News /

10 Canadian Mobile Consumer and Enterprise Solutions to Watch

"Most wireless solutions, with the exception of a few such as email, internet access and SMS, are still in the early adopter and early majority stages in Canada," says Krista Napier, analyst, Canadian ICT Innovation and Export at IDC Canada. "Emerging companies looking to quickly establish themselves in the market will need to educate customers, and deliver practical and affordable solutions that add value at home, at work, and everywhere in between. Many Canadian companies are doing just that."

IDC has released a new study that profiles ten of these emerging companies. 10 Canadian Mobile Consumer and Enterprise Solutions to Watch (IDC #CA4TIW8), provides insight into the solutions, go-to-market strategies, partners, and customers of the profiled vendors. Their lessons learned may provide a model for other emerging companies in the Canadian technology marketplace, and help larger vendors and investors identify partnership and investment opportunities.

The analysis in this study provides valuable input to ICT vendors, large and small, to identify success factors employed by emerging Canadian vendors with mobile solutions. Some of the key findings from this study include the following:

• The market for mobile solutions has become a complex one as change accelerates with platforms, user behaviour, and routes to market. Emerging companies with limited resources must focus on their customers' needs to make the right positioning, platform, and channel decisions.
• Transitioning mobile solutions from the innovation and early adoption stage into the mainstream remains a marketing challenge as many customers are simply unaware of the variety of solutions available and how to access them. Partnerships and channel relationships will help emerging companies increase their visibility globally with early adopters and position themselves for mainstream growth.
• Perceived or actual cost is a primary concern among Canadians when considering new mobile solutions or applications. Emerging vendors will need to ensure their offerings are priced attractively and pursue creative business models and pricing plans to attract and maintain customers.

The ten companies featured in the report (in alphabetical order) include:

• Aegis Mobility (Vancouver)
• Amika Mobile (Ottawa)
• Bayalink (Waterloo)
• BlackLine GPS (Calgary)
• Complete Innovations Inc. (Richmond Hill)
• Contigo Systems Inc. (Vancouver)
• IMS (Waterloo)
• MoboVivo (Calgary)
• Redwood Technologies Inc. (Calgary)
• Unify4Life (Markham)

This study is one of a series of documents that IDC publishes as part of the Canadian Technology Innovation Watch report series, which tracks Canadian ICT companies including software, hardware, services, and communications companies from across Canada. The series examines emerging companies, their solutions, and why they have been successful. For more information about IDC's series of reports on Canadian-grown ICT, visit: www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=IDC_P15343.

About IDC

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

For more information please contact:

Stephen Symonds
Marketing Communications Coordinator
IDC Canada
(416) 673-2260
ssymonds@idccanada.com