Up Front

Microsoft honours channel partners

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Four Canadian businesses have been recognized for their anti-piracy efforts.

The Northern Lights Awards were initiated by Microsoft Canada last year to recognize channel partners who demonstrate leadership in the fight against software piracy.

Last year's inaugural winner was Ottawa-based Inly Systems International.

This year Microsoft added various categories and awarded four channel members for their efforts. The 1999 Northern Lights winners were: retail — Neil, the Computer Store; large account reseller — SoftChoice Corporation; distributor — Ingram Micro Canada Inc.; solution provider — JBM Logic Inc.

Criteria used in selecting this year's winners included providing training to internal staff members to create awareness of software piracy issues; lead generation of violators; support for Microsoft and the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) anti-piracy programs; and internal software license compliance.

It is estimated the software piracy rate is 40 per cent in Canada, compared to 25 per cent in the U.S.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study revealed if Canada were able to drop its piracy rate by 15 per cent, it is estimated an additional 22,171 more jobs would be created, as well as result in $2.52 billion extra in sales and $672 million more in tax revenues.

Resellers with questions should contact the Microsoft anti-piracy hotline at (800)RU-LEGIT.

— Sandra Dillich

Group Telecom goes nationwide

VANCOUVER — Group Telecom, a three-year-old competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), has announced plans to expand across Canada. The Vancouver company said it will offer a combination of voice, data, and Internet applications primarily to small and medium-sized businesses.

In a press conference broadcast to reporters across Canada by telephone and Internet Webcast on Oct. 13, Group Telecom CEO Daniel Millard said his company will offer businesses with five to 50 telephone lines "innovative services" at "competitive prices," with a single point of contact for multiple services.

Group Telecom currently offers services in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. By March, Millard said, the company will be operating in Edmonton, Victoria, and Montreal, and it will expand to Winnipeg, Ottawa/Hull, Quebec City, and the cities of Hamilton, London, Kitchener, and Waterloo in Ontario "by this time next year."

While the company will concentrate on small to medium-sized businesses, officials said the company will not ignore the large- business market. The company is not pursuing the residential phone market, however.

— Grant Buckler, Newsbytes News Network

Solectron picks up Vaughan depot

VAUGHAN, Ont. — Milpitas, Calif.-based Solectron Corp., a supply-chain facilitator for customized electronics technology, manufacturing and service solutions, has bought out Vaughan-based Nulogix Technical Services Inc., a subsidiary of IBM Canada.

Nulogix, which was founded in 1991, repairs and remanufactures electronic and electromechanical assemblies, including LCD technology, printed circuit board assemblies and monitors.

It also provides warranty service programs for OEMs, including same unit/same day repair at customer walk-in centres.

The acquisition, expected to be completed by the end of this year, gives Solectron control of Nulogix's 80,000 square-foot repair facility in Vaughan and about 300 repair, engineering, customer service and related support associates across Canada.

Solectron already opperates dedicated American service centres in California, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, as well as international ones in Brazil, France, Japan and the U.K. This deal gives them an important foothold in the Canadian market.

Both parties are withholding the financial details of the acquisition.

— Owen Ferguson



Go to the top.