Ontario's mobile content sector needs help to grow

Less than 5% of experts in Ontario's mobile content sector believe the province's wireless industry is a leader in entrepreneurship and innovation, and only 20% agree that Ontario has a solid global hold on data-centric mobile devices, such as the Blackberry, according to preliminary survey results released by the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre.

The feedback will assist MEIC — which is led by several Ontario academic institutions and mobile and content companies — in developing an industry-led research lab focusing on mobile content, services and applications. The full survey results will be released later next month.

The survey suggests that Ontario has much work ahead to become a centre of excellence for mobile content. For example, nearly 40% of respondents reported that access to a larger talent pool of skilled designers and other professionals is critical.

"There needs to be a stronger collaboration between educators to build not just developers, but a workforce in the mobile industry that is well-rounded in understanding all the aspects of the mobile industry, whether it be in licensing or technology or design," says the report's author Ray Newal.

"OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) is an obvious choice for design, but is there a cluster that could target all of the issues, such as the University of Waterloo and Ryerson on the engineering side, the University of Toronto and York on the business front?" he adds.

The need to make government funding more accessible to smaller companies was identified as another major hurdle to Ontario's growth in mobile content.

"We're not talking about being able to help big companies, we're talking about young people who have fresh ideas who understand social media," he says.

The report will offer some insights into transforming Ontario into a centre for mobile innovation, adds Newal, including the need to create partnerships between industry, schools, financial institutions and venture capitalists.

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