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Success Stories
Miller Software Consulting
Prince George, British Columbia
Helping software – and software users – develop
Friday 21 January 2005
| Prince George
As a computer student at the University of Northern British Columbia
in Prince George in the mid-1990s, Daniel Miller first approached
a representative of the National Research Council’s Industrial
Research Assistance Program (IRAP) simply for help with a business
course. But the discussion led to a suggestion that he had all the
qualifications to found his own computer consultancy. And, when
Miller graduated in 1997, he did just that.
Since then, Miller Software Consulting has served dozens of clients
in the region, ranging from forestry companies and pulp mills to
light manufacturing plants and accountancies. Now employing more
than a dozen people, the company helps organizations develop Internet
applications and integrate the various components of their information
technology systems. Consultants can even carry out contract research
projects.
“For example, you may have an idea for a software product,
but lack the time and resources to properly investigate it,”
says Miller. “You can leverage our specialized expertise to
research the technical viability of your idea and to develop the
product for you.”
Miller credits IRAP with helping him get his business off the ground
and keep it growing. This experience characterizes the goal of IRAP,
which is a key component of a country-wide innovation system linking
a diverse network of institutions, organizations and programs to
help small and medium-sized enterprises develop and exploit technology
in a competitive, knowledge-based economy. The National Research
Council is the federal government agency that supports scientific
research, development and innovation in every region of Canada.
IRAP has helped Miller expand its market beyond the forestry firm
that provided most of the company’s earliest business. More
recently the firm has made gains in the oil and gas industry, providing
software expertise for a partner firm with good contacts in that
sector. The impact of this diversification became clear in 2001,
when the Prince George Chamber of Commerce named Miller Software
Consulting as its Technology Innovator of the Year.
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The Prince George Chamber of Commerce
named Miller Software Consulting as its Technology Innovator
of the Year (2001). |
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