provides endpoint security, threat intelligence and cyberattack response services.

In the past year and a half, the local team has continued to expand, both in Kanata and overseas. The need to secure the growing use of enterprise cloud services has contributed to this growth.

“When you are a centre of excellence, all of these groups within the big company want to start working with you immediately,” said Steve McDougall, director of development.

“We have built a backlog of where we could potentially have an impact on a number of different products, within and beyond cybersecurity.”

CORSA SECURITY Corsa Security bills itself as “the first turnkey network security virtualization platform to simply scale traffic inspection and automate firewall virtualization.”

In an industry where entire multinational companies can be built around delivering just one piece of the cybersecurity puzzle, Corsa is providing customers with a one-stop shop for perimeter and network security. It simplifies how enterprises expand traffic inspection, increase threat protection and automate firewall virtualization so that they don’t have to procure and manage a patchwork of products from different vendors.

Yuri Kolomiyets, senior director of technology strategy, said Corsa’s competitors are not so much other technology vendors. Instead, it is the status quo within enterprises, where internal IT teams may have engineered their own unwieldy DIY solutions.

“What we have done is look at the whole problem holistically to develop a turnkey solution,” Kolomiyets said. “We have brought together a team that can look at these pieces both individually and together and put that whole package together in a specific way so that the customer doesn’t have to take it apart and do things on its own.”

TECH TALK 2021 25

NEWS BRIEFS BLACKBERRY LAUNCHES $50M FUND FOR AUTOTECH COMPANIES To help fund the future of connected cars, BlackBerry has launched a program designed to expand and accelerate innovation in the smart vehicles sector.

The telecommunications firm – which has a significant presence in the Kanata North technology park – is pledging $50 million in funding towards startup companies working in the connected vehicles space.

In addition to the financial assistance, companies participating in the new IVY Innovation Fund will be able to use BlackBerry’s Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform – a scalable, cloudconnected software system – to collect and read vehicle sensor data.

With the monetary and technological support from BlackBerry, autotech startups will be able to simplify their research and development process with easier access to vehicle data. They will also be able to reach markets quicker as well as leverage BlackBerry QNX’s expertise in the space.

CLINICONEX HELPING SENIOR CARE HOMES STAY CONNECTED More than 1,600 senior care homes adopted a Kanata North-based healthcare IT company’s automated messaging technology in 2020 to streamline communication between staff, residents and families.

Cliniconex’s Automated Care Messaging (ACM) platform allows users to create one-to-many voice messages, alleviating the need for individual or manual communication.

Amidst the pandemic, this technology became vital for care homes to communicate

CENGN ENTERS NEW RURAL CONNECTIVITY PARTNERSHIP CENGN said it will be partnering with the village of Ahmic Harbour, west of Algonquin Park, as part of its mission to bring high-performance broadband access to remote areas in Ontario.

The Kanata-based telecom consortium is working with Spectrum Telecom to construct three selfsupporting network towers, which will enable faster upload and download speeds as well as provide superior signal strength and broader access.

“This project identifies key innovation approaches to offering significantly improved broadband coverage across large lakes,” said Jean-Charles Fahmy, president and

healthcare mandates, vaccination updates, and visitation policies to families.

The company says over six million messages were sent on the platform in this quarter, resulting in one million hours of saved staff time.

Cliniconex recently launched an addition to the platform focused on employee communication. The update makes it easier for doctors, nurses and administrators to coordinate internal operations.

The e-health company has had a presence in the Kanata North tech park since 2011 – a graduate of the L-Spark accelerator program – and has a list of local investors, including Wesley Clover, Calian Group and the Capital Angels Network.

CEO of CENGN. “By supporting and documenting Spectrum Telecom’s implementation of broadband internet services at Ahmic Lake, we will gain a strong blueprint to help address the business and technological challenges of similar communities in Northern Ontario and across the province.”

Exploring network deployment in rural areas is a key priority for CENGN, whose members include major enterprises such as Bell Canada, Nokia and Mitel as well as academic institutions and burgeoning startups. The consortium is actively working with the Ontario government on its Next Generation Network Program (NGNP), which looks to connect SMEs across the province with CENGN’s digital infrastructure to establish a “digital backbone for Ontario’s innovation-driven economy.”

ENTRUST ACQUIRES FELLOW SECURITY-TECH FIRM WORLDREACH SOFTWARE A well-known security software company with a large presence in the Kanata North tech park is growing its headcount through the acquisition of an Ottawa-based software company.

Entrust announced it purchased WorldReach Software, a local firm specializing in ID verification software

26 TECH TALK 2021

used to clear travellers at airports and border crossings.

The acquisition will bolster Entrust’s presence in the travel sector by providing digital citizen credential solutions and touchless ID verification.

“The ability to verify identity and manage trusted access digitally is the

key to transforming travel and citizen services around the world,” says Entrust CEO Todd Wilkinson. “WorldReach is a great fit for Entrust, with deep experience in identity verification and digital onboarding solutions implemented at scale for governments and global travel providers.”

All 33 of WorldReach’s employees will join the Entrust team, which operates most of its R&D from its Kanata office.

NEWS BRIEFS

TREND MICRO, CARLETON UNIVERSITY PARTNER ON WOMEN IN STEM PROGRAM A global cybersecurity company with a large presence in the Kanata North tech park has partnered with Carleton University to encourage more women to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Trend Micro announced it will be sponsoring a Women in Engineering and Information Technology (WiE&IT) Program at the local university – one of the first sponsored programs of its kind in the country.

“We are dedicated to supporting diverse talent in tech, especially women in cybersecurity, and are excited to be partnering with Carleton University to provide mentorship and opportunities to students of the WiE&IT Program,” says Adam Boyle, VP Hybrid Cloud Security at Trend Micro Canada and a Carleton University Alumnus. “This partnership is an extension of how we have already been working together over the years…and elevates it to the next level.”

The program will provide both undergrad and graduate students with the tools and knowledge to branch out into the workforce by providing mentorship opportunities, women-led events to connect with and meet prospective employers and financial incentives for partners who reach their equity, diversity and inclusion goals.

KANATA NORTH AV COHORT HELPS FUND TEST TRACK EXPANSION

“The calibre of people and the innovation culture is something that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

The environment, the culture... everything has just been a great fit for us.”

— YURI KOLOMIYETS, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AT CORSA

Ottawa’s autonomous vehicle test track received another round of investment from its local partners, including several Kanata North companies looking to test their technology and services on the 16-kilometre track.

BlackBerry QNX, Ericsson, Nokia, Kongsberg Geospatial, TÜV SÜD and a handful of other local tech firms recently pledged $10 million in equipment towards the recently rebranded Area X.O track, which will be applied alongside $7 million from the federal government.

The “smart” roadway includes special sensors, intersections and potential distractions to test a vehicle’s ability to respond in real time – technology that is connected by a broadband internet network developed by Nokia, which connects the cars to one another and the underlying infrastructure.

In recent years, Nokia has emerged as a leader in the connected cars space, exploring how 5G networks can be incorporated into autonomous vehicles and helping develop the infrastructure needed to test the technology.

Along with the funding from fellow tech park telecom giants, Nokia’s contribution to Area X.O will help further strengthen the city’s ability to create and develop autonomous vehicles, said Invest Ottawa president Michael Tremblay.

MITEL’S KEY KANATA CAMPUS STRONG AND GROWING Three years ago, Mitel – one of the most venerable names in the Ottawa tech community – announced a $2-billion acquisition deal with Searchlight Capital Partners that took it private. The move was meant to help accelerate Mitel’s cloud strategy and drive its growth with Searchlight’s financial resources.

The pandemic has proven to be a shot of gasoline onto that fire with the mass shift to remote working.

“What the pandemic has really illustrated to us in unified communications is that collaboration is critical,” said Billie Hartless, Mitel’s chief human resources officer. “Our industry is

pretty hot right now.”

As a result, the local full-time workforce of about 500 is growing its headcount – recruiting dozens of new employees in areas such as cloud, big data and operations.

“We are investing in our future,” adds Hartless. “We are bringing on talent globally, including Ottawa, which continues to be a critical site for us. So much so that last year we invested in a new office space in Kanata.”

Circumstances may have prevented the local team from taking full advantage of its new space, but it’s still full steam ahead for the local telecom giant.

TECH TALK 2021 27

The Gateway to Canada’s largest technology park.

TM

350 Legget Drive, Kanata, Ontario