In a wildfire, everyone needs the same live intel to make life-saving decisions. But building a physical command centre takes time – exactly what’s in shortest supply when every minute counts.
VizworX, a Calgary-based software firm, saw an opportunity to bring a tech solution that would connect crews in the field, command teams at base and officials in the capital.
Steven Vi, VizworX
“When you deal with advanced technology, science fiction is not too far off.”
The company specializes in transforming complex data sets into interactive solutions for a range of industries.
Using AR, VR, AI, IoT, geospatial data mapping, and biometric evaluation, their Virtual Operations Environment is a portable command centre that allows distributed teams to collaborate using three-dimensional data that would be difficult to interpret on traditional 2D screens.
“We find a lot of times we’re dealing with data that is 3D, you naturally are able to better understand the environment around you,” Steven Vi, Lead Solutions Engineer at VizworX, said on an episode of the “What The Tech” podcast.
That approach means VizworX’s work is inherently experimental – building custom solutions that require experimentation to get right.
In other words, exactly what Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program was designed to support. The program offers tax credits to companies doing experimental development work across sectors, allowing them to offset the costs of innovation.
But capturing that value proved more challenging than the team expected. Before partnering with Boast, preparing SR&ED credits meant pulling engineers into meetings to explain and document work completed months earlier, which dragged on their innovation process.
“We’re really good at a lot of things, especially on the technical side,” said Vi. “But sometimes we need help.”
The SR&ED squeeze
VizworX turned to Boast, a SaaS platform that uses AI to help innovation-driven companies file R&D tax credit claims. The platform pulls together financial, project and payroll data to identify eligible work and build claims. Tax specialists who understand software development then review the work to ensure it’s accurate.
“You have a skillset that we don’t necessarily have, so we’re not gonna pretend that we could do the R&D that you do,” said Paul Davenport, Head of Content at Boast. “But we speak the technical language and we also speak the tax-policy language.”
The difference shows up in time. Traditional SR&ED consultants can require more than 60 hours during the claim process, according to Boast. The company’s process brings that down to about five hours.
Boast reports it has worked with more than 1,700 companies across North America, and about 98 per cent of claims go through without an audit. When audits do happen, the company recovers up to 95 per cent of the claim value.
The funding equation
For VizworX, R&D tax credits are a vital step in funding the next round of experimentation. Specifically, the company uses SR&ED to bridge risk between iterations.
“We use these grants to figure out the next steps because part of this is there’s always a bit of risk,” said Vi. “We work with clients who are happy to fund and see the opportunity there, but ensuring that we are making the most of these government grants helps us move things along.”
“We want to make sure you guys aren’t getting bogged down trying to navigate tax policy. That’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to drive innovation.”
Before joining VizworX, Vi was immersed in research and development at the University of Calgary. At VizworX, he evolved into what he calls a “technical bridge” between theoretical and business applications. It’s a viewpoint he appreciates, allowing him to see not just what can be built, but how it can be used.
“When you deal with advanced technology…science fiction is not too far off,” he said.
The team, however, stays grounded in practical solutions, focused on solving real-world problems rather than chasing technology for its own sake. The pace of innovation is fast, and their roadmap changes constantly.
“That’s the fun of it,” he said.
Boast sees its role as helping innovators like VizworX stay focused on what they do best.
“You’re hitting at the ethos of what we do,” said Davenport. “We want to make sure you guys aren’t getting bogged down trying to navigate tax policy. That’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to drive innovation.”
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Images courtesy VizworX and Boast.