July 24, 2007, Ottawa, Canada - The Utility Company™, a global managed service franchise that provides information technology (IT) as a utility to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), today announced companies that have selected Connected Office™ over the traditional “pay and pray” break-fix model.
The Utility Company was founded to address the two major problems plaguing businesses today:
Over-Spending – the fact that the average business spends $360 per user per month on technology for an industry total of $400 billion annually.
Under-Utilization – unfortunately only 15% of this investment in technology is actually utilized.
For most small and medium-sized businesses technology has been traditionally viewed as a cost of doing business or even a necessary evil to doing business. Over the years, the proliferation of the Internet has provided businesses a seemingly limitless means to access, communicate and collaborate on corporate and client data. This has resulted in most organizations today becoming more and more reliant on technology to operate, communicate and manage their business effectively. Unfortunately, many businesses today still view technology and related services similarly to insurance – they don’t need it until something bad happens!
Forward-thinking organizations with 5 to 100 employees are increasingly turning to The Utility Company across North America to receive a much higher level of service in a more predictable and cost-effective model. The convergence of technology, including network/desktop, business applications, Web/Internet, copier/printer and telecommunications also provides businesses with a further desire to consolidate (or converge) their suppliers, as well.
“Today’s SMB technology supply chain is old, antiquated and costly - the traditional break-fix model is how 90% of these businesses consume technology, mainly because most people aren’t aware that our level of service is available from a national organization,” stated Mark Scott, President of The Utility Company. “Unfortunately, the old model is about businesses paying a service provider or technician to put them back where they were yesterday. Our model focuses on providing businesses with the ability to stabilize IT operations and budget while improving predictability and utilization - any new investments in technology are geared toward expanding revenues and streamlining business processes and costs.”
Connected Office 2.0 is available for a monthly fee per user through The Utility Company franchises across North America and includes:
1-866-My-Utility Live Helpdesk to support users with secure remote access to network and desktops for on-demand service and training. Remote Monitoring and Management of network, desktops/laptops, security and data-back-up 24x7. Security & Protection – ongoing anti-virus and patch management service. Online Backup and Storage – remote backup of servers, desktops and laptops. Asset & Lifecycle Management – tracking of all hardware and software assets, including updates, usage and compliance. Communications Services – Hosted Exchange with advanced email and anti-spam. Onsite service – network assessment, emergency support, onsite maintenance, end-user training. The combination of the 1-866-My-Utility helpdesk and the Utility Service Center remote monitoring and management platform results in the majority of support incidents being detected and resolved remotely - no downtime or onsite service call. Essentially, businesses are paying The Utility Company for uptime instead of just break-fix technician time!
