By JOSEPH QUESNEL
Northern Ontario Business
IT companies in the North are starting to see the benefits of networking their services to the outside world, says a regional IT project manager.
NEOnet, a Timmins-based non-profit IT development group, has designed an online directory, called the technology solutions directory, that will allow all companies specializing in IT or communications to register their company's name and specialty at no cost.
Information technology firms in northeastern Ontario will no longer have to lose customers to southern Ontario with the unveiling of a new database allowing northerners to see for themselves what the North has to offer in the IT world.
"If I'm a company needing Web site development services and I'm in Iroquois Falls, for example, I won't need a Timmins phone book to see what's available there," says Stephane Gallant, a project manager at NEOnet.
The organization's regional focus extends from Temagami to Peawanuck and from Hearst to the Quebec-Ontario border.
Gallant says there is a misperception among northerners that information technology is not as advanced in the North. NEOnet sought to dispel this
myth when it produced the directory. People all across the region, especially businesses, wanted to know which companies were involved in which
areas of the industry; something a regular phone book cannot always accurately provide.
The group also says they were being asked which companies they would recommend in particular IT fields. Answering the questions would violate
NEOnet's strict non-preferential policy, Gallant says, so the idea for a central directory took shape.
So far, NEOnet allows companies that specialize in Web site development, telecommunications services, computer sales, consulting, or any other technology provider to register online.
Having such a directory will also allow outside companies and investors to see what Northern Ontario has to offer in terms of services, as well as provide northern industry with a benchmark to see which areas are growing and which fields need more work.
The directory will also help customers find IT services.
So far, close to 50 companies in northeastern Ontario have added their name to the registry and Gallant says that it is being updated regularly.
IT companies will be required to update information on a continuing basis.
