January 24, 2007, Ottawa, Canada – The Utility Company, the leader in Technology-as-a-Service™, today announced its appointment to the vendor advisory board of the MSP Alliance (MSPA). The key goal of the newly formed board is the worldwide expansion of managed services as a profession. Utility’s president Mark Scott will sit on the advisory board with a select group from leading organizations in the managed services industry.
“Our goal in creating the vendor advisory board is to provide expert insight and vision into how we advance the managed services industry forward in 2007 and beyond”, stated Charles Weaver, President and Co-founder of the MSP Alliance. “As the first managed services franchisor in the market, The Utility Company provides the MSPA with a unique perspective on the market and its challenges in moving managed services from a service model to a profession.”
The Utility Company provides information technology as a utility service to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) providing the required hardware, software and service for a monthly fee per user. Utility was founded to address the two major problems in the SMB market today:
• Spending – the fact the average SMB spends $360 per user per month on technology for an industry total of $400 billion annually.
• Utilization – the fact that only 15% of this investment in technology is actually utilized by these businesses.
“As original board members in the MSPA, Charles and I have seen a lot evolve in the industry over the past six years,” stated Mark Scott, President and Founder of The Utility Company. “Managed services and the emerging utility service model are not market segments but instead represent the new way to deliver and consume technology. The complexities and risk associated with managed services require that best practices and industry standards be created by the MSPA as an independent body – self-regulation is a much better option then the alternative.”
As an active board member, The Utility Company will contribute subject matter expertise specific to managed services in the SMB market. The Utility Company’s role will include: • Instructor for the Managed Services Institute™. • Assisting with Managed Services Accreditation Program™ and Code of Ethics. • Contributing editor for the Managed Services Journal™.
For more information on the MSP Alliance please visit www.mspalliance.com/.
About The Utility Company™ The Utility Company, the leader in Technology-as-a-Service, delivers information technology as a utility to small and medium-sized businesses, providing the required hardware, software and service for a monthly fee per user. Our Connected Office™ service suite empowers people to properly leverage technology to operate, communicate and manage their business more effectively to increase productivity, performance and ultimately profit. Our customers are supported by the Utility Service Network delivering on-site service and business-technology consulting across North America – technology sales and service professionals can review the Beyond Managed Services™ franchise opportunity on our website. Learn how to make technology work for your business today at www.theutilitycompany.com.
