In the early days’ hardware and telecommunication services was the primary products making headlines in the tech landscape in Kanata. Today, enormous growth has been made in the software sector and creating the code or the online services to meet the demand of the digital and mobile world.

According to our Economic Impact Study and Market Gap Analysis recently conducted by Doyletech Corp., the majority of tech companies in Kanata North are no longer working in telecom. They’re focus is business and consumer software, with a growing number of these being in the SaaS space.

 It’s a great time to be a Canadian company in the SaaS market 

Research indicates it’s an industry that’s growing five times faster than traditional software and expected to reach US$112.8 billion in sales by 2019. Small business and large enterprises alike are turning to SaaS to tap into the power of Big Data, and reduce their IT costs and issues.

Unlike the traditional software distribution model, todays benefits are twofold as SaaS vendors can build big export businesses and tap into global markets a lot faster at a lower cost. An ROI opportunity that’s attractive to investors.

Canada’s only Incubator and Accelerator program dedicated to enterprise SaaS is led by Kanata-based L-Spark. The company focuses exclusively on Enterprise SaaS and cloud startups. With established relationships with key venture capital firms, angel investors, and an advisory board and selection committee that includes big names in enterprise IT. Their mission is to create a deal flow of fundable enterprise SaaS startup companies, and in just 18 months the company has grown their portfolio’s total amount of venture investment to $5 million, welcoming over 19 SaaS startups into their program.

While there are a number of recent startups in Kanata North, this subsector taps into the existing skill sets and the product/service lines of other high tech sectors in the area, emphasizing the value of “industrial clustering” for high-technology firms in the area.

Kanata North offers a great location, with even greater talent

There are a number of local support networks for growing tech companies in Kanata North, such as free business networking events, annual Job Fairs, like “Discover TechNata”—and the popular Tech Tuesday’s hosted every month by the Wesley Clover group. The location boasts an abundance of free parking, bike paths and plenty of green space, with many offices overlooking the Marshes Golf Club, a corporate-play facility, bringing championship style golf to the very doorstep of a thriving business community.

Kanata North also has a high concentration of talent, many companies realize that most of the people they want to hire are located in Kanata North, so this is where they come to build and expand their business. The area is starting to attract the attention of some big name brands like Apple, and Amazon who has recently set up office in the area and beginning to advertising open positions.

For local company Fusebill, who’s SaaS billing automation platform for businesses, has already secured more than 100+ customers worldwide, they expect to almost triple their headcount this year at its Kanata North location.

“There are so many little things about working out of Kanata North that fit with the culture we want to create at Fusebill, and grow into a large company,” said CEO Tyler Eyamie.

A Cool Factor

There is a surplus of knowledge, tremendous expertise and collaboration condensed into such a small area, and it is interesting to see the larger multi-million dollar companies in the same location as the new startups.

Founder and CEO Steve Cody of The Better Software Company believes Kanata North is only starting to lever its strengths as a leader in the SaaS space. “There is a sense of coolness to Kanata North with the new generation of companies that are pitching their tents here,” he said.

We anticipate a continuous wave of growth in this sector and are excited to see what the future in SaaS will bring to the area.

New SaaS Conference

This fall we will be attending the first ever SaaS-focused conference in Canada, SaaSNorth presented by
L-SPARK. We invite you to join us in what is sure to be a memorable event and a fantastic opportunity for Canada’s SaaS community to get together under one roof. Both established enterprises and emerging startups looking to grow their businesses are invited to attend.

The conference will take place at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa between November 31 to Dec 1, and over the course of the two days you will have the chance to hear more than 50 world class speakers share their SaaS tips and experiences. There will be keynotes, break-out sessions, roundtables, and networking receptions.

For more information and to buy your tickets please visit: www.saasnorth.com