iWeb Blog

We opened our first colocation and data centre in Montreal at the turn of the millennium. Then we opened another. And another. And another. And we’re moving to a new Montreal headquarters in the spring to make even more room for colocation customers. Now these data centres host thousands of businesses from more than 150 countries around the world.

Yet, there’s no place like home. There are many reasons why we love Montreal.

Montreal Is a Tech Mecca

It’s no surprise that the World Economic Forum ranks Montreal among the top 25 most high-tech cities in the world. Montreal is full of exciting tech companies working on things like designing wearable technology, e-commerce solutions, and cashless payment systems. Not that excitement is everything. Montreal is also home to plenty of tech companies providing services that are the backbone of the tech industry. They do things like IT consulting, workplace efficiency software, IT infrastructure management, and computer virus detection.

Montreal is a significant centre for animation and visual effects. Notable companies like Framestore, Technicolor/MPC, MELS, and Reel FX are an important part of Montreal’s tech ecosystem, representing an impressive concentration of expertise.

And many people aren’t aware that Montreal has become the centre of Canada’s gaming industry, with more than 10,000 gaming professionals working here. Major players like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Gameloft have invested heavily in Montreal.

Montreal also has one of the largest concentrations of AI scientists in the world. Moreover, the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms is one of the best deep learning groups in the tech space. As a result, plenty of businesses are coming to Montreal to take advantage of the expertise available.

In fact, look at Canadian Business’s list of top 50 fastest growing companies in Montreal and you’ll see it’s dominated by tech companies.

Montreal Has a Great Start-Up Scene

Montreal has a pool of 90,000 skilled ICT workers, partly thanks to major institutions like Polytechnique Montréal, the Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM), McGill, ETS, and Concordia University. As a result, Montreal has a thriving start-up scene. Start-up Genome has listed Montreal amongst its best start-up ecosystems in the world (pdf warning). According to Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), Montreal attracted $727 million in venture capital across 132 deals in 2017.

Montreal Has Plenty of Green Energy

In Quebec, 99% of electricity is generated from sustainable energy sources. This is mostly thanks to hydropower. In fact, Hydro-Québec is the fourth largest hydropower company in the world.

As a result, businesses in Montreal enjoy low electricity costs. In fact, they’re 36% lower than in the US and 49% lower than in other G7 countries. Obviously, for energy-intensive infrastructure, this means a lot.

Montreal Is a Fun City

Montreal is more than poutine, smoked meat, and bagels (although those things are great). Montreal has the best dining in Canada. It has an incredible live theatre scene. It’s home to world-class architecture, museums, and unique places. And we bet you didn’t know that Montreal is an awesome festival city. Whether you like fireworks, beer, food trucks, comedy, heavy metal, buskers, or whatever, there’s probably a festival for you. There’s a lot going on here, and that’s a big reason our hundred-plus team of bilingual professionals want to live and work in Montreal.

Plus, the Habs are due for a cup.

The Takeaway

There are lots of reasons why we love Montreal. Rich cultural amenities make Montreal a great place to live. Green energy, a thriving start-up culture, and a massive concentration of tech professionals make Montreal a great place to do business. Contact iWeb (powered by INAP) today if you’d like to learn more about colocation and managed cloud hosting solutions that we provide to customers here in our hometown, in the province of Quebec and beyond.