Wavefront Announces New Program to Help Canada Capitalize on the Mobile Revolution
News Release
For Immediate Release
July 21, 2015 – Vancouver, British Columbia
Today, Wavefront, Canada’s Wireless Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR), announced a new five-year program that will help Canada capitalize on the next wave of economic growth – one that is powered by mobile and wireless technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions. Leveraging $8 million in federal funding through the CECR Program of the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), and more than $14 million of cash and in-kind contributions from industry, Wavefront will equip Canadian companies for success in the mobile revolution, and increase the commercialization and adoption of mobile innovations. By the end of 2021, the organization expects to fuel the growth of over 100 new start-ups, and help to generate more than 4,000 new direct jobs and $320 million in GDP.
Wavefront’s national CECR Program will help firms seize unprecedented market opportunity as the world rapidly transitions from the industrial age to a digital age powered by mobile and wireless technologies, M2M solutions, big data and analytics. Together with industry, government and academic partners, it will build Canada’s wireless ecosystem by addressing the needs of both technology developers and receptors including:
- Entrepreneurs and SMEs that aim to commercialize and market mobile technologies globally to catalyze business growth and success; these companies will benefit from Wavefront’s technology development, business acceleration and market linkage programs; and
- Enterprise companies in vertical sectors that could increase competitiveness and productivity by adopting wireless solutions; these firms will benefit from Wavefront consulting services, which enable the application of wireless technologies and the implementation of mobile business strategies.
“Under our government’s updated Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, we are focused on harnessing Canadian science to boost business innovation, ” said Ed Holder, Minister of State for Science and Technology. “The Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research are supporting competitive Canadian businesses to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace while creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians.”
“Our government is proud to support these outstanding centres, which are helping to bridge the challenging gap between innovation and commercialization,” said Andrew Saxton, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for North Vancouver. “As a Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research, Wavefront supported successful Canadian wireless companies who create high-quality jobs and economic growth in Vancouver and Canada.”
“We are laser focused on the opportunities presented by mobile and wireless innovations, the IoT and M2M solutions,” said Jim Maynard, President and CEO of Wavefront. “These disruptive technologies will deliver the same economic impact as steam and electric power during the industrial revolution. We will leverage this industry-driven program to further accelerate the commercial success of our wireless firms. This investment also reinforces the Government of Canada’s commitment to exploit the mobile revolution to fuel the prosperity of Canadians by delivering more than a billion dollars of economic impact over the 10 years of our CECR.”
“This CECR funding will enable us to expand our integrated suite of technical, business and market services for start-ups, SMEs and enterprise firms,” said Peter van der Gracht, Chair of the Board of Wavefront. “By addressing all facets of growth, we help companies develop the right product for the right market, acquire clients, and generate revenue in a cohesive way. We do not achieve these objectives in isolation; we partner with accelerators, crown corporations, and many industry leaders. This collaborative approach increases the customer, investment and market readiness of wireless firms, driving growth and success.”
“Rogers has been proud to work with Wavefront for more than four years to help foster the growth and success of technology entrepreneurs in Canada,” said Nitin Kawale, President, Enterprise Business Unit, Rogers. “Supporting innovation and Canadian businesses is in our DNA and our collaboration with Wavefront helps us to drive Canadian wireless innovation and growth among entrepreneurs in the IoT and wireless space. We look forward to building on results achieved to date by delivering up to $6 million in value to the Wavefront community over the next five years. These funds will help expand on Wavefront’s mentorship program and wireless product development services.”
“Sierra Wireless is building the Internet of Things and is always seeking ways to expand the ecosystem, foster new partnerships, and accelerate the application of open and interoperable IoT systems,” said Philippe Guillemette, CTO of Sierra Wireless. “Over the last seven years of our collaboration, Wavefront has proven to be a valuable partner, enabling us to connect with wireless innovators across Canada. We are proud to continue our support with both financial and in-kind contributions towards the CECR program and growing the IoT industry ecosystem.”
“In our work with wireless communities around the world, HP has found Wavefront to be in a category of its own, advancing wireless innovation with a focus and programs unlike any other facility,” said Roger Walker, Country Manager, HP Software. “By providing these [remote mobile application testing and monitoring] services, we are working together to help Canadian enterprise organizations accelerate their adoption of mobile technology. As our preferred implementation partner, Wavefront will play a key role in the delivery of these services.”
“As one of Canada’s largest R&D investors and IT exporters we are focused on helping Canadian companies progress,” said Pat Horgan, Vice President, IBM Canada. “Our relationship with Wavefront helps us catalyze the growth of high-potential wireless entrepreneurs and firms from coast to coast. In support of its CECR Program, we will contribute space for startups to collaborate in events, and provide access to executive mentors, support for industry events and software development tools. This will help Canadian companies better capitalize on capturing a greater share of worldwide mobile, IoT and M2M markets.”
About Wavefront
Wavefront is Canada’s Centre of Excellence for Wireless Commercialization and Research (CECR), accelerating the growth and success of wireless companies by connecting them with critical resources, partners and opportunities, to drive economic and social benefits for Canada. With a focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and mobile enterprise, Wavefront enables Canadian wireless firms to commercialize mobile technologies, accelerate business development, and expand into new international markets. According to clients served from November 2010 to March 2015, Wavefront enabled the creation of 1,176 new start-up jobs, and an additional 3,457 additional industry jobs; helped to generate almost $300 million in GDP; and turned every dollar of public funding received into $14.5 in economic benefits (measured as GDP). For more information, and to join the Wavefront Community, please visit www.wavefrontac.com.
Media Contact
Cindy Cheng
Marketing Manager
Wavefront
Office: 778.328.1962
cindy.cheng@wavefrontac.com
Backgrounder: What is The Internet of Things (IoT) and Why Is It Important?
Imagine technology solutions that could help companies capitalize on a multi-trillion dollar market opportunity – and save $400 billion in healthcare costs, reduce the average commute time by one full week annually, and cut carbon emissions by 27 million tonnes. These and many other innovations will be made possible by the ‘Internet of Things’– a wireless revolution enabled by machine-to-machine (M2M) technology and connected devices.
M2M technology connects sensor-based objects, enabling them to talk to each other and take action without human intervention. This technology already remotely monitors everything from the traffic on our streets, to the energy usage in our homes, and even medical devices in our bodies such as pacemakers and blood sugar monitors.
But this is just the beginning. Today, mobile technology empowers the individual. Tomorrow, M2M technology will revolutionize the marketplace, industry, and the way we live. It will spawn new products, processes and business models that boost our national productivity and global competitiveness. And when combined with cloud computing and big data analytics, M2M solutions will help us address some of the greatest challenges we face as a society.
This wave of innovation also brings a unique economic opportunity to Canada’s door. There will be an estimated 50 billion connected devices around the world by the end of the decade, creating a $14.4 trillion business opportunity.
As Canada’s wireless Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR), Wavefront is committed to helping Canada to seize the many opportunities presented by the mobile revolution, and reap long-term economic and social benefits for Canadians.
Backgrounder: About Wavefront Services
With a focus on mobile applications, software, next generation networks, and the Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, Wavefront is helping to create a Canadian ecosystem of wireless applications and markets. To achieve this goal, the organization provides:
- Acceleration Programs that help early-stage wireless companies accelerate their growth through smart connections to experts, incubation space, training, funding and technical resources. This includes the BCIC Venture Acceleration Program; Machine-to-Machine Accelerator Program; Rogers Innovation Mentorship Program.
- Technical Programs and Services, along with expert design and engineering resources, that set mobile development projects apart from the competition – from the design of mobile applications to the creation of connected devices for M2M solutions.
- Business Advisory Services that address specific hurdles to growth, market and investment-readiness and catalyze commercial success. This includes the development of mobile strategies; strategic business planning; market intelligence and assessment; and market expansion.
- Enterprise Consulting Services across several practice areas to assist wireless and non-wireless companies – from start-ups creating groundbreaking new wireless innovations to enterprises across every industry using mobile technology to introduce game-changing ideas to their business – in developing actionable mobile strategies.
- Mobile Development Test Services that accelerate the process of bringing wireless businesses from R&D to feature-set development to sales and revenue-stream development. This includes cloud-based mobile testing and monitoring; mobile device rental libraries; mobile application usability studies and heuristic evaluations; technical preparation and consulting and in-house tech and developer centres.
- Global Market Linkages that accelerate the expansion into international markets, and facilitate connections to customers, partners, suppliers, resellers, and top talent in Canada and around the world
- Access to Funding that drives firm growth and expansion, including the Wavefront Accelerated Program with NRC-IRAP, International Market Entry Program and linkages to angel & venture funding sources.
Wavefront also helps to facilitate commercial engagement among mobile operators, platform providers, device manufacturers, enterprise companies and innovative developers in Canada.
These services work together as an integrated suite to accelerate Canadian wireless and mobile technology development, de-risk emerging wireless companies, and stimulate increased adoption of wireless and mobile solutions across all sectors of the domestic and global economy.
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