In 2005, a routine sales call changed the trajectory of John Solomos’ career.
While working his first tech job at Dell, a representative from the non-profit OntarioMD reached out looking for recommendations on the best computers for doctors.
“Markham has done a fantastic job at showing people, ‘we’re building this for you.’”
John Solomos, BlueBird IT Solutions
“Upon speaking with him for a few minutes, I knew right away they were looking at making a push to get medical clinics digitized. I knew I wanted to be a part of that wave, so the next morning, I incorporated BlueBird,” Solomos recalled.
Starting as a one-man operation in his basement in Markham, Ont., BlueBird IT Solutions evolved into a trusted IT provider for medical professionals across Canada.
Just a few years after that sales call, BlueBird became the preferred vendor for OntarioMD.
Today, from its headquarters in Markham, the company partners with physicians across Canada, helping them adopt and implement technology systems. Beyond setup, they serve as a trusted IT partner, supporting thousands of family doctors, specialists, and hospital practitioners in leveraging electronic medical records (EMR) and other technologies to enhance patient care nationwide.
Solomos said starting a business wasn’t completely out of the blue, but it wasn’t his original plan either. After graduating, he was accepted to Osgoode Hall Law School but ultimately chose to decline and take his first job in tech instead. While there, he approached the role as if he were running his own business, so when the time came to launch BlueBird, it felt like a natural next step.
When OntarioMD first introduced the initiative to digitize medical clinics, the necessary infrastructure simply didn’t exist. Solomos said BlueBird IT Solutions aimed to bridge that gap, partnering with all the approved and major EMR companies across Canada, which helped drive EMR adoption to over 90 percent across the country.
“That foundation is now enabling the next wave of medical innovation,” Solomos added. “Without the infrastructure we helped put in place—allowing doctors to run software and securely store and access patient records—none of the advancements we see today would be possible.”
According to Solomos, Markham’s tech ecosystem created the conditions for his company’s expansion.
The City of Markham sits just 30 kilometres north of Toronto, but it’s playing an outsized role in Canada’s tech sector. More than 1,500 tech companies employ more than 35,000 sector workers in the city, backed by a strong education system and support from all levels of government, funders, and enterprise organizations.
Markham’s emergence as a tech hub dates back to the 1980s, a period during which numerous high-tech companies established their presence in the city, such as IBM, Motorola, Toshiba, Honeywell, Apple, and ATI Technologies (now part of AMD). This influx spawned a number of other high-growth companies in the following decades, and earned Markham the moniker of “Canada’s high-tech capital.”
Alongside a strong network of accelerator resources like ventureLAB and YSpace, Markham welcomed York University’s highly anticipated campus last spring. The new campus offers innovative, work-integrated programs focused on technology and entrepreneurship.
As a way to give back to the city he loves, Solomos donated $75,000 to York University’s new Markham campus in 2022. In recognition of his contribution, the university named the “John Solomos Collaborative Study Room” in his honour.
“Seeing that York University decided to make their high-tech, entrepreneurial campus have a home in Markham, just shows that the university is also buying into the fact that Markham is really trying to become an entrepreneurial hotbed,” said Solomos. “When the opportunity came to invest in something that represents what I’m good at, the type of person I am, and in my hometown, it didn’t feel right not to.”
BlueBird has grown to support 700 clients on monthly contracts, earning industry recognition and securing major partnerships along the way, including collaboration in a Canadian Space Agency-funded consortium to develop a prototype medical pod for space exploration, as well as WELLSTAR, a subsidiary of WELL Health Technologies. Today, BlueBird is Canada’s largest IT-managed services provider in healthcare.
“We’re gearing up to become a global leader,” Solomos added. “Our vision is not just to support Canadian healthcare but to help Canada become an exporter of health tech solutions worldwide, an effort that would put Markham on the map as a hub for cutting-edge health technology and innovation.”
Solomos believes Markham is the perfect place to grow a company thanks to its diverse talent pool and high quality of life.
He said Markham has deliberately positioned itself as a destination for high-growth businesses, and believes that the city offers a hub for tech companies to scale without the cost pressures founders face in Toronto. He also sees recent investments in developing Markham’s downtown core and university partnerships making the city a stronger magnet for talent and companies.
“Markham has done a fantastic job at showing people, ‘we’re building this for you.’”
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All photos provided by John Solomos.