Thank goodness it’s not “ICT Ontario”. NMBA pronounced ‘Nimba’ (which is awfully close to nambla) is changing to Interactive Ontario Industry Association or IOIA. Read the Press Release [PDF – 56.2kb].
In a special meeting November 16, NMBA members voted for an identity change. We will be changing our name to ‘Interactive Ontario Industry Association’, and will follow with a complete branding strategy. We’ll be keeping you informed of when the official changeover will take place.
Interactive Ontario represents an interesting group of companies. It continues to make me think that we can build an organization for emerging technology companies.
The New Media Business Alliance has grown substantially in the past two years establishing itself as Ontario's voice for the interactive media industry. It currently represents 100 companies across several sectors including games, mobile, eLearning and convergence production.
YTA is probably the closest local group. They are “a clear voice for everyone in York Region’s tech circle – supporting business developers, innovators, suppliers, and providers”. Whether it’s York Region, Waterloo, or Ottawa there are organizations working to bring companies, talent, government money, and mindshare to their regions. Why is there not a group doing this in Toronto?
Oh, there’s ICT Toronto which is 25 years behind the York Region, 20 years behind Ottawa, and 10 years behind Waterloo. I guess it explains the technology choices used. And why reports like Greater Toronto Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Industry Profile 2004 [PDF – 3.4Mb include companies in the GTA not just Toronto proper. Or why we choose firms from Montreal to write reports about Toronto.