L-SPARK, TELUS, BlackBerry and Solace Launch Accelerator for Emerging Canadian IoT Ventures

Ottawa, Ontario, March 27, 2019 – L-SPARK, Canada’s leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) accelerator, and TELUS have partnered to launch the Secure IoT Accelerator program in collaboration with BlackBerry Limited and Solace. The Secure IoT Accelerator program is intended to enable Canadian Internet of Things (IoT) ventures by providing them global market reach capability with a Secure by Design technology.

With the global IoT market predicted to swell to USD $1.1 trillion by 2021, more complex applications, and the need for greater security, are driving innovation within the industry, a trend the Secure IoT Accelerator aims to address.

“TELUS is dedicated to fostering a thriving and secure IoT ecosystem in Canada, capable of both serving the needs of Canadians and providing reach to markets around the globe. Ensuring that next-generation security products and services are available to that ecosystem is vital to its success, so we are proud to support L-SPARK’s Secure IoT Accelerator,” said Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO, TELUS. “The mentorship and resources that participants receive as part of the Secure IoT Accelerator, including access to the world-class TELUS LTE-M network, provide a springboard for these companies’ growth and, ultimately, strengthening the entire Canadian IoT market.”

“Adoption of IoT products and services by Canadian firms is accelerating at a rapid clip, and industry analysts predict the global connected IoT devices market will grow at a CAGR of approximately 19% through 2023,” said Leo Lax, Executive Managing Director of L-SPARK. “We’re excited to create an accelerator program that provides the tools and technology necessary for Canadian IoT innovators to scale their businesses and compete internationally.”

“We believe the winners in IoT will be the companies that realize security is not an added cost but a valuable differentiator,” said Charles Eagan, Chief Technology Officer, BlackBerry. “It’s incumbent upon all manufacturers to deliver safe and secure IoT devices that consumers and enterprises can trust, and the Secure IoT Accelerator program is an excellent place to start.”

“The desire to help developers and entrepreneurs grow their ideas into game-changing applications and successful business ventures is at the heart of everything we do, as reflected by our tagline: That’s Possible,” said Paul Fitzpatrick, Solace’s chief business development officer. “We’re proud to partner with leaders at BlackBerry, TELUS and L-Spark to make world-class data distribution part of the Secure IoT Accelerator.”

Utilizing the strengths of its strategic partners, the acceleration program will support its portfolio companies in developing innovative IoT products and services that leverage the combined capabilities of TELUS Global Connectivity and IoT Cybersecurity services, BlackBerry’s secure operating system, and Solace’s industry-leading data movement capabilities. Woven together, these capabilities will enable the development of seamless out-of-the-box product and service experiences, ensuring privacy and security by design with built-in connectivity, end-to-end security, streamlined device management, and end-user managed access and provisioning.

Companies taking part in the four-month program will receive:

• Exclusive access to LTE-M ready software development kits (SDK) from the corporate partners to facilitate the development and demonstration of new applications prior to the general market availability of the platform

• Technical mentoring from TELUS, BlackBerry and Solace experts

• Business mentoring from L-SPARK to accelerate company growth and facilitate business development opportunities with corporate accelerator partners as well as outside entities

• All other benefits associated with L-SPARK acceleration programs, including access to L-SPARK’s extensive SaaS, cloud and IoT technology community.  

The Secure IoT Accelerator program is currently accepting applications from growth stage companies developing IoT products in a variety of industries including: automotive; healthcare; access management; smart home and building; retail and supply chain management; logistics and fleet management; natural resources; asset management; among many others.

Ideal applicants must have a Canadian headquarters as well as the required team and financial capacity to execute projects during the accelerator program timeframe.

Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.l-spark.com/secureiot to learn more.

About L-SPARK

L-SPARK is Canada’s leading accelerator for Software as a Service (SaaS) companies. Since the launch of their first cohort in January 2015, L-SPARK has accelerated 47 companies across Canada. With over 10,000 investors, corporate partners and startups now in their network, L-SPARK has curated a forceful Canadian tech community for participating companies to join.  

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, with $14.4 billion of annual revenue and 13.4 million subscriber connections, including 9.2 million wireless subscribers, 1.9 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.2 million residential network access lines and 1.1 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment, video and home and business security. TELUS is also Canada's largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS International delivers business process solutions around the globe.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed over $650 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.21 million days of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS’ 13 Canadian community boards and five International boards have led the Company’s support of grassroots charities and have contributed $72 million in support of 7,000 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) enables the Enterprise of Things by providing the technology that allows endpoints to trust one another, communicate securely, and maintain privacy. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company was founded in 1984 and operates globally. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

About Solace

Solace provides the only unified advanced event broker technology that supports publish/subscribe, queueing, request/reply, message replay and streaming using open APIs and protocols across hybrid cloud and IoT environments. The company's smart data movement technologies rapidly and reliably route information between applications, devices, and people, as well as across public and private clouds. Established enterprises such as SAP, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Canada as well as high-growth companies such as VoiceBase and Jio use Solace to modernize legacy applications and successfully pursue analytics, hybrid cloud, and IoT strategies. Learn more at https://solace.com.