More than 300 companies in Calgary who provide geomatics-based products and services have banded together in an informal “cluster” to help promote their industry and gain a competitive edge in global markets.
And while the term ‘geomatics’ may not be a household word, Alain Kahil says the cluster’s first challenge is educating consumers and businesses about how it affects our daily lives – and helps employ more than 2,000 Calgarians.
“One of the things we have to do is make people more aware of the impact of this industry on them,” says Kahil, who is executive manager of the Calgary Geomatics Cluster.
Geomatics is a broad term describing almost anything that requires geo-referencing, including global positioning system (GPS) and mapping technologies, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, asset and vehicle tracking, and in-car navigation systems. Both the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology have active geomatics departments.
The official launch of Calgary’s geomatics cluster at the end of June marks a new era in promoting the technology, says Kahil.
Seeded with nearly $90,000 from Western Economic Diversification through the city’s C-Prosperity initiative – an economic development program designed to ensure the success of Calgary businesses – the new cluster is intended to be a catalyst in attracting attention, and potentially more funding, to the sector.
A cluster generally refers to a geographic concentration of competing and co-operating companies, suppliers, service providers and associated institutions. Calgary was seen as a natural base for a geomatics cluster, with its established energy and pipeline sector and growing focus on transportation and logistics.
Kahil points to Silicon Valley in California as an example of a successful economic model, where competitors often shared ideas and resources for the benefit of the industry. “They had a cluster-type attitude before the idea was created,” he says. “Everybody shared ideas, and jumped from one company to another without any feelings of (disloyalty).”
David Currie, president of Calgary-based satellite data service provider GeoAnalytic Inc., says the cluster will help attract the attention of national and international markets.
“We really do set the standard around the world in a lot of areas,” Currie says of the products and technologies provided by Calgary’s geomatics community. “One of the problems is critical mass, but relative to the rest of Canada, certainly, Calgary is a leader.”
Many geomatics-based companies in Calgary are fairly small with less than 20 employees. Larger firms such as QC Data and Novatel Inc. employ dozens of staff and have established supply contracts in the U.S. and around the world.
The Geomatics Industry Association of Canada (GIAC) is the national body representing the geomatics sector, but, Currie notes, its focus tends to be on operations in Eastern Canada.
In Alberta, the Alberta Geomatics Group helps represent the industry by promoting geomatics innovations and business development opportunities.
