When Council Even Picks Toronto, We got a Problem.

Last week it was announced that the City of London will be undergoing a website redesign. This seemed long overdue, but incredibly welcoming news to all of us working in the technology sector in this community. However, my excitement was short lived, as I soon found out that the estimated $350,000 project would likely be going to a Toronto firm that had handled similar sites in the past.

As someone that is aspiring to start my own company in this city (Consilience Creative), this news was bleak for several reasons. There are four major web design companies that I know of in this city that could have at least put in a bid for a project of that size. Digital Echidna has worked with numerous not for profits and for profits of all shapes and sizes. rTraction's qualifications go beyond their experience with web design. They are the most civically engaged company on this list. Asides from being involved in organizations like Unlondon, they have built my favorite website in the whole city, LondonTrash.ca. ResolutionIM have built sites for companies like Samsonite before, but more importantly for this, they have done sites for St. Lawrence College, Algonquin College, and Trent University. A website for a city would be a step up from these sites, but it's a similar framework. The fourth is the newest on the stage, tbk Creative, however, in their short time, their work with social media has even landed them on the front page of Yahoo.

Now, the city has said that none of these guys are certified to handle the Microsoft content management system requirement. For those not familiar with web design, that's kinda like saying you won't get your car fixed because the mechanic isn't qualified to fix a Model T. This system, while once dominant, isn't a requirement for building a site as large as the cities anymore, and is incredibly expensive for the licensing fees alone ($32,000-42,000 per year). Do you know how much the equivalent system that all of the London firms are experts in costs? Zero. That's right, all of the London firms are experts on content management systems that have no expensive licensing fees. 


There's another aspect to this though. While we may never know if a London company could have done the site for $350,000 because there was no public tender, that money, and the size of the site that it is for could create jobs not only for now, but in the future for whatever company gets it. The money alone, and the scope of the site would allow all of the companies to hire more employees; creating more tax paying citizens of this city, whose talent we would could retain. However, it would also give a London firm the experience so that the next time this comes up, they have done a site of this size, and can continue doing sites of this nature for years to come.

While it is hard to take a stance on this because all of the details are not entirely known, it is disheartening to myself, and any other young entrepreneur in this city that is thinking of starting a web design business. We have a city that struggles to retain talent, and when our own city council says that they don't think that London firms are good enough, and that they don't want to showcase the talents of this city, what kind of message do you think that sends to me, or anyone else that has the "London vs. Toronto" decision to make? When even our own council picks Toronto, I think we have a problem.