the kanata networker march 2016
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The Kanata Networker is an electronic publication which highlights news from the Kanata business community. Here you may browse and view current and past issues of our publication.TRANSCRIPT
March 2016
Kanata North Technology Ecosystem Report
Generation Z: Your Next Workforce
L-SPARK selects nine B2B SaaS Startups to join second Incubator Session
Edgewater Wireless Inc.
Sticky-note walls go digital with the Nureva™ Span™ system
Seniors: Socialization and Wellness
CONTENTS
We are thrilled to have recently shared our Kanata North Technology Ecosystem Report, and had the opportunity to present it to the Mayor and City Councillors, as well as at Tech Tuesday this month. The research has led to some interesting revelations about what is happening in this business community. Please take the time to review the report here.
As we continue to share this research and promote the area as the best choice for talent and technology compa-nies, we’re also working with our local companies on issues of concern to them. We are happy to have coordinated meetings this month with the Austrian Embassy, as well as working with the City and Invest Ottawa on the upcoming Trade Mission to India.
This month we will be presenting an Autonomous Vehicle Industry Breakfast as well as TEDxKanata, and have begun preparations for our new Technology Expo, ‘Discover TECHNATA,’ happening on April 7th.
As always, thank you for your interest and I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. Please never hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.
Jenna SuddsEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KANATA NORTH BIA
What’s New/What’s Next ............................................................... 1
Kanata North Technology Ecosystem: Generating economic opportunities for all of Canada ................................................... 2
L-SPARK selects nine B2B SaaS startups to join second Incubator Session ............................................................................. 3
Generation Z: Your next workforce ............................................. 6
Schneider Electric: The global specialist in energy management and automation ...................................................... 7
Edgewater Wireless Inc................................................................... 9
Q/A CORNER Jason Maloney, Vice President, Business Development - Thinkwrap ............................................................ 11
Nureva’s “sticky” digital walls...................................................... 13
Chartwell: The role of socialization in seniors’ health and wellness...................................................................................... 15
Kanata North: Still bustling with energy and opportunity..... 16
CDesign and layout by
Communicarium
www.kanatanorthbia.ca
THE KANATA NETWORKER 1
CONTENTS
TEDXKANATA 2016
Thursday, March 31 3:30 pm - 9:00 pm at Brookstreet Hotel
Ticket invitations have been sent out, be sure to check your inbox and complete the purchase of your ticket. Only three weeks remain before we’ll be Breaking Barriers and sharing an evening of knowledge and enter-tainment from some of the world’s most inspired thinkers with ideas worth sharing. Check out the TEDx-Kanata Blog for details on speaker profiles and join us on our social media networks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
DISCOVER TECHNATA
Thursday, April 7 11:00 am - 6:00 pm at Brookstreet Hotel
Kanata North’s Tech Expo and Talent Hunt exhibition. A new approach to our popular Career Fair, Discover TECH-NATA is a one-day event to showcase
the top innovative technology firms in the area. It is the ideal platform to display your business services, prod-ucts and employment opportunities. To reserve a booth at Discover TECH-NATA download an exhibitor guide, or click here to Register as a Visitor.
THE KANATA NORTH ECOSYSTEM REPORT
If you missed a chance to hear the results of our extensive study on the Kanata North ecosystem at our February networking event or Tech-Tuesday at the beginning of the month, then visit our website for details about the study and down-load a copy of the report. The study paints a picture of an innovative, robust and diverse ecosystem that is contributing to the economy and wellbeing of Ottawa as a whole. With leading-edge skill sets, creativity and technology, Kanata North’s economic advantage is clear. This study details the impact and magnitude of Kana-ta’s contributions and opportunities for continuing growth.
Join us in supporting our marketing efforts to promote Kanata North as a destination for leading technology and business. Check the new website www.serioustechliveshere.com and tweet #SeriousTechLivesHere
NOKIA INSIDE RIDE FUNDRAISER FOR CANDLELIGHTERS
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
2016 marks the 9th year of an amazing partnership with Coast to Coast Against Cancer and the newly minted Nokia (formerly Alcatel Lucent). This special fundraising event will exclusively benefit Candlelighters Ottawa childhood cancer support programs. For more information on the event visit our event calendar.
If you would like register a team and participate in the campaign activities, visit the link: http://nokia.theinsideride.com
WHAT’SNEWWHAT’SNEXT
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KANATA NORTH TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM GENERATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF CANADALast year we commissioned the respected firm Doyletech Corpora-tion to conduct an economic impact assessment of Kanata North. The approach they undertook was broad, with an in-depth look at the many subsectors in Kanata, in addition to exhaustive primary and secondary research.
The objective was to provide a clearer picture of our community. Doyletech’s findings allow us to understand the economic changes in Kanata North over the past 25 years and our growing contributions at the municipal, provin-cial and federal levels.
Over the next few months The Kanata Network will be offering highlights from the full report. We couldn’t be prouder of what the community has accomplished in recent years; we hope these insights inspire you to continue making Kanata North one of Canada’s top places to do business.
DOYLETECH TOOK A HARD LOOK AT THE DATA GATHERED IN THREE WAYS:
• Primary research:conducted over 40 interviews with senior staff at businesses across sectors and subsectors and of various sizes
• Secondary research:visited buildings; reviewed existing databases; conducted email and telephone inquiries and interviews; web and literature review; Created a database that KNBIA can use for future reference
• Econometric model: useda proprietary computer model to project impact with direct, indirect and induced effects
THE BIG PICTURE The study’s conclusions paint a very positive picture: Kanata North business activities contribute mightily to the Ottawa, Ontario, and Canadian econo-mies.
The economic indicators are all positive: high export ratio, employment of highly-qualified personnel, the high value-add derived from labour skills.
In two respects, however, the Kanata North results are exceptional:
PRODUCTIVITY
$7.8 billion net value-add of Kanata Northto Canada’s GDP
20,300 direct employees
higher than the national average
RETURNS TO GOVERNMENT
The total economic impact of Kanata North is $7.8 billion. Between all three levels, the total returns to government are $2.94 billion, which is equivalent to 37% of the total impact. It could be argued that the high wages and salaries commanded by the Kanata North workforce leads to a dispropor-
tionately large tax bill.
$85,000 $255,000
3x Kanata North productivity level
The average contribution to GDP per Canadian worker
The average contribution to GDP Kanata North worker
THE KANATA NETWORKER 3
L-SPARK SELECTS NINE B2B SAAS STARTUPS TO JOIN SECOND INCUBATOR SESSION Nine B2B SaaS and cloud software startups have been chosen to join L-SPARK’s second Incubator program that began in late February. Following an application process that attracted over 175 startups, 14 companies were selected to participate in a Pitchfest held at the end of January. A selection committee, including representatives from HIGHLINE VC, BDC Capital, IBM, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Mistral Venture Partners, Microsoft Canada, Real Ventures, Wesley Clover International and Whitecap Venture Partners chose the winning appli-cants. Having anticipated selecting up to eight companies, the oversub-scribed program will draw companies from Montreal, Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa. “The L-SPARK team found some of the most promising startups from across Canada to join their next cohort. The quality of the businesses was of the highest levels. The L-SPARK
mentors knew the right questions to ask and the program is setting these companies up to grow,” said Alex-andre Shee of Real Ventures.
The selection comes on the heels of Mydoma Studio’s announcement of their $275,000 seed round, an L-SPARK Incubator Alumni. L-SPARK will facili-tate similar opportunities for the new cohort of companies to pitch their businesses to angel investors and VCs over the four month program, with the purpose of incubating the companies to a seed investment.
“Having participated on the selection committee for the second Incubator cohort I am looking forward to observing as these high poten-tial companies grow their revenues and become investment ready with L-SPARK’s support and mentorship,” said Marcus Daniels, HIGHLINE VC.
The nine selected companies will move into L-SPARK’s office space for four months, effective immediately, and will have access to a range of key resources including dedicated guidance from high-profile mentors who have scaled their own B2B SaaS companies. The companies will also meet one-on-one with L-SPARK’s champion partners, including Google, Microsoft BizSpark Plus, Citrix, OpenText, Mitel and IBM to identify customer or partnership opportunities.
“The team at L-SPARK brought forth an exceptional collection of startups that showcased the quality of entrepreneurs in Ottawa and across Canada. “– Marc Gagne, Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Canada.
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“Microsoft is dedicated to helping Canadian startups accelerate their businesses and we look forward to engaging with these inspiring entre-preneurs,” said Mary-Ellen Anderson, Vice President of Developer Expe-rience & Evangelism at Microsoft Canada. “By providing access to soft-ware, services, tech support and Azure cloud services, Microsoft is empow-ering startups to achieve more.”
Three of the Ottawa Incubator Cohorts accepted on this last round include:
Fitchek is a fully automated transac-tional marketplace and management platform that seamlessly connects local health and fitness service providers with more customers.
Russell Coltess, CEO of Fitchek, says the L-Spark Incubator “stands to rapidly accelerate a few highly stra-tegic initiatives for our company.”
Amplify by Pixelera is a breakthrough online platform designed specifically for member-based organizations to help them grow membership, auto-mate common data-driven tasks and strengthen member engagement.
Buildmetric is a deficiency manage-ment platform used by home builders to minimize the financial risks associ-ated with construction-related defects.
Applications to the third Accelerator session will open in the Spring of 2016.
Check the L-SPARK website for more details and follow them on Twitter at @LSPARKGlobal.
L-SPARK is the only Canadian Incu-bator and Accelerator that focuses exclusively on Enterprise SaaS and cloud start-ups. With established relationships with key venture capital firms, angel investors, and the invest-ment community at large, the goal is to support a deal flow of fundable Enterprise SaaS startup companies in Canada. For a full list of the nine chosen startups view the press release.
KANATA TECHNOLOGY OFFICE LEASING TEAM
OLIVER KERSHAW*
Associate Vice President
CBRE Limited | Ottawa
+1 613 288 1584
www.cbre.ca/oliver.kershaw
PERFORMANCEDELIVERED in 2015
LINDSAY HOCKEY*
Associate Vice President
CBRE Limited | Ottawa
+1 613 782 2943
www.cbre.ca/lindsay.hockey
CBRE Limited | 333 Preston Street, Suite 700 | Ottawa, ON | K1S 5N4 | www.cbre.ca
For more information on the sale or lease of commercial real estate in Kanata, please contact:
475,000 Sq.FtOf Space
20TransactionsCompleted
OVER 47Millionin Total Deal
Value
THE KANATA NETWORKER 5
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GENERATION Z: YOUR NEXT WORKFORCE
They’re smarter, more ambitious and passionate about the environment. It’s been said entrepreneurship is in their DNA. Gen Z, also described as the digital generation, is defined as those born after 1995. They’re the cohort following Gen Y, or Millen-nials. Still young, they are your next wave of employees and it goes without saying that they are highly tech savvy, as they were raised on smart phones and social media. Their defining char-acteristic, so far, is that they’re a new species—“screenagers,” the first tribe of “digital natives,” according to author and consultant Don Tapscott.
For Gen Z its not money that motivates them to work harder: nearly 60% of Gen Zers want jobs that have a social impact, compared with 31% of Gen Ys, and 30% say they would take a 10-20% pay cut to work for a cause they deeply care about, while 72% want to start their own businesses. Turning a passion or hobby into a business or career path will be their ultimate goal.
Research points to a superior genera-tion that is more educated, industrious, collaborative and eager to build a better planet. According to a study by New York-based marketing agency Sparks & Honey, 37.8% hope to “invent something that will change the world.”
Unlike their counterparts, the “ME” generation Millennials, Gen Zers are community-oriented and dedicated to making a difference in the world. Consider the example of young Ann
Makosinski, the Victoria BC native who created a flashlight powered by the heat of a human hand. Makosinski’s clever adaptation of technology was impressive, but it was her inspiration behind the empathy-driven ingenuity that was encouraging. She developed it to help a friend in the Philippines who’d failed a grade at school because she lacked electricity to study at night.
“Gen Zs have a clear advantage over Millennials because they appear to be more realistic, are likely to be more career-minded, and can quickly adapt to new technology to work more effectively,” says Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding. “Also, Gen Zs have seen how much their parents have struggled in the reces-sion, so they come to the workplace well-prepared, less entitled and more equipped to succeed.”
Social researcher Mark McCrindle, of Sydney-based McCrindle Research, has been looking at Gen Z for several years. “They are the most connected, educated and sophisticated genera-tion in history,” he says. “They don’t just represent the future; they are creating it.”
This new generation is entering the workforce at a time of constrained resources, increased requirements placed on workers, and fewer prom-ised rewards. Additionally, they are competing for entry-level jobs with Millennials and older workers, who themselves have had career setbacks.
Be prepared to adjust your recruiting strategy as you begin to connect and communicate in new ways when you start recruiting Gen Z. Engage them in a way that is meaningful, and be mindful on what motivates them. They will want to work for managers that listen to their ideas and value their opinions.
In Silicon Valley, competition for young talent is now so intense that interns as young as 13 are scouted; Facebook flies in kids with their parents to meet Mark Zuckerberg. It’s not uncommon for some to make a year’s salary in a summer, or receive a $100,000 grant—another example of how Gen Z is vaulting over the Millennials while simultaneously becoming a threat to Gen X and Boomers. In some cases, “reverse-mentoring” has been used, where young teens have been brought in to run digital teams.
This generation has grown up in a world where they can easily identify the essential improvements needed and they are going to be the gener-ation to challenge it. As a recruiter, you may find it surprisingly difficult to recruit fresh Gen Zs who are happy to work for someone else, and those that do will have higher expectations in terms of their roles. “This gener-ation are far more captivated by the idea of ‘doing what they love’ than by receiving a chunky salary each year,” says Laura Chetcuti, Commu-nity Manager at Edge Global Media Group and writer of “How To Recruit The New Neoteric Generation Z.”
If you want to appeal to Gen Z, posi-tion your jobs in terms of long-term career paths with visible opportunity to step into leadership and intrapre-neurial roles. Tap their entrepreneurial spirit, and focus on the opportuni-ties for growth and development. Describe what the job will help accom-plish. Remember, they don’t just want a job—they really want to make a difference.
Companies need to be prepared to push out employer-branded content through all the major social media networks and even a few of the new ones like Snapchat. You will need to use tech well and go where your audi-ence is. In the end it will be the story you tell about your brand that will attract the next generation.
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SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC: THE GLOBAL SPECIALIST IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND AUTOMATIONBy Pam Colquhoun
Schneider Electric has been around for a long time, but only recently became a fixture in Kanata North. The former Control Microsystems was purchased by Schneider Electric in 2010. Now located at the corner of Solandt Road and Legget Drive, Schneider Electric acquired the telemetry and control technology used for monitoring and control applications in oil and gas, and water and waste water industries. The solutions and products are sold globally through the Schneider Elec-tric distribution hubs.
Schneider Electric got its start in 1836 when Adolphe and Eugene Schneider acquired the Creusot mines, forges and foundries. Through the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Schneider-Creusot, as it was known then, became one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of weapons and infrastructure. After the Second World War, the company innovated by focusing on the emerging elec-trical markets to serve civilian needs, such as construction, iron and steel works. The company was renamed Schneider Electric to emphasize its expertise in the electrical field. For the last 50 years, Schneider Electric has acquired a variety of holdings in pursuit of becoming a global specialist in energy management.
Today, Schneider Electric employs 170,000 employees in more than 100 countries. The Kanata office has approximately 150 people, with the majority involved in the manufacturing and engineering processes.
In the Kanata office, Telemetry & Remote SCADA Solutions (TRSS) develops remote Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Telem-etry. Telemetry is a key technology that allows for the remote measure-ment, monitoring, control and data transfer of infrastructures in harsh environments that are scattered over a wide area or that are hard to access. The solutions can withstand extremes of temperature and humidity, poor power quality and interference from lightning, and other transients.
Solution components include:
Trio long-range data radios
• Provides licensed and unlicensedwireless communication options.• The unlicensed option providesa range of frequency-hopping Ethernet and Serial Data Radios operating in the license-free 900Mhz and 2.4 Ghz band.• The licensed options include TrioLicensed UHF data radios, which use serial and Ethernet connec-tivity, making them suitable for the requirements in Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint (Multiple Address Radio) systems, Trio Q Data Radios, which provides a transition from serial-based infrastructure to IP/Ethernet, and Trio M-Series compact digital data radios, which provide cost-effective and dependable serial communications.
Flow Measurement
• Combines gas flow metering,data logging, PLC control and RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) communica-tion in one device. • Offers access to remote data andprovides real-time accurate informa-tion related to well operation.
Remote SCADA Software
• Delivers an open software platformfor remote management of critical infrastructure.• Manages remote assets spreadacross geographically dispersed infrastructure with secure and reliable capabilities and easy connectivity to business and IT systems.• The scalable ClearSCADA Soft-ware is now part of the StruxureWare software applications and suites. StruxureWare is the brand name identifying Schneider Electric’s various software applications and suites to drive business perfor-mance while conserving enterprise resources.
Smart RTU (Remote Terminal Unit), rPAC and data loggers
• Provides a range of compact SmartRTUs combining the capabilities of remote terminal units with the power of a Programmable Logic Controller • Integrates with virtually anycommunication network including Trio radios and 3G mobile networks• Some units are optimised forModbus-centric control and moni-toring applications
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Accutech wireless instrumentation
• Provides a line of battery-poweredwireless sensor networks. • Provides measurement and controltools that can be used wherever challenging telemetry applica-tions are found, including stranded measurement points, hazardous locations and mobile equipment.
Realift Artificial lift• Provides a comprehensive solutionfor lifting liquids. • Can be deployed as either astand-alone well controller or as part of an enterprise oil field strategy, where operations like tank level management, product recovery and transport are controlled via remote telemetry and SCADA.
Figure 1: Flow Measurement
Figure 2: Accutech
Figure 3: SCADAPack 500E rPAC
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EDGEWATER WIRELESS INCBy Mariam Zohouri
Matt Massey is the Vice-President of Edgewater Wireless Inc., a company whose revolutionary work in Wi-Fi has seen them recognized as one of the country’s 20 most innovative tech companies by the Canadian Innova-tion Exchange.
Q: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION FOR CUSTOMERS?
We’re centred around high-density network deployments for Wi-Fi. We’ve always been told that “faster is better.” Companies like Rogers pretty much staked their claim on mobile networks by trying to sell that they have the fastest connection. We’ve mirrored that value proposition by offering the fastest processing speed of any access point. By 2020, it’s expected that the Wi-Fi market will be worth some-thing in excess of 36 billion dollars worldwide. What you’re going to see is this proliferation of what we call “access points” in the industry (Wi-Fi devices or wireless routers), which will create a lot of network interference. Back in the day, when you’d travel, one person would have one wireless device, like their Blackberry. Now when I go to a meeting I’m typically carrying three Wi-Fi enabled devices: a tablet, a smartphone and a laptop. The average user carries two and a half devices. This has created an increase in network density as well. So, there are two things that are coming to bear in the Wi-Fi industry: a density issue, and an interference issue. We do an amazing job of mitigating the interference issue and addressing the capacity issue.
How does Edgewater Wireless WiFi3 technology respond to the modern need for high-density Wi-Fi networks?
WiFi3 technology is a wholesale differ-ence in Wi-Fi hardware. Every Wi-Fi device manufacturer on the market follows the standard configuration from chip makers like Broadcom and Qualcomm. Where we differ is at the hardware level. We’ve patented our own chip set and radio card that enables us to deliver three channels on a single Wi-Fi radio, which has never been done before. This fundamental change in hardware design allows us to deliver greater Wi-Fi capacity because we can layer more traffic across three channels where every other access point in the market can only deliver one channel per radio. The technology is only increasing in demand globally, and as that demand increases, we’re going to add more capacity and inter-ference, both of which we address better than anyone else.
Q: WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING PEOPLE NEED TO REMEMBER WHEN SETTING UP THEIR NETWORK?
There are a couple of things that are really important: one is called co-channel interference, and the other is adjacent-channel interference. Today, if I were to access my Wi-Fi and choose a network, I would see anywhere between 12 and 15 home networks. What people don’t realise is that if I’m broadcasting on channel 3, and my next-door neighbour is also broadcasting on channel 3 we’re, in a way, cancelling each other out. Your Wi-Fi router will power down its signal in order to allow the other Wi-Fi access point to broadcast on the same channel, and only when that broadcast is done will your router light back up. This competing traffic on the same channel is called co-channel interfer-
ence. Adjacent-channel interference happens when I’m broadcasting on Wi-Fi channel 3, and the next one is channel 6, and although the channels aren’t supposed to interfere with each other, they will because of an inter-action between something called the “side lobes” of the Wi-Fi signal. The closer those channels are together in proximity, the more likely it is that those side lobes will collide and cause interference. What the average user can do, on an Android device, is down-load a great application called “Tiny Scanner” that allows you to see who is broadcasting on which network, so that you can identify a channel that is being used with very low transmit power. This usually indicates that the user is further away from you, which means it won’t impact your Wi-Fi signal as much.
Another thing that’s important to understand is that if you’re right beside your home’s Wi-Fi access point, and your roommate is in a room 40 feet away and they’re streaming a video, they’re slowing down the network not only because they’re streaming but because of how far they are from the access point. It’s contention-based when it comes to Wi-Fi, distance matters. The slowest user impacts everyone else’s speed and dominates everyone else on the network.
Q: EDGEWATER WIRELESS WAS RECENTLY RECOGNIZED BY THE CANADIAN INNOVATION EXCHANGE AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S 20 MOST INNOVATIVE TECH COMPANIES. HOW DID YOU AND YOUR TEAM FEEL ABOUT THIS RECOGNITION?
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It is tremendous to be recognized by your home country as a Cana-dian technology company that’s doing something innovative in Wi-Fi. Having that accolade alone is great. To be recognized along with 20 other companies that are trying to move technology forward in Canada is excel-lent as well.
Our employees don’t get the same interaction with the market that some of the members of the senior manage-ment team do, so when you have an award given to you, it’s really based on their efforts. As much as manage-ment is trying to move the ball forward to create visibility of the product and the company, it’s ultimately the people behind us that are driving the innova-tion. They’re the folks that are making the technology happen.
Q: HOW HAS YOUR LOCATION IN THE KANATA NORTH BUSINESS COMMUNITY BENEFITED YOUR BUSINESS?
There are very few regional parts of Canada that have the level of talent that we have access to in Kanata. You certainly have a group of technology companies in Kanata that have the opportunity to network and work together, but most importantly it’s having access to the talent, the people who work and live there. It’s tremen-dous to have that so close to us.
THE KANATA NETWORKER 11
Q/A CORNER
JASON MALONEY VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - THINKWRAP
Q: WHO CAME UP WITH THE NAME? AND WHERE DID THE CONCEPT FOR THINKWRAP COMMERCE COME FROM?
The name Thinkwrap was originally created by CEO Steve Byrne as an identity for the company’s delivery methodology. The concept of wrap-ping solutions in thought was part of the idea. And the association with “shrink-wrap” to give a sense that everything we build is to off-the-shelf quality and standards. Eventually, the firm decided to embrace the name Thinkwrap as its core brand in connec-tion with the “Commerce” suffix that specifies the field of focus for the company.
Q: WERE THERE ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO OVERCOME IN LAUNCHING THE BUSINESS?
Thinkwrap started from very modest beginnings—from the basement of one of the founders’ homes. The founding group in the company were all extremely talented soft-ware engineers/architects who had worked together previously in another company called Montage. As a result of the highly regarded skills within the startup team, there were a lineup of clients knocking on the door to do business. So getting started and getting to revenue was relatively easy.
The real challenge came when the firm had progressed through start-up
stages and recognized the need to choose ONE area of business/technology to focus on. There were many, many interests and many, many opportunities. Eventually the company commissioned a management consul-tant to lead a strategy process which resulted in the selection of eCom-merce as the future direction. It turned out to be a good call.
Q: CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE SERVICES YOU OFFER?
We help retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers to plan, build, operate, and optimize omni-channel commerce solutions. Through the use of best-in-class technology, we integrate systems to work together in order to provide a seamless user experience across channels including online, mobile devices, in-store kiosks, assisted selling applications, customer service,
email marketing and even, in one case, through smart TVs.
Our roots in the early days of Think-wrap were as a pure system integration company. Now, we are evolving to become a full-service omni-channel operational partner to brands. We help with strategy, design, development, 24/7 application support, technical optimization and even helping their business grow through commerce optimization services.
Q: HOW LONG HAS THE COMPANY BEEN IN BUSINESS?
We started in February, 2004—so we are celebrating our 12th anniver-sary this year. Reaching back to the Montage days, much of our team had been working together since as early as the 1980s. The eCommerce landscape has changed a lot since we initially started.
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Q: WE SEE THAT THINKWRAP HAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED AN INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION INTO SPAIN. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE COMPANY?
This is a very exciting step for our company for many reasons. The eCommerce community is fairly small. We became familiarized with a high performing SAP Hybris team that worked with another larger inter-national consulting company. Our team and theirs really connected on a personal and cultural level.
This new office gives us access to a second talent pool. Valencia has a lot of talented developers and good post-secondary technology schools. Having an office in the EU means that we can recruit from a wider geographic region across Europe.
A new office in a time zone 6 hours ahead gives us a longer working day, whether we are marching towards a deadline on a new development project, or we are supporting our customers’ eCommerce operation.
Q: AS THE COMPANY CONTINUES TO GROW WHAT TYPE OF POSITIONS ARE YOU LOOKING TO FILL?
We are looking for bright, hardworking developers that have initiative to pick up something up and figure it out. We often must overcome multiple challenges with our customer engage-ments, so we look for right-minded people that enjoy investigating and solving problems.
The bulk of the positions that we look to fill are software development roles. The core technologies that we work with are Java-based, so we are always looking for great Java developers that are eager to become special-ists in the commerce platforms we work with, and to continually learn the latest in the ever-evolving eCom-merce technology landscape. Right now we are training our Java devel-opers on the top-rated SAP Hybris
and Oracle Commerce eCommerce platforms. These platforms are more like development frameworks, and must be integrated with other systems across the enterprise, including ERP, CRM, order management warehouse management, inventory management, email, fraud detection, tax calculation and many more.
Our eCommerce sites all require a solid front-end design component, and we also are building our front-end design capability as a company. The industry’s focus continues to move towards providing a common user experience—whether the shopper is on a laptop, smart phone or tablet.
Q: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE KANATA NORTH AS A LOCATION FOR YOUR NEW OFFICE? WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS?
Thinkwrap had held offices in Bell’s Corners for almost 7 years before moving to Kanata North, and as a result many of the company’s employees had purchased homes in Kanata and Kanata North. This was one of the major considerations. Additionally, and perhaps more perti-nent in the decision, was the fact that Kanata North is THE technology hub in Ottawa. There are a ton of talented software engineers in the area as well as a substantial number of high tech success stories. Thinkwrap wanted to be associated with this great legacy in Ottawa and additionally was seeking to increase its proximity to the talent hub.
Kanata North is THE technology hub in Ottawa.
These factors, combined with the fact that we found amazing space available in 450 March Road, made the decision a no-brainer.
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STICKY-NOTE WALLS GO DIGITAL WITH THE NUREVA SPAN™ SYSTEMBy Leia Tait, Nureva Alberta
Give your tried-and-true processes a high-tech makeover
Nureva Inc. is an award-winning collab-oration-solutions company with offices in Calgary and Ottawa. It creates prod-ucts that make it easy for teams to do great work together, whether in class-rooms, boardrooms or war rooms.
The company’s flagship product is the Span system. With it, Nureva tackles one of the last bastions of paper in workplaces today—the ever-ubiqui-tous wall of sticky notes.
Using stickies to visualize information on a wall is one of the most popular ways for people to work together, and it’s easy to understand why. Posted on a wall, all information is visible at once. Everyone in the room can see it and contribute. There’s space to explore possibilities and iterate. And stickies are easily moved, grouped, edited or replaced.
But realistically, in the age of digital data, sticking paper to a wall is no longer convenient, efficient or even particularly cost-effective. It ties up valuable real estate at a time when most organizations are strapped for space. Including remote workers is near impossible when participants have to be in the room to contribute.
And the results are notoriously difficult to share, as the visual outcomes must first be documented and translated into usable data.
The Span system offers a solution. It transforms an ordinary wall into an interactive collaboration space.
The system combines a panoramic projector with cloud-based software and the use of personal devices. Instead of papering a wall with sticky notes and other bits, teams create expansive virtual canvases. Team members still fill the space with sticky notes, images and sketches, but now these contributions are digital. The shift means teams can give their collaboration experience a high-tech upgrade without altering their current processes.
Nureva launched the Span system in 2015, and with it, a new category of collaboration technology. The company is the newest venture of industry veterans David Martin and Nancy Knowlton. As the founders and visionaries behind SMART technolo-gies for its first 25 years, Martin and Knowlton established a strong pres-ence in Kanata more than two decades ago. They founded Nureva in 2014 and celebrated the first anniversary of its Ottawa branch in December 2015. An open house that month showcased the Span system’s potential to trans-form visual collaboration.
Swap the wall for a digital canvas
The heart of the Span system is the digital canvas. Each canvas gives teams an expansive 40’ (12.2 m) wide digital workspace for collaborating in the cloud. At the same time, a Span system featuring one, two or three projectors transforms standard walls into 10’, 20’ or 30’ (3.1, 6.1 or 9.1 m) wide interactive displays. In just a few swipes, users at the wall can pan across the full 40’ of digital canvas. It’s a setup that brings all the conve-nience and flexibility of today’s online and touch technologies to traditional collaboration.
Team members add to the canvas by working directly at the wall or contrib-uting from tablets or laptops. Because the software is cloud-based, gaining input from every team member is finally possible. In-room and remote staff can work together in real time, simultaneously adding, editing and organizing content. All changes are instantly visible because the canvas is perpetually up-to-date. There’s absolutely no need to save. And for the purposes of reviewing, archiving or sharing with others, the canvas is easily exported as a PDF or Excel file at any time.
Essentially, the Span system enables users to trade the permanence of paper for the persistence of digital data.
Working on a tablet and at the wall Span canvas Working at the wall
14 THE KANATA NETWORKER
The canvas is always available—to any team member at any time. And there’s no limit to the number of canvases a team can create. Switching from one to another takes just two touches. This flexibility means many teams can use the system in one space. There’s no need to lock down meeting rooms for days or weeks to power through an intensive visual-collaboration process.
Learn more
The Span system is available with one, two or three projectors. One projects a 10’ (3.1 m) wide view of the canvas and is particularly ideal for team work-
spaces, huddle rooms and untapped areas in organizations where space is at a premium. A two-projector system projects a 20’ (6.1 m) wide view that enables team members collaborating at the wall to always see 50 percent of the total canvas at once. This system supports intensive visual, problem-solving and planning activities typical in design thinking, lean and agile management, and business plan-ning. It’s ideal for use in conference rooms, large meeting rooms and even corridors or other flex spaces. Three projectors create a 30’ (9.1 m) wide space that puts 75 percent of the canvas in view at all times. This system
can be configured to support a variety of scenarios, including an ultra-pan-oramic wall, wrapping a corner or wrapping a full huddle room.
At its launch at InfoComm 2015, the Span system received Best of Show awards from both Telepresence Options and rAVe Publications. It is currently being sold through Nureva’s growing global network of authorized dealers and distributors. Contact Nureva directly to visit its office in the Kanata Research Park, schedule a live 1:1 demo or find a reseller near you.
On March 23, I’m inviting everyone over.JENNIFER HOWE, AT CHARTWELL SINCE 2007.CHARTWELL.COM
Conditions may apply.
20 Shirley’s Brook Dr., Kanata613-663-2967
Make us part of your story.
SPEAKER SERIES
GRIEF & GRIEVINGMarch 23 • 7pm
THE KANATA NETWORKER 15
THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION IN SENIORS’ HEALTH AND WELLNESS
A popular misconception that we come across is that seniors choose a retire-ment living lifestyle solely because they’ve experienced a health scare and now require the availability of care services—but that couldn’t be more untrue! In fact, many of the residents I’ve come to know well have chosen to move in for a variety of reasons: because they no longer wish to main-tain a home (which entails a lot of work, as we all know—from cutting grass and shoveling driveways to every day clean-up and repairs), could benefit from some help with cooking nutri-tional meals or getting back and forth to appointments, or simply because they feel lonely living on their own. On this last point I’d like to speak further.
It ’s cer tainly not uncommon to experience feelings of loneliness or depression in your later years, espe-cially if you’ve recently lost a spouse or close friend, or your family doesn’t live nearby. This is a motivating factor for many older individuals who consider living in a community of peers. Take one of our residents, Jennifer, for example: self-identifying as a “people-person” who thrives on conversation and regular socialization, she knew after her husband passed away that she wouldn’t be happy living on her own. Though she admits to being “fed up with cooking and housework,” she didn’t move in because she couldn’t handle it, or due to a health condi-tion; she was actively seeking a social support network and engaging life-style. And, happily, she found what she was looking for at her retirement residence, and has since become very good friends with a resident named Marilyn.
I can’t stress enough how important social engagement—or participation in meaningful activities and maintaining personal relationships—is to one’s mental and emotional well-being. It’s a crucial component of healthy and successful aging, with many studies showing it can decrease seniors’ risk of depression and disability, and even lead to better cognitive health, among many other physiological benefits. The proof is well documented, as Statis-tics Canada research shows that the greater the number of frequent social activities that a senior participates in, the higher the odds of them reporting positive, self-perceived wellness, and the lower the odds of reporting them-selves as lonely or dissatisfied with life.
It’s therefore encouraging to see so many of today’s seniors proactively considering retirement living as a solu-tion to some of the challenges they face as they age, including feelings of social isolation. In a seniors’ commu-nity, residents mingle with staff and peers on a daily basis during meals, activities, outings, and in many other circumstances, with total freedom to choose how often to socialize and where.
The greater the number of frequent social activities that a senior participates in, the higher the odds of them reporting positive, self-perceived wellness and the lower the odds of reporting themselves as lonely or dissatisfied with life.
Understandably, not everyone needs the same amount of daily socializa-tion, which is why having that choice is so important. Relax in the privacy of your suite, participate in the activi-
ties and outings you enjoy, come and go from the residence as you please, whatever your personal preference! And although retirement living is a great option, that’s not to say that other living options aren’t available to you too, like moving in with a family member or choosing another accommodation choice. Regardless, having the self-awareness that living on your own may not be conducive to your emotional or mental wellness is what’s important, especially for those personalities who know their happi-ness is particularly tied to regular socialization.
Margaret Dennis, Sales Consultant Telephone: 613-663-2967
CHARTWELL KANATA retirement residence 20 Shirley’s Brook Drive, Kanata, ON K2K 2W8
www.chartwell.com
16 THE KANATA NETWORKER
KANATA NORTH: STILL BUSTLING WITH ENERGY AND OPPORTUNITYWritten by Leo Valiquette for the Ottawa Business Journal Feb. 18, 2016
Kanata North Touts Itself as the place where Serious Tech gets done
Silicon Valley North. Kanata’s Golden Mile. Terrytown.
Call it what you will, one thing has never changed – this is still a place where tech happens. Ninety per cent of all commu-nications R&D in Canada still takes place in Ottawa, and 90 per cent of that is centered in Kanata.
But the area has diversified itself consid-erably since the heyday of the telecom boom. Business and consumer software, including cloud services, has come to rival the traditional roots in telecom.
Anyone who still believes the old asser-tion that Kanata North is a land of R&D branch plants devoid of head office hustle needs to take a fresh look at the numbers.
About 60 per cent of the tech compa-nies operating in Kanata North are head office operations. It’s a mixed group of eager up and comers – 97 per cent of companies in the area have fewer than 50 employees.
Productivity Beyond ParDoyletech Corp. recently completed an Economic Impact Study and Market Gap Analysis for the Kanata North BIA, which concluded that the area has an annual economic impact of $7.8 billion. That puts its productivity per worker at three times or more the national average.
For Doyletech partner and analyst Rick Clayton, Kanata North represents “a mighty solution” to Canada’s economic growth problems arising from an over-dependence on commodities and stagnant productivity.
Still Bustling with Energy and Opportunity“Kanata North is a shining example of Canadian smarts being used around the world through the various domestic and multinational firms that are working here,” he said. “And these smarts are very, very good — these individuals can command higher salaries in a global economy, which in turn drives local economic activity.”
A Deep and Stable Talent Pool
But who are these smart people?
It’s a mix of the old guard and the new. A recent survey found that nowhere else in Canada is there a community of devel-opers, engineers and commercialization strategists clustered so close to where they work.
In fact, 50 per cent of respondents said they live within five kilometres of where they work in Kanata. That compares with a national average of 36 per cent. Sixty per cent of tech workers have been in the area for at least six years, while 30 per cent have been at it for 10 years or more.
“For ambitious startups or seasoned multinationals alike, Kanata North has the tech talent and the ready real estate to put down roots and build compelling products for global markets,” said Jenna Sudds, Executive Director of the Kanata North BIA.
A Hotbed for GrowthThe seeds of Ottawa’s tech sector were sown here decades ago and just down the road on Carling Avenue, she said, with names like Computing Devices of Canada, Bell Northern Research (BNR) and then Nortel Networks. This was followed by the ecosystem built around Sir Terry Matthews’s Mitel Networks, Newbridge Networks and Wesley Clover.
A new generation of companies like Gigataur and You.i TV are blazing new trails in software and dynamic growth markets like over the top video services. The TEDx Kanata event is giving Kanata North fresh profile among innovators and entrepreneurs from outside the area.
L-Spark, Canada’s only dedicated incu-bator and accelerator for Enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), is located here. So too is CENGN, a consortium accelerating the commercialization of next-generation communications solu-tions for the cloud and the Internet of Things.
“Whether it’s a small or large company, they’re here for the same reason – the benefits of clustering,” said Martin Vandewouw, President of KRP Properties – the area’s largest commercial propertydeveloper and landlord. “They want to network, share ideas, get together and speak as a single voice, and they’re also out here because of the talent.”
Profiling the people of Kanata NorthIn the coming months, we’ll feature the stories of Kanata North’s people and companies. This series will explore how the area is vibrating with hidden energy and opportunity, and enjoying a technology renaissance that makes it a dynamic part of the technology sector for the National Capital Region and all of Canada.
Jenna Sudds, Executive Director of Kanata North Business Association
