A Leading City in Cyberspace

Originally appeared in the 1998 Cornwall Business Magazine.

Cornwall's presence on the Internet continues to grow, as more and more area companies and organizations take advantage of this rapidly growing marketing and communications medium. From web sites and e-mail to electronic commerce and corporate intranets, it seems that there is no shortage of creative ideas on how to best take advantage of our new digital world.

As one of the first cities in the world with a serious presence on the Internet , Cornwall served notice that it was positioning itself to make a smooth transition to the current economic climate of global competition. A century ago successful communities were those positioned on transportation hubs such as rivers, rail lines and sea trading routes. Today, Cornwall seeks to build on its location on Canada's main fibre optic network, with an added bonus that most of the nation's leading high-tech firms are within an hour's drive. The City's web site (www.city.cornwall.on.ca) now comprises of over 100 pages of information on the community, ranging from recent business news to demographics. The site recently welcomed it's 30,000th visitor, and has fielded enquiries from over 50 different countries.

As impressive as the City site is, activity in the private sector has been growing exponentially. As one would expect the Chamber of Commerce has a comprehensive site (chamber.cornwall.on.ca) that profiles over 500 local businesses, many of which have developed their own sites. "The business community in Cornwall has always aggressively pursued new opportunities for growth", says Lezlie Strasser, Executive Manager of the Chamber. "Once it became clear that the Internet was not just a fad or a recreational forum, our members began including it as part of their marketing and communication plans."

Cornwall companies have taken different approaches to their use of the Internet, all based upon their own particular needs and markets. The Internet and the world wide web itself is still in a state of growth and change, and many opportunities for new ways of doing business are still in an embryonic form. "We view our web site as on-going project that will constantly be changed to meet the demand of our customers", says Ron Ruckstuhl, owner of local computer shop Computer Sense (www.computersense.on.ca). "We have quite a bit of information on the web site on the products that we carry, from full systems to peripherals. In our business prices can change weekly, so the Internet's dynamic features make it an ideal marketing medium." While retailers like Computer Sense report that people seem reluctant to make purchases over the Internet at the current time, they note that people can certainly browse and price compare. Companies that are not on-line are running the risk of alienating a significant portion of the marketplace, estimated to grow to 5.2 million Canadians this year.

Other Cornwall companies are using the Internet to facilitate their growth into international markets. Local industries such as NuMED, Exeltherm, and Dynamic Closures have developed comprehensive web sites with detailed information on their product lines. It is the Internet's ability to deliver information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to anywhere in the world that makes its an ideal marketing tool. "Architects and contractors are able to download detailed information about our products in their office while they are working on their projects", says Jan Oosterwaal, President of Exeltherm (www.exeltherm.com). "They know that they have access to the latest information and can avoid having to wait for a courier or the mail. It is an invaluable tool".

One of the expected growth areas for the Internet in upcoming months will be corporate intranets and the increasing use of the world wide web and e-mail to facilitate communication between remote offices. "With satellite offices in Kingston and Bermuda, and job sites around the world, we see great potential for using the Internet to break down long distance barriers", says Mark Smelko, President of the Thompson Rosemount Group (www.trg.ca), a integrated group of companies with specialties ranging from engineering to architectural design to system development. "We are looking at ways of holding virtual meetings with people in Bermuda, Canada and Singapore, where participants could view pictures of a job site that is literally minutes old. It has the potential to allow us to work anywhere in the world without having to create offices in several different countries."

As Cornwall's business community continues to breach new frontiers in Cyberspace, the residents of the City are certainly not staying at home. Local Internet service providers have struggled to keep up with relentless demand for access. "Cornwall is mirroring Canada's strong growth of homes being connected to the Internet", says Guy Cuerrier, President of Cornwall IGS (www.cnwl.igs.net). "With one of the world's best telecommunication systems, access is dependable and inexpensive. We estimate that approximately 20% of area residents are on-line, with more and more signing up each month."

True to its entrepreneurial spirit, Cornwall is not adverse to telling people that the community is available via the Internet. An impressive new colour brochure profiling many of the top Cornwall web sites will be distributed to 15,000 companies around the world, and participating companies are providing links to each other to help spread the word even further (www.webtech.on.ca/cyberspace). The brochure is in its third printing, and each year the number of participants doubles. With growth rates like that, it is clear that Cornwall will continue to be a leading force in Cyberspace.