Tuesday in San Jose dawned sunny and warm, as all the days seem to here. But there was little time to enjoy the sunshine. We had a very full day ahead of us.

For some of us, taking care of client needs would be the first priority. For example, one of our teams was here on a project for Terralogic, a small startup in the Ottawa area that specializes in the application of geographical principles to business problems. They are developing a tool that will integrate sales and marketing analytics using a Web-service oriented architecture that links CRM systems to disparate data sources to analyze sales territories, direct marketing programs and sales performance.

For the rest of us, it was on to the series of presentations to give us insight into how Silicon Valley operates. Our first stop was the San Jose BioCenter, an incubator for life sciences companies. Life sciences is one of the fastest growing clusters in the United States, and the BioCenter provides the perfect environment for innovators in the field. It houses 25 companies and offers offices, wet labs, dry labs and a full range of common equipment and facilities to enable them to pursue their strategic goals. We were privileged to hear presentations from three firms based there.

Bio-Plays

The first presentation was by BioMarker Pharmaceuticals, a firm that is developing proprietary technologies that are based on identifying genes and proteins involved in aging and age-related diseases. In particular, they are researching genes that restrict carloric intake. Research has shown potential for this to contribute to health in many ways, such as delaying or preventing the onset of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and neurological disorders. StrataGent Life Sciences gave our second presentation. StrataGent is developing unique technology to enable transdermal delivery of drugs. Think of a patch for insulin rather than nicotine. Our third presentation came from Aridis Pharmaceuticals, which develops vaccines and antibodies for infectious agents such as anthrax, salmonella, and rotavirus – the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children, killing 600,000 worldwide each year. With respect to rotavirus, Aridis is developing a vaccine that can be stored at room temperature, which will be of vital importance in facilitating its use in developing nations.

It was clear from these presentations that the BioCenter is playing a key role in enabling these promising young firms to move forward in developing important technologies for the advancement of human health.

Our next stop of the day was at IBM's Almaden Research Center, located atop a hill in the rural south end of San Jose. We were welcomed into a large amphitheatre-style lecture hall where we were to hear three presentations, followed by a panel discussion by all three presenters.

Seeds of the Future

The first presentation was on the Impact of Future Technology, delivered by Ruoyi Zhou, IBM research manager for innovation services. She first introduced us to the worldwide network of IBM R&D centres, located in New York, Texas, California, Switzerland, Israel, Japan, China and India. Operating with a matrix management model, these centres explore the future using varying combinations of behavioural sciences, chemistry, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science, mathematical sciences, physics, and a new discipline: service science, management and engineering.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Ms. Ruoyi's presentation was a sketch of how IBM anticipates the future. She listed a number of staggeringly incorrect predictions for the future of technology, perhaps the most notable being the statement that at most the world would need five computers. Ms. Ruoyi then presented an alternative method of approaching the future. Rather than forecast the future, IBM develops a number of alternative scenarios of how the future might unfold. It then "backcasts" to identify signposts that could be taken as indicators that one or another of the scenarios was in the making. Returning to the present, events would be monitored to see if one or another of the signposts showed up in reality, thus equipping scientists to start preparing for what appeared likely to come in the future.

Our next presentation was by Susan Stucky, director of the IBM Research Rehearsal Studio Program. This program is a fascinating blend of virtual reality and reality itself. To achieve its goals, it uses Second Life technology, a freely available online program that enables participants to create a 3-D virtual world for themselves. In IBM's case, this can be used to conduct research on behaviour of researchers, clients, competitors etc. in a setting that is as close to reality as can be achieved without actually conducting the activities for real. To take a simple example, one might rehearse a PowerPoint slide show with a virtual audience. As the show proceeds, the virtual audience can vote to indicate what slides were unclear or particularly useful. However, that just scratches the surface of the potential. To find out more for yourself, do a Google search for "Second Life."

Our final presentation by IBM came from Jeff Kusnitz of IBM Research, who introduced us to the remarkable world of semantic super computing. Jeff and his colleagues have developed a method for making sense of massive volumes of unstructured information. In the process, they used a super computer that took $5 million a year simply to maintain. The application they developed can devour six billion pages from the Web and then mine it for patterns of useful information and relationships.

These days, many of us hear more about Dell, Microsoft and Apple than we do about IBM. However, what makes front page news can be deceptive. It is clear that IBM's network of research labs is keeping it at the forefront of imagination and innovation worldwide.

We then left IBM to return to downtown San Jose for our final session of the day, a question-and-answer session with three expatriate Canadians who have settled in Silicon Valley. Taking part were Karen O'Brien, principal with Crimson Consulting, Donna Morris, senior director of global talent with Adobe Systems Inc., and Lina Arseneault, senior manager of U.S. SP field marketing for Cisco Systems Inc.

Our questions probed the human side of Silicon Valley. What was it like to live here? What was the pace of life like? What is the job market like? What about work-life balance? What about health care?

Talent Rush

Karen, Donna and Lina were all remarkably similar in the views they expressed in response to these questions. Yes, the pace of life is much faster in Silicon Valley than it is in Canada. People are different here. For example, over 60 per cent of adults in Palo Alto have bachelor's degrees, and 25 per cent have master's degrees. That means that you have some pretty highly motivated people there. It takes some getting used to, but you do get used to it. It's a highly competitive environment, and there may be times in your first year when you worry that you don't have what it takes to make it in the Valley.

You learn to look at housing as an investment, not a living expense. You may choose to live two hours away from your job just so you can live in what you see as an agreeable neighborhood.

As for the job market, now is the time to be a job seeker. Skilled workers are in short supply, and being the right person at the right time could mean a handsome package of base salary, bonuses, stock options, and stock purchase plans. Health care – for those with insurance – is excellent, providing quick access to top-flight health professionals and outstanding facilities.

On balance, Karen, Donna and Lina were unanimous in their opinion. They were sold on Silicon Valley. None of them would return to Canada.

This had been a highly productive day. From the important role of an incubator through the wonders of IBM research to the nuts and bolts of living in the Valley, we learned valuable lessons about what the region is all about and how it operates.

By Robert Parkinson

Special to the Ottawa Business Journal

This article is the third in a series this week on the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management Executive MBA class trip to the Silicon Valley. The trip is part of the EMBA curriculum on "Innovation and Entrepreneurship," which includes a consulting project and holding meetings with Valley firms on behalf of Ottawa-area companies interested in doing business in the area, as well as special events and discussions at key Valley innovation centres, such as the San Jose BioCenter, US Market Access Centre, IBM Almaden Research Center, Cisco and Stanford University.

Robert Parkinson and Rachel Hancock are EMBA participants and they will be writing daily updates for the Ottawa Business Journal, to share their experiences and lessons learned in the Silicon Valley.