The Utility Company™ Announces First Telecom Reseller to Join its Beyond Managed Services™ Franchise Program

Telemaxx Inc of Richmond, Virginia expands into managed IT services.

Ottawa, Canada (PRWEB) July 27, 2007 -- 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 the first telecom reseller in North America to join its market-defining managed services franchise system.

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.

Technology convergence including network/desktop, business applications, Web/Internet, copier/printer and telecommunications provides businesses with an increasing desire to consolidate (or converge) their suppliers. To deliver on its "single-source" provider vision, The Utility Company partners with leading service organizations in the IT and vertical channels, such as telecom resellers and office equipment dealers, across 2000 exclusive markets in North America.

"The telecom channel has and is going through a tremendous 'sea change' moving from traditional telephone systems to IP Telephony, which requires a deep understanding of data networking," stated Mark Scott, President of The Utility Company. "To improve the adoption of new technology, like Voice-over-IP, telecom resellers must acquire the domain expertise to design, deliver and proactively maintain IT networks. No business is going to unplug their legacy phone system to have their new system work like most networks do, irrespective of the benefits of unified communications."

"Our business has changed a lot over the past two years, in that the telecommunications vendors are all pushing the adoption of new, feature-rich IP-based systems, while customers are hesitant unless their provider can ensure quality of service and stability of the network," stated Rodney Williams, President of Telemaxx, Inc. "Becoming a Utility Service Provider allows us to enhance our core telecom offerings and expand into other areas like managed network, desktop, security and storage which are "need to haves" for our customers - we are now their 'single point of contact' for technology and communications."

Building a Proactive Maintenance Business Key for Telecom Resellers

A key challenge today for most telecom resellers is the reactive nature of their service business. Unlike IT infrastructure, traditional telephone systems are viewed as devices that do not require an annual maintenance contract by most businesses. This results in most telecom resellers being subject to the highly unpredictable break-fix service model. The Utility Company only contracts its services on a fixed fee per user basis, which allows Telemaxx and its customers to stabilize operations and make service delivery and costs more predictable. 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 calls. Essentially businesses are paying for uptime instead of just break-fix technician time!

"Rodney and his team represent the future of managed IT and communications services and the future becomes available today in Richmond, Virginia," concluded Scott. "The Utility Business System addresses the three main problems plaguing managed IT services adoption - lack of activity-based sales and marketing for end-user awareness and education, technology-focused point solutions, and ineffective and costly service delivery. Unfortunately the customer ends up paying the price for these problems - there is nobody in the SMB market that delivers our business value as a 'single-source' provider."

Hear what small and medium-sized businesses across North America are saying by viewing our Connected Office Success Stories at www.theutilitycompany.com or register for one of our upcoming Thursday Webinars:

•    How to Address Technology Over-Spending and Under-Utilization - August 9th at 11am ET.

•    Technology is Converging (and So Should Your Suppliers) - August 16th at 11am ET.

Learn why you should join the hundreds of end-users that join The Utility Revolution monthly.

About The Utility Company™

The Utility Company is a global managed service franchise that provides information technology as a utility to small and medium-sized businesses, delivering the required hardware, software and service for a monthly fee per user. Our Connected Office™ technology service program empowers people 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 - our Beyond Managed Services™ franchise opportunity is available by prospectus only. Learn how to make technology work for your business today at www.theutilitycompany.com

For more information contact:

Aaron Bradley

Marketing Manager

1-866-My-Utility ext.7675

abradley(@)theutilitycompany.com

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