In recent years it has been the hi tech sector that has risen to prominence in Ottawa. Especially during the boom years of the 1990s Ottawa was often touted as "Silicon Valley North", home to such firms as Nortel, Corel, JDS Uniphase, and Cognos. This technology sector is almost wholly based in the western part of the city, especially around Kanata. Both Nortel and JDS Uniphase opted to build large compounds on the fringe of the city, while Corel has a series of towers by the Queensway. While the downturn severely hurt this industry, it has recovered in recent years with many smaller firms occupying office space in the west end.