THIS WEEK IN TECTORIA

A community blog celebrating Victoria's booming tech sector

CONTACT THE TECTORIA BLOG

Got a cool story about technology and creativity in Victoria? Email stories, tips, pictures, links and anything of interest to Tessa Bousfield at: tectoria@viatec.ca

Want Some Tectorian Support?

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I am Tectorian - Spartacus

Even Spartacus Needed a Little Help from his Friends

Searching for ways to have your story heard throughout the Tectoria community and beyond?

Having trouble making a dent on Twitter, Facebook, and other channels?

Your friends at VIATeC are here to help. We want to scream your story from the top of Mt. Finlayson, but we can’t do that until we hear the story ourselves.

So, how do you go about making this happen?

Help us Help You

Between this tectoria.wordpress blog, our This Week in Tectoria Newsletter, the VIATeC E-Bulletin, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Flickr, we have thousands upon thousands of people to tell your story to.  That doesn’t even include all of our offline channels.

So Send us your Stories Already

Keep in mind, however, that what may be a story to you, could sound like a sales pitch to someone else; and the quickest way to lose an audience is to continuously scream sales pitches at them.

So How do you Know if you Have a Story or Not?

We’re going to keep this very simple. Especially at first, just err on the side of sending us too much stuff.  We’ll wade through everything each week and determine what we feel will work the best.

Lets be clear about something though, by writing this post the way I have, I’m setting myself up for a great deal more work, haha.  Now that’s fine, and could actually be quite wonderful, as long as it serves a purpose.

While we’re here to ensure that all your great Tectoria stories are given the audience they deserve, behaving like the startup who cried wolf by repeatedly sending us SELL SELL SELL material, is a sure fire way to get your stories to the bottom of the pile.

A Few Key Points to Remember

  1. Starting this very second, send any stories / ideas to me, Steve Hof, at shof@viatec.ca
  2. For blog posts, the stories need to be especially compelling, or motivated by a clear intention to help the Tectoria cause.
  3. If you’re on Twitter, mention @VIATeC in a post and include the hashtag #I_AM_TECTORIAN
  4. If you’re on Facebook, post to the VIATeC wall so we know you’re there.
  5. Don’t want to do either of those things? Fine, be difficult. At the very least, however, send me an email listing the channels you’re on and the best ways we can support you.
  6. There’s no ‘h’ in Tectoria.  It’s the little things people.

Is there something I’ve missed? Do you have a mind blowing, or even slightly above average idea for helping us help you?

Post your ideas, questions, and concerns to the comments below.  Lets hash it out.

Okay Tectorians, the ball’s in your court.

I mean, even Rod Tidwell figured it out eventually.

Help me......... Help you.

Help me……… Help you.

by Steve ‘Soon to be Very Busy‘ Hof

Sounding the alarm: forest fire monitoring with FTS

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Fire monitoring from FTSIn the second of a series of articles dedicated to Victoria success stories in the technology sector, MaryLou Wakefield of Wakefield Communications profiles Forest Technology Systems.

Since1980, Forest Technology Systems (FTS) has produced simple, reliable data collection equipment for forest management agencies that make up the single largest fire weather monitoring network in the world. In the late 1990s, the company expanded with hydrology monitoring systems specifically for harsh environments and remote locations.

“Our mission is to produce products that save lives,” said Eric Embacher, Director of Marketing and Product Management, who attributes a large part of the company’s success to the relationships they’ve developed with customers. “We tend to have old world values and a belief that ‘customer is king’ which permeates the whole organization.”

Customer challenges come in many shapes and sizes in the fire weather monitoring business and FTS works hard at understanding them. Perhaps the most pressing need is to get timely, accurate data in order to make informed decisions. “Our job is to ensure we understand what types of data our customers need, how frequently they need it, and at what level of accuracy. After that, it’s looking for ways to improve on the technology,” said Embacher.

A recent example involves a radio voice transmitter that receives up-to-date weather alerts from portable weather stations around the perimeter of a fire. Working closely with clients to better understand conditions on the ground and how the device could be improved, FTS recently launched ‘AirTalk’ with improved voice clarity and volume, as well as multi-language capabilities.

What do employees say is the best thing about working at FTS? “It’s the culture,” said Embacher. “We work hard and acknowledge work/life balance. We celebrate birthdays and have barbeques in the summer and a kids party at Christmas.” As a nod to the team’s hard work, the company flew its entire workforce (about 50 employees) from Victoria to Seattle via Kenmore Air for a day of fun and team building at the Boeing Manufacturing plant.

Currently FTS employs electronic technologists, research and development, sales and marketing, hardware and software engineers, service technicians, and shipping and receiving. Embacher expects FTS to expand beyond the North American market for fire weather monitoring and grow the hydrology side of its business within North America. ‘We use VIATeC as the hub for finding the right people through networking and posting positions on the VIATeC job board.”

Embacher agrees with the direction VIATeC is moving to ensure the high tech sector continues to grow and develop. “I’d like to see VIATeC have even more of a presence downtown,” he said.

MaryLou Wakefield