That technology is developed by Ottawa-based Secure City Solutions, a new company spun off from a military communications software firm called Omniglobe Solutions.
Secure City Solutions offers integrated voice, data and video technology for users to share information and collaborate securely, says founder Siva Kumar, formerly an aerospace architect at General Dynamics.
The company was only formed in November, but many contracts are already in the pipeline including the $200,000 contract in Abu Dhabi, a $500,000 purchase order from an unidentified North American company and a joint venture with a large Chinese telecom company.
Selling its product as a turnkey solution with monthly usage fees, the company’s technology can be used to link operations centres to field crews at transportation hubs such as airports or to public safety personnel, for example.
The collaborative suite is similar to Skype, Mr. Kumar says, but is more secure. Skype is banned in many Middle Eastern countries, with the government blocking the voice-over-Internet protocols. That’s because the popular software broadcasts information such as whether the user is online and their location.
We’re expecting to grow to more than 22 people by the end of this year and close approximately $5 million in bookings. - Founder Siva Kumar
The company plans to enter another market shortly – social media – in a joint venture with local entrepreneurs Andrew Moffat and Bob Huggins, both entrepreneurs-in-residence at Invest Ottawa. The businessmen plan to create a platform that allows voice and video files to be integrated with social media outlets such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Secure City Solutions is also looking to forge partnerships in India and Brazil, to complement its existing joint venture in China.
“I think we will be the first company in Ottawa to have joint ventures in these three high-growth countries,” Mr. Kumar says.
These diverse markets are why he says he believes his company will bring in $5 million in contracts this year.
Founded: 2012
Local head count: 12
Funding: $120,000 from IRAP; $30,000 from VentureStart
Clients: Large companies, security command centres, government agencies
Product: Software-based communications and collaboration products.
.jpg)
