BCBUSiNESS.CA FEBRUARy 2018 BCBusiness 37 FEBRUARy 2018 BCBusiness 37
allows my users to log in and use the
maps they want, print maps, see the
data on the real world—like on top of
a Google overlay," Potter says. "So it's
much more šexible."
The Elkford Chamber of Commerce
member, which subscribes to Lightship
Works for a monthly fee, has about 10
sta€ on the platform. Potter says the
main users are public works employ-
ees, who can head out on a dig with an
iPad showing the location of utilities
and land parcel lines. Unlike most
other such software, Lightship Works
is designed for non-technical users, she
notes. "The people I'm working with
just need to see the data and maybe
change a few of the records or use it for
updating information."
When rural and urban governments
and companies connect, everyone
bene‚ts, Potter argues. "Standard-
ization of services and industry best
practice are all really essential to keep
the ball rolling," she says. "If we can
all network together, it allows us to
provide better-quality services to our
residents and businesses, while keep-
ing the costs down because we're all
working together to move forward with
the technolo›y."
Reichel thinks the urban and rural
economies are more intertwined in
B.C. than in the U.S., pointing to the
large number of engineering and other
professional services ‚rms in Vancou-
ver that have built their businesses
on natural resources. "A lot of people
don't realize that—how many of those
people that are going to Gastown every
day are there because they are support-
ing work that's happening in regions
outside of the Lower Mainland."
As technolo›y makes it easier for
people around the province to com-
municate with each other, it's breaking
down the urban-rural divide, Reichel
adds. Today he could run a company
like Lightship Works from a smaller
community like Smithers if he chose,
he says. "You're going to see a lot of the
businesses that normally would have
felt like they needed to be in the Lower
Mainland for access to capital, people
and markets that are ‚nding they can
either have remote workers who live at
Sun Peaks or Panorama, or can have
their headquarters someplace else and
still be very successful." —N.R.
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