British Columbia Innovation Council

In November, we announced the 20 finalists of the 2^nd annual BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional. The startups are now preparing their final pitch to win one of three cash prizes worth a total of $60,000.

For many years, Dr. Ramon Lawrence worked as a consultant helping companies build expensive data solutions that could create valuable reports to aid business decisions.  In 2011, Ramon created UnityJDBC, software that allows companies to query, translate, report and compare data from multiple data sources in real time, enabling rapid decision-making.

"Companies have data in many databases, and it is slow and expensive to combine them for management and reporting," said Ramon, currently Associate Professor in Computer Science at UBC Okanagan. "UnityJDBC integrates data sources without the need to invest in expensive infrastructure.  Customers can deploy reports in less than a day at limited cost."

The software works with any Java-enabled platform and is currently benefiting clients in system development, health informatics and banking.

The finalists in the BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional are matched with mentors who provide advice and guidance as entrepreneurs develop their business plans and also help them prepare for their final pitch. For Ramon, the mentorship from leaders in the industry has been the most valuable aspect of the competition.  "Learning from experts with experience and skills in a variety of areas is much more effective that trying to discover everything on your own."

Winners of the BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional will be announced on February 23, 2012 in Kelowna, BC.   Regardless of the outcome of the competition, Ramon plans to proceed with developing his technology and hopes to forge new partnerships for distribution and deployment.

"I plan to use the advice and experience from the competition to implement a strategy for long-term growth and success."

Congratulations to Ramon and best of luck in the final round of the competition. For more information about the BCIC-New Ventures Competition: Regional, click here.