Who says nice guys finish last? Speaking in a media roundtable to launch his new book in Ottawa yesterday, Open Text executive chairman and chief strategy officer Tom Jenkins made a compelling argument for Canada’s place in the digital future.

Presenting some of the ideas he writes about in “Managing Content in the Cloud – Enterprise Content Management 2.0,” Jenkins pointed out that Canada might be well positioned to benefit from the current technology wave, which seems to prioritize technology application – what we actually do with the technology – than the underpinning infrastructure.

He noted that certain aspects of the modern tech zeitgeist play on Canada’s strengths. The increasingly global nature of interaction across social media networks, for instance, seems to align with our country’s multiculturalism. And whereas companies in other countries often struggle to compete in an ever more competitive landscape, Canadian companies are adept and banding together for genuine advantages.

“That’s an amazing opportunity we have,” he said.

Jenkins pointed to the work numerous Canadian organizations did to create the technologies used by delegates during the G20 Summit. Members of the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) – including Open Text, Research in Motion, and Christie Digital – crafted a comprehensive technology system comprising displays, mobile devices, and social media networks for cross-delegate communication – all in a matter of weeks. Other international meeting organizers took notice, and they’re seeking some of that Canadian co-operative know-how to inform the technology pieces of their events.

Sometimes it’s difficult to be upbeat about Canada’s place in the digital economy. Many of the firms that used to operate as the pillars of our technology industry (e.g., Nortel) have been chopped and swallowed up by other, non-Canadian companies. We used to lead the telecom industry – but we’ve largely fallen off the pace. Yet according to Jenkins, there’s hope for this country, stemming from our vary nature as an open society that understands the importance of cooperation.

His new book features about 50 stories of organizations all over the world – including a number of Canadian examples – using cloud computing to improve employee communication, address government regulations, and improve content management, among other things. No surprise, content management is at the heart of the solution – Open Text has made a name for itself as an enterprise content management (ECM) solution provider.

Want to know more? Follow this link to Open Text’s web page about Tom’s new tome: www.opentext.com/2/global/company-ecm-book.htm.