A new report which takes the pulse of Alberta’s technology sector shows the province is accelerating into the new economy at a breakneck speed.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which released its Alberta Techmap and Techwatch reports last week, the province’s tech industries are experiencing a boom in growth and related research and development.

James Pettigrew, with the technology industry group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, says the report and the accompanying map plot a positive past and exciting future for the sector.

“The Techmap shows us that high-tech capabilities critical to the new economy, such as telecom and Internet software development, are entrenched in Alberta and developing fast,” he says.

“It’s hardly possible to overstate how important this is or how much it matters.”

He says that close to 10 per cent of the small-and mid-size tech companies on the Techmap were founded on technology or products originally developed in the public sector.

Nearly 10 per cent of the spin-off companies had their origins in either the University of Alberta or the University of Calgary.

Highlights in the Techwatch Report:

TELECOMMUNICATIONS:
* There are about 70 telecom companies in Alberta, employing more than 17,000 people. The two largest are Telus and Nortel Networks Corporation, which, between them employ about 13,200 people in Alberta;
* The industry generates about $6 billion in annual revenue.

SOFTWARE:
* There are 1,500 software companies in the province, with more than 5,800 workers;
* The industry has been growing about 15 per cent each year since 1994.

ELECTRONICS:
* Manufacturing of electronic hardware and related components accounts for about five per cent of Alberta’s total economic output, and is expected to increase an additional 2-3 per cent in the next few years.
* Alberta has the country’s highest rate of Internet and personal computer penetration: 45 per cent and 63 per cent, respectively.

AEROSPACE:
* More than 50 companies employ about 4,500 Albertans, mostly in the areas of manufacturing, repair and overhaul of aviation parts and components.

BIOTECHNOLOGY:
* More than 50 biotech companies, with medical technology acting as the backbone. Research includes genomics, proteomics, immunotherapeutics and agri-biotech. This research has led to several spin-off companies including Biomira Inc., Synsorb Biotech Inc., and SemBioSys Genetics Inc.

(Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers Alberta Techwatch report)