The Finalists

Below are the VIATEC Award Finalists from 2018, and the Recipients are highlighted in black! Click any logo or image to read the full profile interviews to learn more about the incredible talent right here in Greater Victoria. If you are researching on behalf of media and would like more info, contact tectoria@viatec.ca. Stay tuned for the 2019 Finalists!

Abeego Designs
Finalist for: Product of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Abeego is a lifestyle brand for the living, breathing kitchen that designs products to keep food alive.

Alta Bering
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] People should think and machines should work! Alta Bering developed EPO software so people can have more time to go camping and daydream.

Ambient Ease
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Software or Service)
[Click logo to read full interview] Ambient Ease gets technology and people in balance.

Anita Pawluk
Finalist for: Leader of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Anita’s leadership style is to “kill them with kindness”… and she’s the rock that grounds the team at RaceRocks as it scales!

Appreciation Engine
RECIPIENT! Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Appreciation Engine powers digital handshakes and insights between companies like UMG and Sony Music and their fans, so that fans get better offers, recommendations and tailored content. Marketers Rejoice!

ASAsoft (Canada)
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
[Click logo to read full interview] ASAsoft develops cutting-edge solutions for electricity transmission and distribution that reduces power outages by up to 70%, reduces line maintenance cost by 50%, reduces solid and liquid waste to 1%, and costs half of the traditional technologies that are currently being used.

Bambora
RECIPIENT for: Employer of the Year! Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (50+ employees)
[Click logo to read full interview] The biggest nerds of the payment industry, Bambora brings intelligence and class as they continue their mission to be the number one provider in North America.

Barnacle Systems
RECIPIENT for: Startup of the Year! Finalist for: Emerging Leader of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Is your boat keeping you up at night? Barnacle Systems has the cure for "boater's anxiety" allowing you to receive updates to your smartphone whether you're at home, at the dock, or halfway around the world.

Brandon Wright
Finalist for: Emerging Leader of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Bored of protecting kings and countries (seriously), Brandon decided to take on fear itself - specifically for boaters, with his company Barnacle Systems.

Caorda
Finalist for: Team of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Since 2003, Caorda’s team has been bringing the heat with full end-to-end web services, getting businesses of all sizes online and performing their absolute best.

Certainty Software
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Certainty’s product, "Checkit", is an enterprise-level audit and inspection management solution trusted by more than 75,000 users in Fortune 1000 companies worldwide.

Certn
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Software or Service)
[Click logo to read full interview] Certn helps property managers and financial institutions identify, assess, and manage applications to find the best customers using A.I. enabled employment screening.

Checkfront
Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (50+ employees), Product of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Sharing a common vision, Checkfront provides an exceptional online booking experience for its customers in travel tourism, as well as a positive and supportive work environment for its talented employees.

Creality Studio
Finalist for: Startup of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Creality builds human-focused AI framework that evolves and creates new categories of jobs that machines will never be able to replace.

Delta-X Research
RECIPIENT for: Innovative Excellence (Software or Service)!
[Click logo to read full interview] Delta-X Research develops advanced analytic and decision support software that helps electric utilities around the world keep the lights on… and the refrigerators cold!

DreamCraft Attractions

Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
DreamCraft Attractions are a team of creative and technical minds building unique and immersive VR and AR experiences for the location-based entertainment industry.

Enrollment Resources
Finalist for: Employer of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Enrollment Resources is the leading innovator in the for-profit career education sector, empowering schools to increase their enrollment through marketing and admissions systems that represent the very best practices the industry has to offer.

EyeSpy Innovations
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] EyeSpy Innovations helps the police catch crooks with James Bond style spy equipment.

Flytographer
Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (11-49 employees), Leader of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Flytographer is an online marketplace that connects travellers with local photographers for fun, candid vacation photo shoots (about an hour) in hundreds of cities worldwide.

FreshWorks Studio
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] FreshWorks is a mobile app design and development studio delivering elegant mobile apps (iOS & Android), product strategies, responsive web applications, and delightful user experiences.

Hannes Blum
RECIPIENT of: Angel of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] As the co-founder and CEO of AbeBooks, he started, built, and scaled one of the most successful original Internet marketplaces, and he is now mentoring other founders start, build, and scale their businesses... but he'd like to say he's just an Internet dinosaur with a very high affinity for competition.

HYAS Infosec
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] HYAS tracks global cybercriminals down to their doorstep.

Ian Chisholm
RECIPIENT of: VIATEC Member of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Smart, unfailingly selfless, and humble to a fault, Ian is one of those rare individuals who brings ideas, passion, and accountability to everything he undertakes, including his work with Roy Group and helping bring F*ckUp Nights to Victoria with Jim Hayhurst.

Iris Dynamics
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
[Click logo to read full interview] They've been moving things with magnets since 2012, and their innovative motion control products have been used by many aerospace organization, including: NASA, the FAA, Airbus Perlan, and Lockheed-Martin for demonstration, training and R&D.

Jim Hayhurst
RECIPIENT of: VIATEC Member of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Jim's dedication to building a strong tech community is exactly the reason why he has been so successful in his businesses and events, including bringing F*ckUp Nights to Victoria with Ian Chisholm. From good people comes good work.

JSF Technologies
Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (11-49 employees), Leader of the Year (Valerie Foster)
[Click logo to read full interview] JSF Tech is saving the planet and lives by using the sun's renewable energy to make traffic devices - all with Canadian ingenuity, labour, and manufacturing.

Kano
RECIPIENT for: Technology Company of the Year (11-49 employees)! Finalist for: Employer of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] A YYJ native who understands the power of community – Kano has been building meaningful connections through lasting social games since 2008.

Latitude Technologies
RECIPIENT for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
[Click logo to read full interview] Latitude Technologies Corporation is the premier global supplier of flight data monitoring, flight following, and satcom solutions for aircraft and fleet operators.

Limbic Media
Finalist for: Product of the Year
[Click logo for full interview] Art + Technology = Engagement. Limbic Media transforms public spaces with high-tech reactive art and light installations that invite participation and bring people together.

LlamaZOO Interactive
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year, Innovative Excellence (Software or Service)
[Click logo to read full interview] LlamaZOO has scaled from revolutionizing how veterinarians learn anatomy, to disrupting how the world's largest mining companies communicate around their 3D data, and has emerged as one of the leaders in BC's thriving AR/VR scene.

Logan Volkers
Finalist for: Emerging Leader of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Logan is CTO, COO and SaaSquatch whisperer.

Mia Maki
RECIPIENT of: Colin Lennox Award for Technology Champion
[Click photo to read full interview] From executive to academic, Mia has been a force for good: digging in, connecting people, supporting growing companies and cheering on the community.

Nicole Smith
Finalist for: Leader of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Nicole creates a meaningful work culture and inspires people to do their best work at Flytographer.

Pani Energy
Finalist for: Startup of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] They desalinate ocean water, cheaper and more efficient than any other commercial technology, globally.

Purpose Five
Finalist for: Startup of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Digital with Purpose. Design for People. Purpose Five Data-Driven Software, Websites and Digital Marketing.

Quester Tangent
Finalist for: Team of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Train control and train monitoring systems that improve efficiency while reducing costs... Quester Tangent has a great team of engineers, but they don’t wear coveralls, a funny hat, or ride the choo-choo train.

RaceRocks
Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (11-49 employees), Leader of the Year
Your trusted partner for traditional, e-learning, VR, AR, media, story and game based training development, and your agile wrangler of big data analytics for critical decision making. RaceRocks has a proven history in Aerospace and Defence, enabling OEM’s, defence primes and the Royal Canadian Navy.

REinVR Real Estate in Virtual Reality
Finalist for: Product of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] REinVR transforms real estate floor plans into photo-realistic, immersive and interactive virtual environments to save time and money for professionals who design, finance, build, market and sell new properties that don't yet exist.

SaaSquatch
RECIPIENT for: Team of the Year! Finalist for: Emerging Leader of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] SaaSquatch is the first intelligent special offer and promotions management platform for digital businesses.

Sarah Gulbrandsen
RECIPIENT for: Emerging Leader of the Year
[Click picture to read full interview] Sarah Gulbrandsen has celebrated her true CALLing as a thought leader, mentor, and driver of change at RingPartner since 2016.

Schneider Electric
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Software or Service), Team of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Schneider Electric's technologies ensure that Life Is On for everyone, everywhere, at every moment.

StarFish Medical
RECIPIENT of: Community Champion
[Click to read full interview] StarFish Medical digs deeper to solve the right problems and help entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies empower medtech innovation, while also giving back to the community in their “spare” time.

SunTracker Technologies
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
[Click logo to read full interview] SunTracker creates breakthrough innovations in software and lighting technologies to model, control, and create an advanced lighting environment for horticulture, architecture, and entertainment lighting.

Telmediq
RECIPIENT for: Product of the Year
Telmediq offers a cloud based unified texting and voice communication solution for care team members at acute care hospitals, ambulatory sites and Integrated Delivery Networks.

Timberstone Tools
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Hardware)
[Click logo to read full interview] Timberstone Tools produces world class measurement systems that transmit real-time data collected at the bit during drilling operations 6 km underground in high temperature boreholes.

TrichAnalytics
Finalist for: Emerging Technology Company of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] The only company in the world that time travels using a single hair to reveal your "metal" health story!

Udutu
Finalist for: Innovative Excellence (Software or Service)
[Click logo to read full interview] Online training software that’s hard to pronounce but easy to use.

Valerie Foster
RECIPIENT for: Leader of the Year
Val Foster loves a challenge, and when the chance to work with JSF Tech came along in 2012, she jumped in with both feet and has been steering the company toward solar traffic safety market domination ever since.

Vecima Networks
RECIPIENT for: Technology Company of the Year (50+ employees)
[Click logo to read full interview] Any content, any device, any place – Vecima Networks builds the technology that delivers media around the world.

VitaminLab
Finalist for: Startup of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] VitaminLab creates an all-in-one personalized supplement based on actionable health data-- your health history, DNA or blood --and changes how you buy and associate vitamins.

VRX Ventures
Finalist for: Technology Company of the Year (11-49 employees)
[Click logo to read full interview] Since 1999, VRX has strived to change the world by seamlessly integrating advanced technology and meticulously crafted hardware to create unique and innovative simulation experiences.

Workday
Finalist for: Employer of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources.

YogiTunes
Finalist for: Startup of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] YogiTunes is on a mission to uplift humanity through the power of yoga and music.

Youneeq
Finalist for: Team of the Year
[Click logo to read full interview] A.I. Personalization Platform driven tools for publishers, e-commerce providers, e-government, Advertising Networks and marketing firms (or, an affordable IBM Watson).