|
Software Development
Software Players
The Canadian software industry, which is a major sub-sector of the
Information and Communications Technology Sector (ICT), is comprised of
primarily small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), although a number of
multi-national enterprises also exist. Small and medium-sized players in
the industry include:
- Aerde Environmental Research
- Providing software and related
services in the area of remote sensing, project planning and management,
GIS data integration and analysis tasks in the following areas: radar
remote sensing applications development, education and training, and
environmental policy and management.
- Bio-Software
-Developing software products designed to collect,
manage and interpret environmental data. Software is constructed to deal
with the entire range of environmental data, including water, energy,
waste.
- CadhamHayes Systems Inc.
(www.cadhamhayes.ca)
- Dedicated to developing new information technologies for environmental
data management. CadhamHayes has recently introduced NewLeaf, an
innovative software technology for environmental monitoring and data
management. NewLeaf's flexibility makes it applicable to a range of
applications in activities such as water resources management and flood
forecasting, meteorological data gathering, air quality monitoring,
environmental emergency preparedness, and many other integrated
environmental monitoring applications
- CANATEC Consultants
-The CANATEC software is a database for ice
data. It allows firms to display Arctic ice statistics in minutes, a
task which previously took a day to complete.
- Caribou Systems Corporation
(www.caribousystems.com)-
Caribou produces Environmental Management System software for its
corporate clients. The Caribou System is a valuable tool for corporate
environmental managers. It is particularly useful for those managers
responsible for a wide spectrum of environmental issues at multiple
locations. The Caribou System provides instant access and live data
management of a complete environmental portfolio.
- DPL Systems Engineering
(www.dpl.ca)-
DPL Systems Engineering provides turnkey control systems and engineering
consultation for a range of Canadian industrial sectors. DPL's
engineering products and services focus on providing industrial
automation systems performing water and waste analyses. DPL focuses on
serving municipal and industrial markets.
- Environmental Software Associates Ltd. (ESA)
- Geomatics Industry Association of Canada
- Geostat Systems International Inc.
Market Drivers and Barriers
In 1995, the software and computer services industry generated $14.3
billion in revenue and comprised 1.5% of total GDP in Canada. The
geographic concentration of Canadian software firms is in the larger
metropolitan areas of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Canada’s
software market is relatively small compared to foreign markets and there
is a lack of demand for Canadian products and services within the Canadian
market mainly due to potential Canadian clients utilizing products and
services from outside of Canada. Market drivers in the software industry
in Canada include a combination of regulatory, environmental corporate
citizenship,
costs savings/efficiency, liability/risk management, technological
advancement. These market-based, technological and social responsibility
drivers combine to create the market for software company’s products and
services.
Several barriers to entry exist for firms trying to penetrate this
market. Some of the most common barriers were:
- a lack of financial resources for marketing and business
development;
- difficulty and expense of educating immature markets and creating
sufficient awareness of the value of new products and services; and
- the absence of strong regulatory pressure which, in some cases,
drives the demand for products and services.
Source: Strategis,
Industry Canada's Information Source for Canadian Business
Software Spending
Canada ranks #6 worldwide in terms of software spending behind the
United States, Japan, the UK, France, and Germany. Every year, Canada’s
spending has increased in order to remain competitive in a global front.
Software Spending for Canada and the United States
(# Worldwide Ranking)
| |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
| |
Spending (US$M) |
% of World |
Spending (US$M) |
% of World |
Spending (US$M) |
% of World |
Spending (US$M) |
% of World |
Spending (US$M) |
% of World |
|
Canada (#6) |
2,055 |
2.9% |
2,196 |
2.7% |
2,484 |
2.6% |
3,080 |
2.9% |
3,433 |
3% |
|
US (#1) |
33,020 |
46.2% |
37,780 |
46.6% |
40,669 |
42.5% |
46,802 |
44.7% |
54,010 |
47.1% |
Source: Digital Planet-The Global Information Economy
|
