November 2006 NetFlash Highlights:
November 21, 2006 – 2006 Executive Forum on Microelectronics • Ontario Moves to Harmonize Federal and Provincial Corporate Tax • Rob Schock Explains How to Do Business with Xerox • ITAC to appear before House committee on privacy issues • Public Sector Business Committee Update • Branham Group Outlines Size and Future Direction of US Outsourcing Market and Canadian Nearshore Opportunities • ITAC partners with Deloitte to examine talent management • CWC and ITAC partner to advance the interests of women in technology careers • ITAC SMB Breakfast Series • NASSCOM Mission 2007 • HR Forum Update • ITAC members win Microsoft Canada Partner Program IMPACT Awards • EPSC outlines environmental design initiatives of electronics industry

CWC and ITAC partner to advance the interests of women in technology careers
November 16, 2006 – Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) and the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) are pleased to announce a new cooperative agreement aimed at supporting the participation and advancement of women in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector through involvement in CWC and its programs. Please click here for the full text of the news release.

ITAC's Pre-Budget Submission - "Building a Productive and Competitive Knowledge-Based Economy in Canada"
October 31, 2006 – ITAC submitted its pre-budget submission, "Building a Productive and Competitive Knowledge-Based Economy in Canada" to the Minister of Finance and the Clerk of the Standing Committee on Finance. In our submission, we applaud the commitment of this Government to build a more competitive and productive Canadian economy. The complete submission is available at: www.itac.ca/PolicyandAdvocacy/Papers/06Oct31Pre-BudgetSubmission.pdf

Small and Medium Business Owners Believe ICTs Can Improve Productivity...But Invest Elsewhere
Small and medium-sized business owners believe that investment in information and communications technology (ICT) will improve their operational efficiency and drive productivity. Nevertheless, they plan to make business investments elsewhere, most notably in the acquisition and retention of staff and in non-ICT related operating expenses and capital investments.

This information is one of the key findings in a new study on SMB business owners’ attitudes toward ICTs. The study, “Does ICT Matter to SMBs in Canada?”, was conducted by IDC Canada on behalf of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC). It was designed to provide a deeper insight into the key pressures SMB owners face in the operation of their businesses and to explore their attitudes toward the use of ICT tools in their operations. To conduct their study, IDC interviewed 300 owners and senior business executives from firms with 20 to 999 employees in all parts of Canada and across all industrial sectors.

To view the entire news release, please click here. For a copy of the study's executive summary, please click here.

A frontline perspective on the Indian IT Revolution
The TATA lecture series, offered in association with ITAC, aims to introduce leading thinkers and activists in the information and communications technology revolution to leaders in Canadian industry, government and academia. On Thursday, October 5, Dr. F.C. Kohli, Founder of Tata Consultancy Services and father of the Indian software industry, spoke to an engaged crowd of students and business leaders at York University's Schulich School of Business.

Dr. Kohli led the IT revolution in India. A trained electrical engineer, he founded the IT industry in India within the Tata Group - a diverse business conglomerate with industry holdings in steel, automotive, power and real estate. Tata first conceived of large scale use of IT by computerizing every aspect of India's power systems. Dr. Kolhi said that Indians realized that IT was an area in which they could be considered world leaders, as they have a natural ability for IT. "Here was a a new technology that required the ability to think clearly - this we had plenty of in India."

Under Dr. Kohli's guidance, TCS has grown to be the largest Indian exporter of IT services and one of the largest global IT services companies. TCS’ success has contributed immeasurably to the success of India’s IT revolution. Since 1999-2000, the Indian IT and IT enabled services industry has grown at a calculated annual growth rate of 28 per cent. It is worth is over $36-billion today and employs 1.287 million people. Most notably, through, Dr. Kohli said that half of India's productivity growth is due to IT knowledge and use.

For general comments, feedback, or information requests, send an e-mail to:

ITAC High Tech Compensation Survey 2006