Technology

Jean-René Halde, head of the Business Development Bank of Canada makes it clear, "Canadian entrepreneurs need to spend more money on high-tech equipment and come up with innovative ideas if this country is going to close the productivity gap with the U.S."

Halde and BDC vice-president Ian MacFadden also noted the reluctance of many small Canadian companies to invest in so-called ICT spending — information and communications technology. ICT spending can help boost productivity by making companies  more
efficiently run, MacFadden noted. That message doesn’t always get through.

“To understand the value of investing in ICT, you really need a strategic approach, and a lot of small companies don’t have that approach,” he said.

"Canada's lackluster productivity risks hampering the country's economic recovery; higher productivity helps make our products more competitive in export markets," outlines Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada deputy governor.

"If needed another more immediate reason to invest in productivity gains and improve our competitiveness, this is it," he said in Calgary. Macklem also noted that Canada ranks 17th in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standings when it comes to business spending on research and development. He also pointed to a World Economic Forum study which puts this country in 19th place for innovation.

In an interview with the Star’s editorial board, Halde said too many small business owners think that innovation is something best left to technology firms like Research in Motion or other big companies that can afford it.

“We’re trying to get entrepreneurs out of their comfort zone,” said Halde. “We need to get them into the mindset of thinking of innovation … as part of their business strategy.”

Too often, there’s a perception that innovation means radically new ideas like RIM’s creation of the now-ubiquitous BlackBerry, he says. “We are on a bit of a kick to try to get them to stop thinking of innovation as PhDs in white lab coats.”

Innovation can sometimes mean something as simple as taking an existing idea or product and tweaking it slightly, or using it in a new way, Halde said, citing the example of a company that decided to add a second level to each of its cargo containers. “That doubles the productivity right there.”

Statistics Canada data released Monday showed that Canada's productivity grew by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the U.S., productivity grewby 0.6 percent in the same quarter. Over the entire year, productivity grew in Canada by 1.4 percent; in the U.S., that figure was 3.8 percent. That gap has been growing for the better part of three decades.

_________

Synergy works with business owners to help implement technology solutions to meet your specific needs, help your business streamline your operations, improve productivity, and increase revenues. Call today for your complimentary strategic consultation.

Your thoughts and comments?

What would you like to improve in the productivity and innovation of your business?

This recent report from the Harvard Business Review by David Armano is a Senior VP at Edelman Digital, gives insite on expected social media trends for 2011.

It was a banner year for social media growth and adoption. We witnessed Facebook overtake Google in most weekly site traffic, while some surveys reported nearly 95% of companies using LinkedIn to help in recruiting efforts. The use of social media through mobile devices increased in the triple digits.

The past year also saw some brands go full throttle on Foursquare's game-like geo-location platform, attempting to reward mayors and creating custom badges for the network's power users.

In other areas, such as social media policy, I was less accurate. Conversations around the topic did begin to take place, but a global survey indicated that only 29 percent of companies even have a social media policy. That's not as high as I expected.

So what could we see happening in 2011? I'll take a stab at six trends again. In no particular order: 

Social Functionality Makes Websites Fashionable Again. After several years of being told to "fish where the fish are," businesses realize that users expect social integration to existing Websites. Sites such as AMEX Open forum serve as a model for how networks such as Twitter can integrate with the Web experience. Websites will increasingly serve as "digital hubs" that integrate social activity from many platforms. For example, Apple's music social network, named Ping, recently integrated Twitter. While the integration has kinks, it demonstrates that even the most iconic of brands realizes that they do not exist in their own walled garden. They must integrate to be relevant in a socially connected world.

It's The Integration Economy, Stupid. From Ford, to Dell, to Starbucks, to Jet Blue, and a host of other companies who have pioneered early uses of social media for business, 2011 will be the year these companies take a serious look at integrating social media, not only regionally but globally. Don't be surprised if the same companies that piloted programs such as Ford's "Fiesta Movement" and Starbuck's Foursquare programs also become the first companies to take on the huge challenge of integrating social media into all facets of business from global marketing to crisis management and beyond.

Mobile Wars Create Ubiquitous Social Computing. As competition heats up in the form of cheaper, smarter phones and an assortment of tablets that may hit the market (a $35 Tablet in India?), technology consumers will come one step closer to being connected 24/7, and in more powerful ways than previously possible. Social networking will be on the go, out of the house, and out of the office. More competition, variety, power, and affordability in devices will fuel the increase of ubiquitous social computing.

Facebook Interrupts Location-Based Networking. If 2010 belonged to Foursquare and its playful, competitive and sometimes addicting ecosystem of badges, mayorships and specials, it's likely that Facebook will rain on Foursquare's parade in 2011. With tons of data and the architecture behind Facebook's response to Foursquare about to be rolled out globally, Facebook is well positioned to actually make location based services useful to business.

Average Participants Experience Social Media Schizophrenia. While social media schizophrenia (the overload of multiple social profiles) is nothing new to tech mavens, it will become something that more and more "average" users experience as they tweet, Facebook, G-mail, chat, Skype, BBM, SMS, and Tumble their way across the social web. While many mavens have adopted ways to manage and cope, average users may find themselves at the beginning of the curve in need of a 12-step social identity program. This may lead to increased demand from typical participants to have a more integrated and simplified social graph and an opportunity for platforms and companies alike to meet this demand.

Google Doesn't Beat Them, They Join Them. In 2010, Wired told us that Facebook could beat Google to win the net. But even at the end of 2010 after failed attempts to create their own networks such as Buzz, Google could prove that the best way to beat Facebook, Twitter, and the rest is to do what Google does best: Index them to pieces. Indeed, I've already noticed Google's algorithm has become smarter about Twitter data. I only have to type in a few words to locate old tweets. It's possible that by sticking to what Google does best, they may be able to take advantage of the social web by indexing any and all social data they can get their hands on. Expect the Googleplex to "strike back" in 2011, and perhaps demonstrate that they may figure out their role and relevancy on the social Web.

Where do you see social media going in 2011?

For business people, getting a regular outside perspective of the outside trends that are happening provides an opportunity to consider how you can tap into these to grow your business, and improve connections with your customers needs.

The team of Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman have come up with an extremely interesting video series, "Did You Know? / Shift Happens".  These are incredible at giving a very quick snapshot of trends that are happening in Globalization, Technology and the Information Age.

Version 4 - Did You Know? / Shift Happens

Version 3 - Did You Know? / Shift Happens

DID YOU KNOW?

If you're one in a million in China
There are 1,300 people just like you.

China will soon become the NUMBER ONE English speaking country in the world.

The 25% of India's population with the highest IQs is GREATER than the total population of the United States.
TRANSLATION: India has more honors kids than America has kids.

DID YOU KNOW?

The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.

We are currently preparing students for jobs that dont yet exist using technologies that haven't been invented in order to solve problems WE DON'T EVEN KNOW ARE PROBLEMS YET.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs
By the age of 38.

1 in 4 workers has been with their current employer for less than a year.
1 in 2 has been there less than five years.

DID YOU KNOW?

1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.

There are over 200 million registered users on MySpace.
If mySpace were a country it would be the 5th-Largest in the world. (between Indonesia and Brazil)

The #1 ranked country in Broadband Internet Penetration is
Bermuda
#19 The United States
#22 Japan

DID YOU KNOW?

We are living in exponential times.
There are 31 Billion searches on Google every month.
In 2006, this number was 2.7 Billion.

To whom were these questions addressed B.G.? (Before Google)

The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992.

Today, the number of text messages sent and received everyday exceeds the total population of the planet.

Years it took to reach a market audience of 50 million.
Radio      - 38 years.
TV           - 13 years.
Internet   - 4 years.
iPod        - 3 years.
Facebook - 2 years.

The number of internet devices in:
1984 was 1,000.
1992 1,000,000
2008 1,000,000,000

There are about 540,000 words in the English language.
About 5X as many as during Shakespeare's time.

It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

It is estimated that 4 exabytes (4.010^19) of unique information will be generated this year.
That is more than the previous 5,000 years.

The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years.

For students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that
half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

NNT Japan has successfully tested a fiber optic cable that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber.
That is 2,660 CDs or 210 million phone calls every second.
It is currently tripling every six months and is expected to do so for the next 20 years.
By 2013, a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain.
Predictions are that by 2049, a $1000 computer will exceed the computation capabilities of the entire human species.

DID YOU KNOW?

During the course of this presentation
67 babies were born in the US
274 babies were born in China
395 babies were born in India
And 694,000 songs were downloaded illegally.

Version 2 - Did You Know? / Shift Happens

Original Version - Did You Know? / Shift Happens

Have you recently taken a fresh outside look at the new trends and technologies so that you can incorporate those that will help improve your business?

Know you want to take action? Where do you start?

This business strategy and technology implementation is the area that Synergy specializes in. For those that want to take action, let's sit down over coffee, and talk about new areas and what would benefit your business.

Give us a call at 604-681-0516 or email us info@synergycc.com