Despite some ups and downs in the global tech sector, B.C.'s technology industry is growing both in terms of companies and services offered, according to a new PwC study.
According to the BC Techmap report, the province has more than 2,000 tech companies – 1,000 more than it did in 2003.
The sector is also more diverse. In 2003, four sectors – software, telecommunications and wireless, life sciences and electronics and peripherals – made up 75% of the industry. This year, those sectors accounted for 64%.
"The B.C. technology landscape is encouraging and demonstrates the sustainability of the sector following the dot-com burst," said Ian Heine, leader of PwC's technology, infocomm and media practice in B.C.
"As areas like mobile and web technology build their relevance in the market, we expect to see even more growth and sector diversity in the years to come."
Other highlights of the report include:
- the BC Techmap divides tech companies into 11 different sectors: telecommunications and wireless, software, energy technology, clean technology, advanced manufacturing, electronics and peripherals, life sciences, digital media, mobile and web, cloud integration and services and analytics;
- software, with 4,242 companies, is the largest sector on the BC Techmap;
- the B.C.-grown tech company with the highest revenue is MDA Inc. (more than $750 million); and
- the company with the most employees is Telus (more than 8,000).
