TBayTel Launches Direct IT - Managed IT Services
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
" We are launching a brand new line of business which we call Direct It Managed IT Services that covers the gamut from managing data centers, to Help Desk Services as well as network and IT consulting,” noted Peter Diedrich, President & CEO TBayTel at a post news conference
interview. “ Our business solutions team which goes in and sells connectivity have told us they are getting asked about these services and those referrals are turning into new revenue opportunities for TBay Tel. We traditionally stopped when we connected to the network. Now we will work on the elements of the network to ensure more reliable IT solutions. That is our core business and we believe we can take these competencies into business customers and then improve their productivity with a reliable network and IT system. We didn’t even have
to advertise. People have asked for the service.”
TBay Tel is not the first telecommunication company to offer these services in Canada but the first in Northern Ontario. Other telecommunications companies in Canada have offered these services such as Bell with CGI which is know a stand alone company. Sask Tel currently have the same service in their operation.
“ We recognized the need and it looks like the business community have accepted the service. There will be 5 or 6 new hires into the unit in 2008. Right now we have 4 or 5 staff so it will be a 10 person unit,” stated Diedrich. “ There are a lot of partners involved with us.
We are a small telecommunications company but the partners make us look bigger than we really are when we show up at the business doorstep.”
Angela Domansky Desserre is the Vice President of Managed IT Services and has been with TBay Tel since 2000. Prior to that Desserre was the Manager of Information Technology for the City of Thunder Bay and has graduated from the University of Toronto. “ I started like a
geek. I’ve always believed in technology and worked in the field. Now I am working on technology to enable business and service organizations so this it more about where we wanted technology to become. That is the exciting part. The great thing about our service offering is we can be a single source provider. We can know provide telecommunications,
internet, mobility and connectivity services all bundled together. In addition we can provide the hardware with our relationships with companies like IBM, Dell and Micro Ingram,” smiles Desserre. “ Very soon we are going to be offering a bundle for a small business which
will include a lap top or desk top computer so you can bundle the computer cost with your DSL or business service offerings at TBay Tel.”
“ An even more exciting service we will offer is the technology relationship. When we talk about technology everyone thinks about the expense. This new service is about showing you how you can become more profitable and productive. We at TBay Tel want to make money and we want small and medium sized businesses to make money,” noted Desserre. “ This is an exciting product offering to show you how you can make money with technology. In the past there was a lot of finger pointing. Oh it is the internet provider or the line in the ground or the
computer. We will now give you the information to make sure this doesn’t happen. We will monitor it and if the network is down we proactively call you and fix it so you don’t lose time. We will be right there. I am really excited about it and am looking forward to the
challenge. ”
TBay Tel will offer Microsoft Windows, Linex and Mac support. Peter Diedrich, President & CEO TBayTel has been on the job now for 14 months. “ I’ve been delighted with our progress at TBay Tel. I wasn’t put here to be a wallflower and let the competition come in and
steamroll over us. I was brought here to bring the enterprise into a 21st century company and to extend service and product offering and you have seen that,” smiles Diedrich. “ Our financial performance is nothing less than stellar with the same sense of business acumen that I
would have wanted as a business owner. I believe the financial stewardship of the assets we have is extremely important. Profits are up and we are having a record year. I love it.”
