Interactive Digital Media (IDM)

Industry Size and Composition | Labor Force | Business Competitiveness | Innovation

The Greater Toronto Area leads North America in offering a diverse, talented pool of Interactive Digital Media (iDM) workers, as well as collaboration between business and new media solutions providers.

IDM in the GTA has expanded beyond the small development shops to adoption within large corporations. Inside those corporations, iDM transforms business through creative application development that has resulted in new business sectors.

Since 2001, despite a slowdown in ICT economic activity, there has been no significant negative impact on the GTA economy. The iDM sector, which represents approximately 10% of the total ICT workforce, not only survived, but is once again vital in the GTA. This is due in part to the iDM sector being highly innovative, and largely prospering with very well educated and creative local talent.

Industry Size and Composition

Where Technology meets Media

The Interactive Digital Media industry is defined as those business facilities that mainly provide technology and services to the media markets. This includes firms which are iDM-focused, such as animation/simulation software developers, and firms that have iDM-related activities, such as embedded graphics software and chip manufacturers.

IDM employment and facilities in the GTA

The GTA iDM sector consists of more than 800 companies employing approximately 18,000 people.

IDM companies effecting creative transformations

These companies represent a small sampling of the diversity of businesses making waves in this sector.

IDM talent and skills are feeding new sectors

IDM talent and skills are feeding new sectors, such as e-learning, e-health and e-banking.

• The e-learning Sector (Learning Management Systems in particular) in the GTA is seeing a flurry of activity, new products and alliances. For instance, CAE (flights simulators) has opened its new aviation-training centre in the GTA. Cisco Systems Canada has launched the world's first Cisco Systems E-Learning Centre of Excellence in the GTA. Sun Microsystems has been reinforcing its GTA presence through a strategic acquisition. Thomson has also launched an e-learning alliance with IBM, and new major domestic firms are growing through increased sales and mergers (e.g. CDI Education Corporation and Gilmore). Several other smaller firms are gradually rising and gaining and international reach (e.g. Newmindsets and ThinkPath, who were recently purchased by IBM).
  For more information: Key Industry Sectors/E-learning
  
  
• The e-health sector is experiencing an intense level of activity between private firms and the GTA's large health sciences community, one of the largest in North America. Major international health care management systems developers are present in the GTA with e-health projects. Cisco Systems Canada is partnering with NORTH Network, IBM is partnering with the Electronic Child Health Network, Hewlett-Packard is partnering with the University Health Network Tele-Health Program, and Elmo is partnering with the Hospital for Sick Children Tele-health Program. Several other public R&D projects are focused on iDM applications specifically designed for health care, particularly medical imagery and visualization.
  For more information: Key Industry Sectors/E-health
  
  
• The e-banking sector is an international success story due to the GTA's unique position as a financial centre. Canadian consumers use e-banking services more than virtually every other country in the world, including the United States. This performance is at least partially attributable to the GTA's core iDM skills, which have been applied to the design, development and deployment of financial services websites specifically for consumers.
  
  
• Interactive Television (iTV) Digital TV services and applications such as video-on- demand, are currently available and are serving a growing consumer base. True interactive TV is in development and will be at the centre of media-rich home entertainment, with a business model based on subscriptions and television commerce (T-commerce). Many GTA firms are already starting to position themselves in the following markets:
  
  User-level Applications: AOL TV, TiVO
  Architecture and Platforms: OpenTV, Microsoft
  Hardware : Assemblers; (Toshiba) and Components (ATI)
  Broadband Delivery: Rogers, Toronto Star TV
  Network Content Providers: Disney-ABC, GlobeMedia
  Data Collection: DoubleClick, Nielsen, comScore Media Metrics
  Interactive Production Services: Agency.com. Snap Media

Financing

IDM companies, especially small and medium size businesses, have numerous incentive programs available from a total of 45 federal and provincial programs, including science/technology councils, business incubators and tax credits for nurturing high tech companies. Examples:

• Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects (OCASE) Tax Credit
• Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC)
• Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit Program (PSTC)
• Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit

For more information on these incentives programs, go to: Government support programs

Several of the GTA industry support organizations are involved in the development and promotion of iDM firms:

New Media Business Alliance
NMBA is a trade association formed by and for industry business leaders to foster and promote the growth of digital content production in Ontario.

Mississauga Technology Association
The MTA helps existing and prospective technology companies to network, grow and prosper.

York Technology Association
The association has over 150 member companies representing technology suppliers, users, and service providers to the technology industry and provides an excellent networking and learning environment.

IDM firms also find partners at a national level, including the Information Technology Association of Canada, Canadian Digital Television Inc., and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance.

Labor Force

Skilled human resources

The estimated iDM industry workforce is 18,113, of which 17% are employed in iDM-focused sub-sectors.

The top three segments are Internet/Website development, dedicated hardware and software, and data processing (entry/digitization/compression). Combined, they employ 51% of the iDM industry workforce.

Employment by Sub-Sector - 2003

Educational infrastructure ensures the supply of new talent

With a total enrolment of 225,000 students (2002/2003), GTA universities and colleges continue to be an important resource for a skilled future workforce. IDM-related firms in the GTA can take advantage of the availability of graduates from community colleges and universities.

Colleges and universities offer more than thirty programs applicable to iDM.

IDM training in southwestern Ontario is not limited to the Greater Toronto Area. IDM-related firms in the GTA can access graduates from these renowned institutions less than two hours away:

• University of Waterloo offers Studio Art and Digital Art programs. It also offers a Film Studies program.
• University of Western Ontario’s London-based Department of Information and Media Studies has an Interdisciplinary program in Media, Information and Technoculture and a Multimedia Design and Production program.
• Hamilton-based McMaster University’s School of Arts offers a Combined Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Multimedia.

Business Competitiveness

Labor Costs

Annual labor costs related to Software Design and Web & Multimedia operations are lower in Toronto than in other major ICT cities.

Source: KPMG, Competitive Alternatives, 2004.
Note: CDN $0.80 = US $1.00

For information on operating and labor costs in the ICT industry sector, click here

Innovation

Public R&D Centres

The University of Toronto is by far the GTA leader in public R&D with 11 iDM centres.

Top of Page