So what's the state of Canada's tech sector, which are the big players, the up and comers, and the trends? For the past 15 years all that and more has been in the annual Branham 300 list.
The report is assembled by Ottawa-based Branham Group founded by Wayne Gudbranson. Branham analyzes the ICT sector in Canada.
This year the big trend was mergers and acquisitions. Gudbranson tells me it is clear that this is now the preferred method of growth. More than 50 companies changed on this year's list compared to last year, most through M & A.
The listing ranks by revenue and lists the top 250 firms plus the top 25 Multinationals and the top 25 Up and Comers. For the fifth year, Nortel is number one; Celestica is number 2, the wireless and data divisions of BCE, Telus and Rogers round out the top 5.
There are 38 Ottawa-based firms in the top 250, that's 15 percent of the total and 13 firms are in the top 100. For comparison - Montreal has 32 firms, Calgary, 22.
IBM is ranked as Canada's largest multinational operation.
In Hardware, half a dozen local firms make a strong showing in the top 25 companies.
In Software Gudbranson says we are strong in embedded software but only 2 of the top 25 firms are Ottawa based, Corel and Cognos,
Among Movers and Shakers, Ottawa's Wi-Lan is tops in the country ... jumping up 94 places on the top 250 list.
And among the 25 Up and Comers, listed for innovative ideas, there are four firms from Ottawa, Bioniq, Devshop, Hegyi Geomatics and Versature. Gudbranson says in his view some of the others on the list may hold higher potential.
Gudbranson says he's sad to see that Ottawa's star has dimmed a bit, in fact Ontario, while still number one overall has slipped and B.C. has moved to number two, Quebec drops to number three. Gudbranson says the tech industry has become more national in scope and other cities, Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver , Kitchener-Waterloo are among those catching up to Ottawa.
The full report is at the Branham website: www.branhamgroup.com
Paul's Website of the week: www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org
Today is the first day or spring... You might to get in the mood for spring with a visit to the top gardening site in the world run by the University of B.C. Botanical Garden. Half a million hits a month.
This Sunday one of the stories on TECH NOW will be look at the amazing impact of cell phones in Africa. And don't forget to check our website www.ctvottawa.ca.
