Poilievre Encourages Canadian Innovation in Nepean
Nepean, February 3, 2011 — Pierre Poilievre, MP for Nepean-Carleton, today announced the Government of Canada’s pre-qualification for Solana Network’s new innovation, SMARTFlow, through the second round of the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP). Through this program, the Government of Canada is helping Canadian businesses get their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace.
“Supporting Canada’s economy is our number one priority, and today’s announcement is great news for the workers at Solana Networks,” said Poilievre. “Our Government is putting its support behind their innovation designed right here in Nepean by matching it with a government department that needs the product.”
Solana Network’s innovation, SMARTFlow, is a tool that monitors the IT network and detects cyber security threats and attacks. It has the same role that traffic cameras would have on a road transportation network, trying to extract a handful of incidents from millions of cars traveling along the highway. SMARTFlow monitors IT network traffic to detect network performance issues and cyber security threats.
“We are very excited to be participating in the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program,” said Nabil Seddigh, President of Solana Networks. “As a small Canadian business with innovative technology, we seek diverse means to market and sell our product on the national and international markets. We are grateful that the Federal Government has programs such as CICP that will assist us.”
The CICP is a $40-million program created by the Government of Canada. Successful companies may see their pre-commercial products and services tested within government operations, and will be given relevant feedback from participating departments.
In total, 27 innovations from Canadian companies pre-qualified for funding under the CICP’s first round and 36 innovations under the second round.
In Nepean, Sage Data Solutions Inc. has already been successfully matched with a government department as part of the first round of selected innovation. This company’s product, INSPEC, is a mobile intelligent paperless tool for oversight and guidance of repair or inspection where equipment identification, compliance and calibration are vital. Since being matched, Sage Data Solutions Inc. has succeeded in securing a contract with a government department, creating local jobs in the private sector.
The CICP is managed by PWGSC’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, whose mandate is to improve accessibility to government procurement opportunities for small and medium enterprises. Launched as part of the Government of Canada’s Budget 2010, the CICP is a new initiative to promote Canada’s economic growth.
For more information, please visit www.buyandsell.gc.ca/innovation or look for upcoming Calls for Proposals on www.merx.com. You can also contact the CICP team by email at innovation@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca or via the toll-free line at 1-800-811-1148.