There was no crystal ball in the room, but Alberta’s future is still pretty clear, at least to one person.
Duncan Stewart, director of technology, media, and telecommunications for Deloitte Canada, is a nationally recognized expert in discerning industry trends.
Stewart made a presentation and led a panel discussion at NAIT’s Shaw Theatre yesterday afternoon examining successful and failed tech- nological enterprises within Edmonton and Alberta, and what the future might hold based on those past endeavours and experiences.
“Edmonton has always been a hub for technology,” said Stewart. “We see a lot of start ups coming out of Edmonton. Historically a lot of them have been in the life science area. We’re probably going to see a shift, a lot more technology companies.”
Stewart speculated that more digital media companies would appear, with software and apps being their primary focus. Stewart touched on the success of Bioware, and the significance of a major competitor in gaming and software basing itself in Edmonton.
“Edmonton is going to need to keep on its toes, and continue to keep developing the kids that go out there and make the content,” said Stewart.
