Ottawa firms pursue online, communications innovation

Tech Now: Mitel

There is a lot of innovation on the go in Ottawa. Much of it bubbles below the surface but there are some clear trends shaping where the work is happening.

And a lot of that work is happening on the web.

An example of this trend is the Web Alive product from Avaya. Each person who uses this application is represented by an onscreen avatar, which they control through either a phone link-up or onscreen text commands.

The idea was launched by Nortel two years ago and was then sold to Avaya. The company then refined, repackaged and re-launched it.

To further this innovation, Avaya is putting $165 million into its Ottawa labs. Tech firms Ericsson and Ciena also have about a thousand research staff here, and like Avaya, their Ottawa offices were built on the bones of Nortel.

"The key work being done in Ottawa is…directly related to the products we sell to consumers around the world," said Mark Henderson, chief executive officer of Ericsson Canada.

Henderson also said the Ericsson offices in Ottawa focus on developing new wireless technology—known as LTE—which will open many new ways for people to communicate.

Keith Shank, head of Advanced Labs for Ericsson, predicts there will be 50 billion devices connected to some kind of network by 2020.

The province of Ontario poured $25 million into Ciena's Ottawa labs in the past. The labs will continue to benefit from a total investment of $900 million over the next five years.

All the investment and innovation has meant more businesses popping up across the city, such as A-Maps Environmental.

A-Maps Environmental takes data from places like the U.S. space program and Health Canada, and combines it with mapping technology to provide forecasts on the impact of plans, such as rebuilding a roadway.

"We are able to take the information and combine all the technology and data and analysis and provide insight into the likely health impacts of a road project on people in the surrounding area."