Ten Canadian software companies to watch

IDC Canada has highlighted ten emerging Canadian software companies in a new research study (press release; research store). According to IDC, these companies have “the potential to make an impact in the information and communications technology (ICT) market”.

I haven’t gotten my hands on the study but a ComputerWorld Canada article provides some very high level pointers on criteria and take-aways. In the article, executives from a few of the selected companies talk about what they see as key factors to success, including:

• Networking through industry associations and research groups
• Seeking the right partnerships
• Building a strong customer base
• Staying close and listening to the customers while keeping an eye on the evolving market
• Clarity of vision

The ten Canadian companies examined in the study are:

1. Apparent Networks
2. Casero
3. Coveo
4. Halogen
5. Idée Inc.
6. Loki Management Systems
7. M-Tech
8. Objectworld
9. Osellus
10. Privasoft

Links of note - October 9

Temple of Technology: Interview with Amiga CEO - Who knew? Amiga is (still) developing a new operating system. Ah, the good old Commodore days…

Business Week: First, blame the software - Good article about the “human factor” behind Airbus’ software issues that caused the company to delay delivery of the new A380. The Airbus CEO stepped down this weekend (after the BW article was published), further highlighting the management issues at the aircraft manufacturer.

The New PR: Five steps to starting a successful blog - Ryan Anderson provides great advice for anyone looking to create a blog.

Evoke 2006 demoparty and computer festival in Cologne

Great festival across the ocean: Evoke 2006 is starting today in Cologne, Germany.  Programmers, graphic artists and musicians are coming together to show off their skills in a number of categories. Demoscene.tv will be broadcasting live from the party.

(via heise.de)

JAlbum update

I love JAlbum. I downloaded it a few weeks ago because I wanted a better way to put photos on my website. Now I finally got around to trying it out. It is a fantastic program. And it is free (users can donate money if they like). JAlbum comes with the option of choosing different skins for the albums, and there is a whole “ecosystem” of people who design skins.

I have used the Fotoplayer skin for my new galleries (to see an example click here). Fotoplayer.com has a free trial version and can be upgraded to a Lite version and a Pro version, which even includes online shop capabilities for professional photographers. For a snapshot photographer like me, the trial version is enough, although I may upgrade to Lite at some point.

I keep reading about Flickr and Bubbleshare, which are easy to use and have great blog integration. What I like about JAlbum are the features, flexibility and design options. Blog integration would be nice. The Fotoplayer skin already comes with an RSS feed, so who knows what features may get added next. I also like that I can keep the photos on my own website, and don’t have to store them on Flickr or Bubbleshare. But I can see the attraction of their services. Now if the people behind Fotoplayer and JAlbum got together and offered a hosted online version… well, just a thought.

The Sleuth’s surprising online success: it’s no mystery

Just reading through the March edition of The Merchant of Menace, the newsletter of Toronto mystery bookstore Sleuth of Baker Street. It includes an online success story of its own. The Sleuth started an online store a few months ago. According to the newsletter, the owners were surprised about the number of non-mysteries that people ordered through their online shop.

Being a Sleuth customer myself, I think there’s a simple reason. The Sleuth is a great specialized store with outstanding customer service, which includes staff with passion, real knowledge and insights about the authors and books they sell. Those qualities are hard to find in the age of mega bookstores and online-only retailers, and they deserve support. Buying non-mysteries through the Sleuth’s online store is easy and convenient, and an additional way for happy customers to support an independent book store.

The online shop is powered by Canadian software TBM BookManager, which - according to its website – helps more than 400 bookstores across Canada and internationally. The first version of the point-of-sale software came out in 1986, and twenty years later it has a database of more than four million titles and added functionality that lets independent book stores create their own online store.

It may not be the type of Internet business that gets Web 2.0 enthusiasts excited. But to me, this is what much of the power of the Internet is really about – making self-service easy and simple for the interests of individuals and niche markets.

There’s an interview with TBM BookManager founder and president Michael Neil in the March print edition of book trade magazine “Quill and Quire”. I’ll see if I can pick up a copy next time I am in The Sleuth.

I’m giving JAlbum a try

For years I’ve been putting photos on my little personal homepage so my family and friends in Germany can see what we’re up to here in Toronto. I’ve tried Corel (Jasc) Photo Album, which wasn’t great, and Google’s Picasa, which was an okay if somewhat limited experience. And Flickr still doesn’t seem all that appealing to me, despite its great blog integration. But now I found JAlbum. It looks like a great free software tool that allows a lot of flexibility and is written for the exact purpose of creating photo albums on the web, so I will give it a try. It just seems to be in contrast to many of the other digital imaging tools which are treating web album creation as an afterthought. I’ve just started using JAlbum. Let’s see how it goes. 

Canada’s Top 300 Technology Companies according to Branham

The Branham Group announced their annual listing of the top 300 Canadian technology companies. Not a lot of suprises in 2006 but it provides a good overview of the Canadian market. Categories include:

• Top 25 Multinationals
• Top 20 Movers and Shakers
• Top 25 Up and Comers
• Top 25 Canadian Software Companies
• Top 25 Canadian IT Professional Services Companies
• Top 10 Canadian IT Security Companies
• Top 10 Canadian xSPCompanies
• Top 10 Canadian Wireless Solution Providers
• Top 25 ICT Hardware and Infrastructure Companies