Profile of the big data in Québec

WHAT IS BIG DATA?
Highlights
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What is big data?
Big data is a term that describes the entire data exploitation process from data
collection and hosting to processing, analysis and value extraction.
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Data exploitation
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A growing big data market
Global revenue forecast for 2013–2020
25% average
annual growth rate
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Big data, a source of added value in various fields, including:
Marketing: Target and better understand customers
Risk, security and information: Identify anomalies, fraud and bad practices
Resource management: Logistics
Process improvement: Optimize and better understand business processes
Highlights in the life sciences sector:
 The life sciences industry is part of the main areas of application for big data.
 Big data could help advance new drug discoveries and personalized health care,
amongst other things.
 Canada is lagging behind other developed countries in using big data.
 Low organizational and industry buy-in for big data in this sector, in Québec.
QUÉBEC’S BIG DATA ECOSYSTEM
Highlights
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A vibrant ICT industry
7,400 companies
130,100 jobs
GDP of $14.8 billion
Industry share of GDP growing twice as fast as the province’s economy over the past
10 years
An average of $900 million per year invested in R&D from 2009 to 2013
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Cutting-edge big data expertise
At least 2,100 big data specialists (88% concentrated in Greater Montréal)
Over 1,000 of the best scientists in the world
A pool of 105,000 professionals specializing in fields related to big data
More than 16,000 university students enrolled in programs related to big data
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A very active community of scientists and professionals
Research organizations involved in big data
Institute for Data Valorisation (IVADO) – Montréal Campus
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Science for Real-Time Decision-Making –
Polytechnique Montréal
Centre de recherche en données massives – Université Laval
Montréal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) – Université de Montréal
Group for Research in Decision Analysis (GERAD) – Montréal Campus
Computer Research Institute of Montréal (CRIM)
Canada’s Big Data Consortium
CEFRIO
PROMPT
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Incubators and developer communities
Big Data Montréal
Centre d’entreprises et d’innovation de Montréal (CEIM)
Notman House
Le Camp
Innocentre
Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET)
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ICT business groups and associations
TechnoMontréal
La Voix des entrepreneurs en TI de Québec (VETIQ)
TECHNOCompétences
Réseau ACTION TI
Québec Technology Association (AQT)
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Québec Numérique
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Big industry players and SMEs already established in Québec that provide
significant data hosting capacity
Google, CGI, Microsoft, IBM, Mnubo, Amazon Web Services, Ericsson, Coveo,
Orion, OVH.com, Linkbynet, Thales, Morgan Stanley, and more
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Operating costs 25% lower than in the United States
Power rates and a tax burden that are among the lowest in North America
Highly competitive incentives (e.g., R&D tax credit, TCEB)
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Internationally recognized quality of life
Second-highest quality of life in North America
Local purchasing power among the highest in the world
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