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Economic Performance:
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Calgary Region Cluster
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Calgary Region
Cluster Portfolio
Geomatics
Geomatics is an important
emerging cluster. Geomatics focuses on technology products used to generate,
track, and display data on the 'environment' for decision-making. This
cluster was spawned primarily by the region's oil and gas industry. In
Calgary, there is a growing presence of several segments: Global Positioning
Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing.
It is expected that new market segments will grow as geomatics begins
to serve and create products for other clusters in the region.
As geomatics is an
emerging and 'new' cluster, there is very little data available. Therefore,
traditional industry benchmarking is not feasible at this time. However,
there is evidence of clustering of this industry: many companies, solid
growth, and innovation feeding growth. The geomatics industry, both in
Calgary as well as in Canada in general, is characterised by small firms
with fewer than 20 employees. One of the larger companies in the Calgary
region is QC Data employing 110 people with growing applications in telecom,
utilities, and health infomatics. Novatel is a GPS firm supplying navigational
equipment for aircraft, with 45% of their product exported to the U.S.
The outlook for growth
of geomatics is excellent. The Alberta market is strong with growing demand
for geospatial information in many markets, including telecom, infrastructure,
defence, health care, business geographics, and emergency preparedness.
Local and provincial governments are also increasingly important clients
for geomatics products and services. Given the strong growth of transportation
and logistics in Calgary and the nature of this industry, the local geomatics
industry could grow this market substantially.
The outlook for this
cluster is very healthy. The strong R&D and the talent being produced
in the region are fueling the competitiveness of this cluster and will
continue to do so. There are several obstacles that the cluster must address.
One important issue has been access to public data in Canada the cost
of which has been prohibitive to many small and medium enterprises. U.S.
companies have a comparative advantage due to easier access to data. The
good news however is that there are national efforts underway to correct
disadvantages in public data access. There is also a need to foster more
technological innovation and to increase the level of collaboration among
firms and foundations in the cluster. On the positive side, there are
low barriers to entry in this industry and the industry itself is maturing
rendering GIS technology more accessible to the business users. Perhaps,
more importantly, the geomatics technology can support every cluster and
thus the potential for new markets is virtually limitless.
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