FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5• ISSUE 2

My iPad Mini 2

Tech Tip of the

Month/The Techie

Dictionary

2

A Complete IT

Facelift for Our

Client—Prospero

Learning Solu-

tions

3

10 things we do

better than our

competitors

4

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Our Mission is to use

technical wonder to wow businesses.

WHAT’S INSIDE

As Valentine’s Day approaches, love

is definitely in the air. But it’s a different

kind of love many businesses are seeing

lately – a love for outsourcing their IT.

It has become more rare to see a busi-

ness with less than 100 employees with

internal IT staff. The trend this decade has

been to outsource and there aren’t many

signs that trend is about to change.

Here are eight reasons many business-

es love outsourcing their IT:

Fewer technical problems – an in-

ternal IT staff can frequently be very

reactive. Outsourcing to the right

company changes the approach to be

a proactive one

that focuses on

eliminating IT

issues before

they happen.

Faster re-

sponse times –

internal IT de-

partments are

notorious for

being slow to

respond and resolve user issues.

They’ve even made British sitcoms

about it! An outsourced IT company

has a larger help desk and the proce-

dures in place to solve issues quicker.

No sick or vacation days – if you

have one IT guy on staff and he goes

on vacation or gets sick, what do you

do? That’s not an issue when you out-

source.

Advanced maintenance – most in-

ternal IT departments are spending so

much time fighting fires they don’t

have the time to develop strong pro-

active maintenance procedures. They

also don’t have the software tools and

automation an outsourced IT compa-

ny has to implement strong mainte-

nance consistently across the network.

Purchasing support – IT guys are

usually good at solving problems or

implementing changes in their area of

expertise. Understanding licensing,

putting together hardware recommen-

dations and building new solutions is a

different set of expertise that is usually

only found

at out-

sourced IT

companies

with pur-

chasing

specialists.

Super-

vision and

accounta-

bility –

most of the time an internal IT per-

son will report to a CFO or manager

who doesn’t have much technical

experience. Supervising and holding

them accountable is tough in this

scenario. A good outsourced IT

company is focused on developing

the HR policies/procedures to keep

staff performing highly and ac-

countable.

- Continued on page 2

Why Businesses Are Falling In Love With IT Outsourcing

Monthly Tips and Tricks on How to Prevent Pesky Computer Problems While Improving the Security, Performance and Reliability of Your Technology (Plus a Little Fun From the TDCNet Team!)

Managing Uptime

TECH TIP OF THE MONTH

Paste Feature in Microsoft Word: In Word 2010, the Paste Feature is something that has been im-

proved. You now have more choices in pasting. On the Home tab, you should see an arrow below the Paste button.

Use that to find your choices. The choices are Keep Source Format-ting, Merge Formatting, Keep Text Only.

Techie Dictionary

Access Point: An Access Point is a device, such as a

wireless router, that allows wireless devices to con-

nect to a network. While access points typically pro-

vide wireless access to the internet, some are intend-

ed only to provide access to a closed network.

Recent Blog Post from www.tdcnet.ca

My iPad Mini

MANAGING UPTIME PAGE 2

I received an iPad mini recently from work as a Holi-

day present, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it.

For a person like me, who’s never had a smart phone,

or any Apple-related products, I have to admit that I was

impressed with the speed at which I set up

the Mini. Even setting up my Outlook email

on the Mini was easy, so easy that I was a

little bit surprised at it. I kept on thinking, I

must be doing something wrong here, it

can’t be that easy to do.

I set up my Facebook app, LinkedIn

app, and Royal Bank app in a jiffy, and was

all set to be social in a few minutes. Setting

up the wireless on the Mini is easy, and con-

venient, because it remembers the pass-

words for the various networks, so when I moved from the

office, to my house, to my friends’, it seamlessly moved

from network to network, without me needing to type in

the password again and again, which is a bonus, considering

some of these network passwords are 16 digits long.

I really love all the amazing free apps on the iPad,

which is the major benefit that I can see for this tablet over

others. I have recipe apps, errands apps, shopping list apps,

and others. It helps me make my life a little bit more effi-

cient and definitely a lot more fun.

But there is one thing about the iPad that

irks me to no end. Every single time I have

to buy an app, a paid one or free, I have to

put in my password. The reason they began

doing this is because there are a lot of chil-

dren’s games that you can buy additional

items for, that parents want to keep their

children from spending hundreds of dollars

on. That makes sense to me, but there

should definitely be an option in settings that

allows you to opt in or out of the password being asked for

every single time.

Do you have an iPad? Do you hate it or love it? Let me

know at blogs@tdcnet.ca.

- Written by Shikha Dhawan

Follow us on Twitter!

www.twitter.com/TDCNet Follow us on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/company/tdcnet-inc.

Continued From Page 1

Training – we’ve seen many internal IT people grow stagnant. The opportunities for growth are limited and peer

-to-peer training is lacking. At an outsourced IT company with many staff, it’s the opposite. There are many

networks being managed, numerous different skillsets and experience to share amongst a team, and corporate

training programs to develop and retain staff.

IT planning – last but definitely not least is the planning function for your IT. Unless you have the budget to

hire a CIO, chances are there isn’t a lot of high level planning going on with an internal IT department. With an

outsourced partner, you have access to C-level execs to help you effectively plan your IT.

Want to fall back in love with your IT? Give us a call at (416)913-8998. To show the love we’re offering a free

network audit and IT plan during the month of February to get your company on track.

FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5• ISSUE 2 Page 3

The Challenge Prospero, a people development company founded

in 1998, blends the best in educational technologies and

traditional learning strategies to produce custom solu-

tions that are engaging and effective.

The company’s rapid growth in the last 5 years cre-

ated serious challenges for managing its existing in-

house technology infrastructure. It had not kept pace

with Prospero’s expanding client and

employee base. At the same time, Pros-

pero’s long-standing service provider

proved incapable of meeting the compa-

ny’s support expectations.

It was time for a radical change.

Prospero decided to invest in new hard-

ware and software, to develop new stra-

tegic plans for managing data and securi-

ty, and to offer its 80+ employees and

associates better service with a dedicated

help desk. It found a new partner in

TDCNet.

The Solution TDCNet first conducted an exten-

sive audit to determine the current state

of Prospero’s infrastructure and to ana-

lyze its immediate and future require-

ments. The result was a plan of action

that Prospero and TDCNet have been implementing

together over the last six months.

The key changes included: installing new servers in

its Toronto and Montreal offices to replace its aging

ones; joining the offices together under a single new

network, supported by more robust internet services;

improving security with new firewalls and anti-virus

software; improving risk management by implementing

a backup solution; standardizing the specs for new PCs

and laptops; and bringing all workstations under a cen-

tral monitoring and maintenance regime.

But the most significant change has been the estab-

lishment of a help desk. For the

first time, Prospero staff work-

ing at home and remotely have a

team of IT experts to turn to

for immediate and dedicated

support when issues arise. This

has enabled Prospero’s manage-

ment, including its Chief Tech-

nology Officer, Alan Douglas

Ray, to focus on what they do

best: providing custom services

to its own clients.

“It is always takes a leap of faith

when you outsource a vital business

function like IT to a new partner. But

we appreciated TDCNet’s consulta-

tive approach and professionalism

from the start. In six months of work-

ing together, we have undoubtedly put

Prospero on a stronger foundation for

future growth.”

Alan Douglas Ray, Chief Technology Officer,

Prospero Learning Solutions Inc.

A Complete IT Facelift for Prospero

Learning Solutions

“In six months of working together, we have undoubtedly put Prospero on a stronger foundation for future

growth.” Alan Ray, Chief Technology Officer,

Prospero Learning Solutions

Prospero Learning Solutions Established in 1998, Prospero Learning Solutions is an award-winning provider of custom learning solutions that leverage the best educational technologies in a unique and cost-effective way. They are in the business of helping companies design innovative, engag-ing, learner-centric, and results-driven custom learning solutions. Check out their website, www.prosperolearning.com to learn more.

We are the leaders in IT services for businesses in and around

the GTA. Here are 10 things we do better than our competitors:

We’ll Have a Technician Working on Your Issue in

60 Minutes or Less – Our Guarantee. Our experienced

qualified technicians will answer immediately or will re-

spond to your service request in less than sixty minutes –

Guaranteed.

Ultra Speedy Repairs. We know you don’t want to

waste your valuable time waiting for your computer to be

fixed so our remote network IT support services are the

answer. We can fix 93.5% of problems immediately by

taking control of your computer from our office. For any

problems that require an onsite visit, we’ll send a techni-

cian over.

We Talk Like You Do. If you have any problems or

computer support questions, you can ask and we will

answer in PLAIN ENGLISH. Don’t worry – there is no

“geek speak” by our team of IT support technicians.

We Guarantee Absolute 100% Satisfac-

tion. Complete satisfaction will be yours with our prod-

ucts, technology services and IT Consulting. With our IT

management services, nothing will get in the way to

make sure you are a happy customer.

We protect your critical business data and back it

up offsite. The most important part of your network is

your data (hardware and software can always be re-

placed). We back up your data securely offsite in case of

fire, flood, theft or hardware failure. We completely man-

age and monitor the process so you don’t need to worry

about taking tape or hard drives home with you and you

won’t lie awake at night wondering if your data is proper-

ly backed up.

We are far less expensive than hiring a full time

computer support staff. By outsourcing your computer

support to us, we can save you thousands of dollars on

hiring salaries and benefits. We have a proven track rec-

ord of reducing IT and internet costs, sometimes by

more than 50%!

We will give you fixed quotes on all work and prod-

uct. This ensures your project gets completed on budget

without any surprises at the end.

We proactively look for ways to improve your busi-

ness. We monitor your network 24/7 to prevent prob-

lems before they occur and will give you proactive sug-

gestions regularly to improve the way your business runs.

We integrate your IT and Internet services. When

you have an email or internet problem, you don’t have

to worry about calling five different people. We take care

of everything whether it’s your internet services, Black-

berry, server or individual computers.

We are always here to help. We have technicians on

call 24/7.

885 Don Mills Rd., Suite #112, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 1V9 Tel: 416.913.8998 | Toll-free: 1.866.483.2638 | Fax: 416.479.4157 Web: www.tdcnet.ca Email: helpdesk@tdcnet.ca

FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5• ISSUE 2 PAGE 4

Attention Business Owners: Check out 10 Things We Do Better Than Our Competitors

Tech Wonder Profile: Megan Richardson This is a chance for you to find out a few things you didn’t know about the peo-

ple who work on our wonderful team! This month’s Tech Wonder is Megan Richardson, who is a member of our amaz-

ing Tech team. Megan was born in Toronto, grew up in Pickering, and went to St. Lawrence College in Kingston. She took the Computer Networking and Technical Support Program.

She has been with her boyfriend, Ryan for 6 years. She loves to go snowboarding and loves photography as a hobby. She ran a 5k last fall and she’s hoping to run a 10k this summer, which seems like just too much work to everyone at the office.

Next time, you are talking to her, ask her about her amazing baking skills, which she uses to make all of us at the office fat.

The Tech Wonder Profile is a new series where we’ll be profiling a member of our great team. Megan Richardson -

Tech Team Member