Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Open Digital Doors Toronto: techweek.to May 28-June 1, 2007



We've got an e-mail from Dave Forde, Chair ­ of Toronto Technology Week:
Folks ­ just to let you know, the Toronto Tech Week site has been completed, you can visit it at www.techweek.to feel free to share the link with you co-workers, clients and others in the industry. This is going to be an exciting week and a great opportunity to celebrate, education and network!

The website's calender has been populated with some of the events that are taking place that week and more are still to be finalized by the respective organizers.

I'll be hosting an after work networking event tomorrow at Shoeless Joe's 401 King Street West (King St. W/ Spadina) - 6:30 PM if anyone is interested in joining (brings your business cards and get ready for some great conversations). http://profectio.com/shoeless-schmooze-april-4-toronto/

Feel free to contact me with any questions or if your company would like to get involved.

Dave Forde
Chair ­ Toronto Technology Week
(416) 760-3344
http://www.techweek.to/

What can our SIP group bring to it?

2 comments:

The Vision Builder said...

Techweek Newsletter #3
May 28, 2007

New IBM report ranks Toronto first as Digital Media location in group of world-leading ICT venues

The Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) today released a study by IBM's New Jersey-based Global Location Strategies Team which finds that Toronto's Information and Communicaton Technology (ICT) sector ranks with world leaders and finishes well ahead of the pack in digital media. The report compared Toronto to six of the most successful ICT venues worldwide in terms of its attractiveness as an investment location.

In digital media, Toronto received high marks for its strong base of creative industries, its large pool of computer programmers and creative media talent and its attractiveness as a place to live for international recruits.

The study, "Toronto's Competitive Positioning in the ICT sector" looked at four ICT sub-sectors: digital media, professional shared services, next generation electronics and specialist software development. The third largest ICT cluster in North America, Toronto ranked as the most ideal location in two sub-sectors, digital media and professional shared services. Toronto recieved top grades for quality and came second only to Bangalore for low operating costs. In next generation electronics and specialist software development, Toronto ranked very competitively against other North American alternatives. The regions studied were Bangalore, Boston, Frankfurt, Manchester, San Jose and Washington, D.C.

"This report confirms that as part of the Toronto Region's impressive ICT story overall, our digital media story is exceptional. Compared to world-leading ICT regions worldwide, we offer an extraordinary combination of outstanding R&D, top talent and advanced digital media industries," said Mike Williams, Senior Vice-President, Investment Attraction, TRRA.

Following welcome remarks by Mayor David Miller to kick-off Toronto Technology Week, Williams called on delegates to combine forces to promote Toronto to the world, "Our strength in digital media cannot remain one of this city's best kept economic secrets. We must increase our presence on the world-stage."

Williams told the crowd about Toronto-based Side Effects, creator of one of Hollywood's most used special effects and animation software programs. The recipient of two Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement, Side Effects Software CEO, Kim Davidson said, "It makes good business sense for Side Effects to be in Toronto. The region offers us highly-skilled employees from our regional colleges and universities as well as the opportunity to partner with research labs and local production facilities." Side Effects Houdini software has been used in over 200 feature films including the Spider-Man and Harry Potter series as well as the Lord of the Rings and Matrix trilogies.

Williams said we should build upon industry-led public-private initiatives such as CONCERT - the Consortium on New Media, Creative and Entertainment R&D in the Toronto Region. CONCERT is developing a regional plan to increase capacity at the convergence of digital media, ICT and screen-based R&D with over 25 partners including Xenophile Media, Motorola Canada, Interactive Ontario, the Ontario College of Art & Design, Ryerson University and York University. It grows out of the outstanding R&D and training taking place today in universities, colleges and industry across the Toronto Region. Stan Shapson, York's Vice-President Research & Innovation and Chair of CONCERT's Steering Committee said, "CONCERT brings together industry, academia and government to fuel the economic development of Toronto's creative and entertainment industries and to showcase our strengths to the world."

IBM Global Business Services' Global Location Strategies Team is one of the most well-respected research organizations worldwide for understanding and measuring ICT companies' location decision-making. Headquartered in New Jersey, they have staff based around the world to better monitor the dynamics and movement of ICT investment worldwide. For this study, they looked at thousands of data points to assess both the qualitative attractiveness of each location (e.g. business environment, infrastructure, potential to recruit staff, language skills) and the relative operating costs.

Commissioned by TRRA, the study was partly funded by the Community Investment Support Program at International Trade Canada. Partners in the study were the City of Toronto, the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, TEDCO and ICT Toronto.

About TRRA
Launched in October 2005, the Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) is an innovative network of regional leaders engaged in transforming the Toronto Region into a world-leading centre for research and research-intensive industry. TRRA serves the broader Toronto Region, embracing Hamilton, Guelph, the Waterloo Region and the Greater Toronto Area. The board of directors is composed of presidents, chief executive officers and senior leaders from the region's business, research and municipal organizations. TRRA is a results-oriented, non-profit organization support by a wide range of regional stakeholders and the governments of Ontario and Canada. For more information about TRRA, please visit www.trra.ca

For further information: Rebecca Finlay, TRRA Communications (416) 673-6673 rfinlay@trra.ca

Anonymous said...

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