By Marco Lopez, Chief Technology Officer, Clear-Com
When I joined Clear-Com in March 2022, I knew there was something special about what we could achieve in Canada. As a proud Montrealer and someone who’s spent my career immersed in technology, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see how our Canadian operations, especially our talented team in St. Bruno de Montarville have become a true engine of innovation for the company.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen tremendous growth here from expanding our office, growing our team to driving some of Clear-Com’s most groundbreaking R&D initiatives. Canada has always been known for its exceptional talent and forward-thinking approach, and our experience has only reinforced that. The country’s bilingual, multicultural environment fosters creativity and collaboration, making it the perfect place to develop the next generation of professional communication solutions.
Why Canada?
Canada isn’t just a great place to do business, it’s a strategic advantage for technology companies like Clear-Com. I often speak about the three key areas where Canada really shines for R&D: access to talent, its proud tech legacy, and foreign exchange (FOREX) advantages.
1. Talent:
Montreal is home to some of the best engineering schools in the world, offering programs in both English and French. These institutions are producing top-tier graduates in communications, software, and hardware engineering, people who are not only highly skilled but also hungry to innovate. Our ability to attract these individuals has been central to the success of our Canadian operations. And it’s not just local talent. Canada’s inclusive immigration policies make it possible for us to bring in brilliant minds from around the globe. This diversity fuels creativity and drives the kind of collaborative culture we thrive on.
2) A Legacy of Audio over IP Innovation
What makes our Montreal office especially unique is its heritage. The team that originated from Talk Dynamics, now the foundation of Clear-Com Canada, was pioneering Audio over IP technology at the same time as early players like Skype. This wasn’t just ahead of the curve; it helped lay the groundwork for our continued leadership in IP-based communications. Whether it's our work on Gen-IC or FreeSpeak Icon, that early expertise in AoIP is deeply embedded in our development DNA. Montreal itself seems to foster this kind of forward-looking tech, perhaps it’s the local mix of telecom, media, and academic innovation and it's something we’re proud to build on.
3. FOREX Advantages:
While currency exchange isn’t something you can always count on, the data historically shows that operating in Canada offers financial benefits, especially when it comes to salaries, which are typically the largest expense in R&D. When adjusted for the conversion rate, our Canadian team provides incredible value relative to similar operations in the U.S. or Europe.
Montreal: A City Built for Innovation
Montreal’s international character and vibrant cultural mix are a huge part of what makes it such a great place for technology development. The blend of local and global perspectives here mirrors the kind of global collaboration we aim for at Clear-Com. It’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about our team and what we’re building together.
With our office expansion and team growth, we’ve been able to accelerate development on several major initiatives. And I’m proud to say that the team here in Montreal played a key role in launching two of our most exciting new products.
Gen-IC & FreeSpeak Icon: Born in Canada
Gen-IC, our cloud-based virtual intercom system, has already earned over 17 industry awards and is transforming how teams communicate across different locations and devices. It’s one of the first Tier 1 virtual comms solutions in the market—and it was brought to life right here by our Canadian R&D team. We designed it to be flexible, scalable, and capable of supporting high-performance comms no matter where your team is in the world.
Hot on the heels of Gen-IC is FreeSpeak Icon, our latest addition to the FreeSpeak family. It’s a powerful beltpack designed to meet the demands of modern, high-pressure productions—and it’s already received eight industry awards before its general release in April 2025. I can’t overstate how proud I am of our team’s ability to take these complex concepts and turn them into award-winning, real-world solutions.
Looking Ahead
Our growth in Canada is just getting started. As we continue to expand our R&D footprint, I’m more confident than ever in the talent we have here—and in the environment that supports us. Canada’s mix of world-class education, international inclusivity, and forward-looking policy makes it a unique place to innovate.
We’re not just building products—we’re building the future of professional communication. And I truly believe that our Montreal office will continue to be at the forefront of that journey. I’m excited for what’s ahead, and proud of what we’ve accomplished so far.