Call and technical assistance centers are a crucial piece of the BC puzzle. Total employment in the industry is estimated at 30,000, and many of those work in the Lower Mainland region around Vancouver. Seagate Software, a division of Silicon Valley-based Seagate Technology, is the ultimate example of a firm using all of Vancouver's advantages: time zone ease of access to Asian customers, a well-established telecom and call center infrastructure and a tech-savvy, cosmopolitan populace.
      "Right off the bat, the low Canadian dollar gives us a discount of approximately 40 percent vs. locating in the U.S.," says David Galloway, director of Worldwide Technical Support for Seagate Software. A key element for companies like Seagate, ACCPAC International and Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corp. is the recently instituted exemption of in-bound, toll-free calls from sales tax. Both of the latter companies have recently expanded their operations.