Opalis Software Inc. develops multi-language software to automate information technology operations. Only five percent of the company´s customers are in Canada, while 50 percent are in the United States. Yet, in 1999, Opalis decided to move most of its corporate operations from the Netherlands to Toronto, where it has invested more than $8.5 million to date. Company president Scott Broder says the move was advantageous: since amalgamating base operations, Opalis has lowered operational costs while drawing from a large local talent pool of skilled multilingual workers.
“Toronto is considered an international city, offering a good quality of life. In addition, the city is convenient for conducting business with European and North American customers, while its proximity to the U.S. has strengthened connections with industry leaders,” says Broder. "Worldwide sales have increased, costs have been drastically reduced and U.S. partnerships are easier to forge."
The company´s flagship product, OpalisRobot—which improves productivity by automating routine IT processes such as maintenance tasks, file distribution and business transactions—has been implemented by more than 1,000 companies in various sectors worldwide. For example, the software is currently being rolled out in Australia in order to coordinate sales data among the 1,500 supermarkets of that country´s largest food chain.