Silicon chips made from a wafer – on this piece of silicon are 2.7 million interacting little “machines”.
OKANAGAN TECH SECTOR all about talent W
| BY TRACEY FREDRICKSON
hile a fabulous lifestyle is what most people associate with the Okanagan Valley, the
area’s rapidly evolving technology sector exemplifi es the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the region’s economy. From medical equipment and software companies, to manufacturers of aerospace products and wireless communications, an increasing number of tech-related businesses are calling the Central Okanagan home, making it the third largest technology zone in British Columbia after Vancouver and Victoria.
And no wonder – the valley has many of the essential elements that tech fi rms, start-ups especially, need to grow their businesses: access to skilled labour, major educational facilities to link with research initiatives, capital, reliable power and transportation links. The area’s appealing climate and lifestyle are equally important in drawing outstanding talent from many parts of the world including California’s Silicon Valley, to our very own “Silicon Vineyard.”
The last 10 years have seen signifi cant developments in the sector’s evolution. With the formation of Okanagan Science & Technology Association (OSTEC) in
12 YLW CONNECTION
2001, it gained tangible representation and a vehicle for communicating the needs of the sector to various levels of government. OSTEC provides education and network- ing events, and formal recognition of the achievements of its members through an annual awards event. It has grown to include more than 200 members from individual consultants to some of the largest tech companies in Western Canada including Disney’s Club Penguin with nearly 300 employees.
Another milestone in the sector’s evolution was the opening of the Okanagan Research & Innovation Centre (ORIC) in 2006. Headquartered at the Nation Research Council’s Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics near Penticton, ORIC is the only fully fl edged business incubator in the Okanagan assisting start-ups with applied research and development, training profes- sionals and students, and commercializing technology and intellectual property to help new companies become established and existing companies to expand. The value of ORIC’s services have been so well demonstrated that the organization opened a second in Kelowna in November, 2008. To accommodate growth of its client companies, in little more than a year, the ORIC Kelowna Innovation Centre has
“The area’s appealing climate and lifestyle are equally important in drawing outstanding talent from many parts of the world including California’s Silicon Valley, to our very own “Silicon Vineyard.”
more than tripled its physical space and signifi cantly expanded its scope of services.
“We see ourselves playing a key role in the formation of an emerging technology cluster here in the heart of the Okanagan, focused specifi cally on innovative infor- mation and communication technology companies,” says ORIC’s Kelowna Director, Martin Yuill.
ORIC clients have the opportunity to locate their offi ces within the 15,000 square foot downtown Kelowna incubator with access to shared administrative support, meeting rooms, wired and wire- less internet, a VOIP telephone system, and in-house expertise, know-how and mentoring in the areas of market research
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