It’s a very busy time at OrderDynamics, from future events to putting the final touches on upcoming Client launches. While this is exciting, it doesn’t get in the way of helping our Clients drive outstanding year-end sales results and outpacing industry figures.
One of the ways we’ve been able to help our Clients succeed is by adding a number of news marketing and payment solutions to our on-demand eCommerce platform. These integrations to our on-demand eCommerce platform help our Clients increase sales and inbound web traffic, in addition to driving even better online experiences for shoppers.
Within our platform’s Marketing Cloud, new Shopping Site integrations include Wishabi and Bing Shopping. We are proud to offer more than 10 Shopping Site integrations to our platform. In addition to Shopping Sites, our new integration with ChannelAdvisor’s comparison shopping solution is sure to help our Clients manage data feeds across multiple shopping engines.
Our platform’s Content Services continues to grow as well. With recent integrations of Agility CMS, an enterprise Content Management System, and Etilize, a supplier of product data for consumer electronics and office products, product information and descriptions have never been easier to manage and update.
And finally, as social media and online communities continue to play an important role in helping online retailers drive sales, pre-built integrations with ShopSocially, an outlet for consumers to share recent purchases with Facebook friends, and ProfitPoint, a gift and loyalty card programs payment gateway, will enable merchants to continue building customer loyalty throughout different marketing and promotion plans.
As part of the OrderDynamics eCommerce SaaS offering, integrations like ChannelAdvisor, Etilize, Agility CMS, and more are rolled into the HIVE Ecosystem (Highly Integrated Virtual Ecosystem). HIVE allows OrderDynamics' Clients to quickly adopt new third party integrations that are fully supported, saving them cost and time.
OrderDynamics Merchants Outpace eCommerce Holidays Sales by 57%
JANUARY 31, 2012 – TORONTO, ON – As the dust settles from the 2011 holiday season, e-retailers are slowly catching their collective breath from a very busy Q4. Various reports from the National Retail Federation and comScore - to name a few - indicate sales for the 2011 holiday period saw substantial growth over 2010, and boasted a noteworthy spike after a period of already higher than normal sales leading up to the holidays.
Many consider the Black Friday/Cyber Monday long weekend as the unofficial kick-off to holiday shopping, however reports from comScore suggest significant online shopping increases happening as early as the beginning of November. Retail sales grew 15% to $35 billion in 2011 over 2010 for online transactions occurring between November 1 and December 26 - a sign that online shoppers are increasingly open to an earlier start to the holiday shopping season.
Cyber Monday, however, remains the single largest online shopping day of the year with a 22% increase over its 2010 performance. Overall, OrderDynamics merchants saw a 93% boost in orders compared to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend of 2010, with the biggest increases for their Canadian merchants. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will undoubtedly also become a major online shopping period outside of the US.
OrderDynamics merchants generated a combined increase of 72% in 2011 sales over those of 2010 for the same November to Christmas period, leveraging the dynamic nature of the OrderDynamics On-Demand SaaS Platform. “The OrderDynamics platform and toolset makes it easy for retailers to capitalize on increased web traffic with its advanced online promotions engine, enhanced backend website control, and additional client services based on industry best practices,” said Michael Benadiba, CEO of OrderDynamics Corporation. “The platform is easily able to accommodate even extreme spikes in website traffic to minimize downtime and ensure the best possible online shopping experience.”
Mr. Benadiba attributes the growth in eCommerce not only to savvy online shoppers and general convenience, but also to the Dynamic Merchandising tools available to merchants using their On-Demand eCommerce technology. He added, “OrderDynamics makes it easy for online retailers to optimize their websites for ultimate usability and to deliver a superior online experience during peak seasons”.
Many consider the Black Friday/Cyber Monday long weekend as the unofficial kick-off to holiday shopping, however reports from comScore suggest significant online shopping increases happening as early as the beginning of November. Retail sales grew 15% to $35 billion in 2011 over 2010 for online transactions occurring between November 1 and December 26 - a sign that online shoppers are increasingly open to an earlier start to the holiday shopping season.
Cyber Monday, however, remains the single largest online shopping day of the year with a 22% increase over its 2010 performance. Overall, OrderDynamics merchants saw a 93% boost in orders compared to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend of 2010, with the biggest increases for their Canadian merchants. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will undoubtedly also become a major online shopping period outside of the US.
OrderDynamics merchants generated a combined increase of 72% in 2011 sales over those of 2010 for the same November to Christmas period, leveraging the dynamic nature of the OrderDynamics On-Demand SaaS Platform. “The OrderDynamics platform and toolset makes it easy for retailers to capitalize on increased web traffic with its advanced online promotions engine, enhanced backend website control, and additional client services based on industry best practices,” said Michael Benadiba, CEO of OrderDynamics Corporation. “The platform is easily able to accommodate even extreme spikes in website traffic to minimize downtime and ensure the best possible online shopping experience.”
Mr. Benadiba attributes the growth in eCommerce not only to savvy online shoppers and general convenience, but also to the Dynamic Merchandising tools available to merchants using their On-Demand eCommerce technology. He added, “OrderDynamics makes it easy for online retailers to optimize their websites for ultimate usability and to deliver a superior online experience during peak seasons”.
Dx3 Canada Recap - Review of the Show!
2012 is off to a fantastic start, thanks in part to the first ever Dx3 Canada trade show held last week in Toronto. Dx3 is a Digital Marketing conference that touches on a broad array of marketing operations within the online world. With that said, the OrderDynamics team was pleasantly surprised by the level of interest and enthusiasm shown towards eCommerce at this event.
There is an undeniable shift happening in Canada with eCommerce and online sales. Marketing and technology professionals associated with retail sales continue to look to eCommerce as a way to bolster revenue and marketshare, and also as a way to enhance existing sales channels. We met a number of established online retailers interested in upgrading eCommerce platforms to drive better online experiences and increase sales. In addition, we met quite a few retailers looking to launch an eCommerce presence for the first time. It’s exciting to see the Canadian retail community buying in to eCommerce at the rate they have been over the last few years.
One of several recurring themes at Dx3 last week was emerging technology, its ability to affect consumer experiences and how marketing relates to that. One thing that is clear, however, is that as technology continues to evolve, retailers (and solution providers for retailers) must continue to put the consumer experience in front of everything. Dx3 suggested both retailers and solution providers are very focused on consumer experience too.
Several notable things that stood out to us at this event were Doug Stephens (the Retail Prophet)’s outstanding keynote presentation, LinkedIn’s trade show booth and free professional photo offering, Ortery’s 360-degree product photography, and Agility CMS.
We also wanted to give special thanks to Max Payne (Henry’s), Mark Zuckier (Walking on a Cloud), Paige Malling (Well.ca), and Marc Appana (FitForCommerce) for helping put together such an engaging eCommerce panel presentation. The session, “How Canadian Retailers Can Get eCommerce Right The First Time”, will be available to view online in the coming weeks.
We will be reaching out to all interested parties over the next two weeks. You may also contact us directly: Michael Turcsanyi solutions@orderdynamics.com.
In the meantime, we invite you to visit our website at www.orderdynamics.com to learn more about our On-Demand eCommerce Platform.
Sincerely,
The OrderDynamics Team
1 (866) 559-8123
There is an undeniable shift happening in Canada with eCommerce and online sales. Marketing and technology professionals associated with retail sales continue to look to eCommerce as a way to bolster revenue and marketshare, and also as a way to enhance existing sales channels. We met a number of established online retailers interested in upgrading eCommerce platforms to drive better online experiences and increase sales. In addition, we met quite a few retailers looking to launch an eCommerce presence for the first time. It’s exciting to see the Canadian retail community buying in to eCommerce at the rate they have been over the last few years.
One of several recurring themes at Dx3 last week was emerging technology, its ability to affect consumer experiences and how marketing relates to that. One thing that is clear, however, is that as technology continues to evolve, retailers (and solution providers for retailers) must continue to put the consumer experience in front of everything. Dx3 suggested both retailers and solution providers are very focused on consumer experience too.
Several notable things that stood out to us at this event were Doug Stephens (the Retail Prophet)’s outstanding keynote presentation, LinkedIn’s trade show booth and free professional photo offering, Ortery’s 360-degree product photography, and Agility CMS.
We also wanted to give special thanks to Max Payne (Henry’s), Mark Zuckier (Walking on a Cloud), Paige Malling (Well.ca), and Marc Appana (FitForCommerce) for helping put together such an engaging eCommerce panel presentation. The session, “How Canadian Retailers Can Get eCommerce Right The First Time”, will be available to view online in the coming weeks.
We will be reaching out to all interested parties over the next two weeks. You may also contact us directly: Michael Turcsanyi solutions@orderdynamics.com.
In the meantime, we invite you to visit our website at www.orderdynamics.com to learn more about our On-Demand eCommerce Platform.
Sincerely,
The OrderDynamics Team
1 (866) 559-8123
Dx3 Canada eCommerce Speaking Panel Moderated by OrderDynamics
We’re all set to exhibit at Dx3 Canada next week, January 25-26 at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada. This is a unique conference as it will feature a broad range of technologies and solutions that impact customer acquisition and growth within the Canadian retail industry. And certainly eCommerce and online sales play a big role in driving revenue for Canadian retailers.
In addition to exhibiting at booth # 318, OrderDynamics President Michael Turcsanyi will be moderating a special speaking panel aimed at helping merchants and retailers launch successful eCommerce channels. The session will explore all steps and decisions needed to build a world-class eCommerce website from concept to launch. The session, titled How Canadian Retailers Can Get eCommerce Right The First Time, will feature speakers from leading Canadian retailers like Well.ca, Henry’s, and Walking on a Cloud, with additional insight from FitForCommerce, a leading eCommerce consultancy.
Join us January 25 at 2:45pm at Dx3 Canada to learn how to get your eCommerce deployment right the first time. Please contact us if you are interested in attending the session.
Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays from OrderDynamics in 2011!
It has been a great year, and the OrderDynamics team would like to extend our appreciation to all of our Clients, Partners and Vendors for their support and the wonderful opportunities we’ve had together in 2011.
This year was a year of exceptional growth for OrderDynamics and our clients. Our Platform Team launched exciting and cutting edge platform features to deliver power frontend and backend tools designed help grow B2C and B2B revenues. Our Project Team planned and launched over 15 new websites while our Account Services Team helped optimize current client’s websites and execute on their annual strategic plans.
With the release of our Highly Integrated Virtual Ecosystem, or H.I.V.E™, OrderDynamics continued integrations with numerous companies including ShopRunner, Commission Junction, PepperJam, ShopBot, Channel Advisor, and many others, providing services that fuse together to offer a streamlined and cost-effective way for our clients to leverage leading 3rd party tools with the OrderDynamics Platform.
One of our biggest announcements this year was the release of OrderDynamics Mobile™. Our mCommerce platform is feature-rich and standards-based, allowing merchants to seamlessly integrate across eCommerce and mCommerce channels on any touch enabled device – giving them greater ability to drive revenue and satisfy their mobile customers.
For the second year in a row, OrderDynamics is obtaining FitforCommerce verification, and it will be valid through to the end of 2012. This program is an important part of how OrderDynamics helps our Clients grow by ensuring our platform meets the latest industry standards.
The success of this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday long weekend was a pleasant surprise for OrderDynamics and the eCommerce community. OrderDynamics processed 93% more orders over the same weekend last year and many OrderDynamics clients saw sales double and triple. The On-Demand nature of OrderDynamics platform proved to be our greatest strength during this record-breaking weekend for online sales, allowing our clients to easily accommodate extreme spikes in traffic and orders.
We look forward to continuing to service our clients with the most innovative trends in 2012, and building on the success of 2011. From our family to yours, Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!
Recorders.com Servicing More Customers since Re-Launching with OrderDynamics
Toronto, ON – The leading supplier of digital voice recorders and accessories, Recorders.com, recently re-launched their award-winning eCommerce website on the OrderDynamics On-Demand eCommerce platform.
OrderDynamics announces another successful website migration to their On-Demand eCommerce Platform with Recorders.com. The new B2C and B2B website was completely redesigned and re-launched on the OrderDynamics platform, enabling exciting new features designed to convert and service more customers. The new Recorders.com website provides the most comprehensive source for digital voice recorders, software, and accessories with integrated customer service tools that allow Recorders to deliver their award-winning support in real-time. In just 5 months, Recorders.com has seen dramatic improvements including:
· 33% Total Visits Growth
· 5% Revenue Growth
· 46% Organic Visitor Growth
"We are very pleased with the new website and the OrderDynamics platform which has put us in an industry-leading position. We are elite partners with our suppliers and OrderDynamics enables a single database for backend platform automation." explains Krish Michaels, CEO of Recorders.com. "By leveraging the latest eCommerce best practices and proactive service from OrderDynamics, Recorders.com is servicing more shoppers and delivering superior customer service tools over our competition. We’ve become a one-stop shop for support, customer service and training for an enhanced, streamlined customer experience," continues Michaels. In addition to the customer service tools, the new Recorders.com has seen significant organic search placement increases using out-of-box tools within OrderDynamics. The new eStore also leverages latest features like multi-select guided navigation, SEO, Promotions, Complex Pricing, Merchandising, Recommendations, Product Personalization, Content Personalization, Rich Imaging, Product Reviews, and more. In addition, Recorders.com provides industry specific shopping tools, like unique short description by industry, and integrated customer support tickets in the shopper’s My Account section using OrderDynamics Case Management system.
"The Recorders.com project was a huge success and we’re excited about enabling their revenue growth for years to come” says Michael Turcsanyi, President of OrderDynamics. "We congratulate the Recorders team on the launch and look forward to future phases".
About Recorders.com
Recorders.com is the leading supplier of digital dictation equipment in the United States. For over 10 years, Recorders.com has been in the dictation, transcription, and voice recognition industry and was established to help an ever growing Mobile Society communicate information quickly and easily. Recorders ships same business day on most orders and products are inventoried in 7 warehouses across the United States to ensure Quick Shipments.
OrderDynamics to Exhibit at the Dx3 Canada 2012
Canada’s leading On-Demand eCommerce Platform Provider, OrderDynamics Corporation, is an official sponsor and exhibitor at this year’s Dx3 Canada Trade Show.
OrderDynamics will be part of Canada’s Digital Superstore at Dx3 Canada’s 2012 Trade Show. Known as the Canadian Trade Show, Dx3 Canada will be taking over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on January 25 and 26, 2012, to showcase exhibitors from the advertising, marketing and retailing industries.
Along with 34 other established companies, OrderDynamics invites the public to learn how to grow a business using the diverse digital tools being presented. Along with company exhibits, Dx3 Canada’s repertoire of workshops is designed to educate visitors in a variety of areas including SEO, Social Media Operations, and Mobile Marketing, among others.
For a dynamic, interactive experience, visitors can also explore various ‘zones’ presented by Dx3 Canada’s Trade Show sponsors: Moneris Small Business Zone, Facebook U, IAB Canada Spotlight Theatre, MobileZone and Incubator Zone. Expanding on networking opportunities, Say:Media will be hosting a party at the Steam Whistle Brewery at 5pm on the evening of January 25, offering exhibitors and visitors a fun end to the first day of the show.
Canada is in a great position to get more involved in eCommerce. In the past year, OrderDynamics has seen huge growth in the need for Canadian retailers to add or improve their eCommerce channel. With the overwhelming success of 2011 Black Friday through Cyber Monday, where OrderDynamics processed 93% more orders over the same weekend last year, Canadian retailers need to get equipped to reap the same benefits next year. Recent Canadian eCommerce successes such as Henry’s Camera, Kitchen Stuff Plus and Walking on a Cloud saw sales double and triple, indicating that the US Thanksgiving shopping weekend will continue to be lucrative for Canadian eCommerce.
OrderDynamics makes a great addition to the Dx3 Canada Trade Show with a diverse portfolio of digital services consistent with current eCommerce trends. At booth 318, visitors can learn about OrderDynamics’ on-demand eCommerce SaaS Platform which includes backend and frontend operations equipped with services for Order Management, Dynamic Merchandising including SEO, and Online Marketing, along with a plethora of others. With the recent release of the OrderDynamics Mobile Commerce Platform, visitors can also learn about seamless integration of mobile and eCommerce platforms to cater to multi-store merchants.
As an official sponsor of the Dx3 Canada Trade Show, OrderDynamics hopes to connect with growing Canadian retailers in need of adding or improving a dynamic eCommerce platform. The Show will also be a great opportunity to network with Canadian digital agencies to partner with on future eCommerce projects. “Canada needs a digital trade show,” says Michael Turcsanyi, president of OrderDynamics. “We are excited that Dx3 has put forth a major event that will be beneficial to digital industries in Canada”.
The Dx3 Canada 2012 Trade Show promises to be exciting and educating, and admission is free! For more information, visit www.dx3canada.com, or for speaking opportunities, email oliver@dx3canada.com. Also visit us at www.orderdynamics.com to learn more about what to expect from the OrderDynamics booth, #318.
Avalara Announces Strategic Partnership with OrderDynamics Corporation
AvaTax for OrderDynamics now available for OrderDynamics customers
Toronto, ON – December 9, 2011 – Avalara (www.avalara.com), the leading provider of fully automated, up-to-date sales and use tax compliance solutions, announced today a strategic partnership with OrderDynamics Corporation, leading provider of On-Demand eCommerce solutions.
AvaTax for OrderDynamics is an easy-to-use sales tax calculation and filing solution that integrates with OrderDynamics to eliminate the hassle of tax compliance processes and reduce the risk of business audits. The web-based service delivers instantaneous sales tax calculations using a centrally-managed, highly accurate calculation engine leveraging up-to-date sales tax rates, rules and jurisdiction boundaries. Coupled with automated filing, remittance and exemption certificate management, AvaTax for OrderDynamics provides unprecedented sales tax functionality to boost business productivity while minimizing audit risk.
"At OrderDynamics, we constantly seek new and better ways to provide our clients with meaningful tools to run every aspect of their online business” says Michael Benadiba, CEO of OrderDynamics Corporation. “Through this integration with Avalara, our clients will be able to easily manage and remain up-to-date with increasingly complicated tax regulations.”
“AvaTax is the industry standard for automated sales tax solutions and we are proud to add OrderDynamics Corporation to the list of leading providers who have chosen to incorporate our service into their offerings,” said Scott McFarlane, CEO and co-founder of Avalara. “OrderDynamics customers now have the ability to focus on their core business without worrying about spending additional time and resources on calculating and remitting sales tax.”
For more information about AvaTax for OrderDynamics, please visit,
www.avalara.com/e-commerce/orderdynamics
About OrderDynamics Corporation
OrderDynamics Corporation is a privately owned eCommerce platform service provider for high-growth B2C and B2B businesses. The success of OrderDynamics is highly attributed to its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) eCommerce model and Dynamic Merchandising concepts which provide superior control and help drive revenue. The OrderDynamics solution caters to multi-channel retail, manufacturing, business-to-business, and complex online retail. OrderDynamics officially launched its On-Demand eCommerce Platform in 2006 after 2 years of research and development.
About Avalara
Headquartered in Bainbridge Island, WA, Avalara is the recognized leader in web-based sales tax solutions, and is transforming the sales and use tax compliance process for businesses of all sizes. Avalara’s AvaTax family of products provides end-to-end compliance solutions and is regarded as the fastest, easiest, most accurate and affordable way for companies to address their statutory tax requirements. Avalara is the industry's most trusted provider of sales and use tax automation solutions and is one of America’s fastest growing companies earning recognitions such as Microsoft’s SaaS Partner of the Year for 2010. For more information, please visit www.avalara.com.
To set up an interview with executive Scott McFarlane please contact Yvonne Lunceford, Marketing Manager at Avalara, at 206-826-4900 x1149, or email yvonne.lunceford@avalara.com.
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Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2011 Report
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Mark a Huge Start for the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season
Toronto, ON - OrderDynamics merchants saw a significant impact on sales with the onset of the US Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. Trends indicated that many consumers began their shopping on Thanksgiving Day despite brick and mortar retail outlets being closed, leading to a 39% increase in online sales over Thanksgiving 2010. As reported by InternetRetailer.com, Thanksgiving Day web revenue grossed upwards of $550 million – a sure sign that many consumers are starting Christmas shopping earlier given the right promotion.
This year’s Black Friday also showed big numbers for eCommerce. While overall Black Friday sales were up 6.6%, online revenue boasted a growth of 24.3% over last year. Even daily deal site LivingSocial.com reported sales of almost 150,000 purchases. Many OrderDynamics e-retailers saw sales double, with some even tripling average daily numbers and saw strong sales perpetuate throughout the weekend. “We processed 93% more orders for Black Friday through Cyber Monday this year,” reports Michael Turcsanyi, President of OrderDynamics. “Overall, OrderDynamics merchants pulled in 140% more revenue over the same weekend last year. It’s very exciting to see that kind of growth.”
The greatest success was Cyber Monday, grossing the highest online sales in history at $1.25 billion. Though not entirely unexpected, e-retailers’ overall sales were up 33% from last year’s Cyber Monday. This year, the concept of offering large discounts the first Monday day after the US Thanksgiving was more heavily adopted in Canada, which likely contributed to the extra push. Canadian OrderDynamics merchants such as Henry’s Camera reported similar success to US counterparts, making Cyber Monday even more lucrative than Black Friday for OrderDynamics e-tailers.
Of course, several online retailers suffered a less than fruitful holiday weekend. Several site outages and performance issues lead to inconvenient downtime and lost revenue. Most notably, VictoriasSecret.com experienced an 80-minute interruption on Black Friday, while increased traffic to Ann Inc’s AnnTaylor.com triggered a Cyber Monday outage. American Eagle Outfitters’ site, ae.com, saw a total of 8 hours of downtime throughout the entire weekend, and a 350% spike in traffic caused difficulties for PayPal as well. Now notorious for frequent site outages, Target.com had several loading errors allowing pages to only be partially viewed. Catchpoint Systems Inc. put together a list of sites with the most performance issues over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Along with high profits, the Thanksgiving weekend offers lessons to be learned. The Conference Board Consumer Research Centre index reported on research findings that consumers have been viewing the current economic climate more positively lately, which through increased spending can continue to trend upwards. This, coupled with excellent online promotions encouraged an earlier start to the holiday shopping season. Online and mobile retailers should aim to prepare themselves for next year in a number of ways: offer promotions earlier, and make sure consumers are well aware of them with strong email campaigns; use ‘Thanksgiving Day-Only’ sales to intrigue those who may consider waiting until Black Friday. Thanksgiving weekend has proven to be far too profitable to risk site outages, and as such sites and mobile apps should be tweaked and tested to accommodate promotions and sustain higher than normal traffic.
To combat possible performance problems and to ensure the best shopping experience for the end consumer, the OrderDynamics SaaS platform enables extreme scalability under high order volumes. Using proprietary order processing technology that enables high rates of order capture, and the ability to elastically expand their cloud infrastructure, OrderDynamics helps ensure smooth running even for the most unexpected shopping surges. “We maintain significant on-demand capacity in our SaaS infrastructure to protect merchants against inevitable spikes” says Steven Berkovitz, Co-Founder and On-Demand Platform Architect. “In addition, we operate a single version of our software, allowing us to make performance enhancements to our core platform which immediately benefits all of our clients without needing to make costly customizations”. One of the main reasons for changing ecommerce platforms is due to instability and reliability problems of the existing website.
The start of the 2011 holiday shopping season proved to also be a great opportunity for mobile retailers. Thanksgiving Day showed the largest proportion of mobile sales at 11.09%, followed by 9.8% of online sales on Black Friday, and 6.6% on Cyber Monday. With a greater selection of advanced mobile devices, it is not surprising that purchases on smartphones greatly exceeded 2010 statistics.
OrderDynamics Enters CIX 2011 Contest for Hottest Innovative Companies
For the second year in a row, OrderDynamics has entered Canada’s Hottest Innovative Companies contest put on by the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX), a must-attend conference for over 400 of the principal players in the innovation economy.
Every year CIX conducts an exhaustive search for the most innovative ideas, products, services and companies in the country. An expert panel of respected innovation leaders will select 20 companies to take the stage and showcase their business live. The CIX Top 20 serves as an elite index of the very best in the Canadian innovation ecosystem and connects the key players driving technology-based innovation with fresh new businesses to keep the wheels of commerce and innovation turning.
Taking place in Toronto on December 1, 2011, at MaRS Discovery District. Register here: www.canadianinnovationexchange.com.
