Ottawa-based The Utility Company has added a new franchise in the North Bay and Timmins region of Ontario.

The company, which provides information technology services to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for a monthly fee, announced Thursday its latest Utility Service Provider franchise in Northern Ontario. Office equipment dealer Tranter Office Plus owner Joe Tranter has purchased the rights to the franchise.

"As we continue to build out our operations across North America it is important for us to identify those SMB service organizations that complement our business and brand in each particular market," said The Utility Company's president Mark Scott in a statement. "Office equipment dealers are now faced with the challenge of adding technology services to their business to remain competitive in the marketplace. We provide a means for forward-thinking organizations like Tranter to achieve that goal and better serve their customers with a complete consumption-based technology portfolio from one source."

Mr. Tranter's company had recently begun to offer IT services, but he said revenues from these services were "coming in on a project or break-fix basis – not in a recurring model." As such, it was a natural fit to join forces with The Utility Company and much simpler than going it alone to get more regular revenues in this department.

"We felt the most straightforward path to transitioning to recurring revenue model and offer a more predictable and reliable level of service to our customers was by joining forces with The Utility Company," he said. "Now we can act as the single point of contact for all of our customers' technology needs."

The Utility Company helps service organizations which serve small- and medium-sized businesses to provide advice on spending and utilization in network/desktop, business applications, Internet, copier/printer and telecommunications, as well as tailoring technology services plans to fit the business's needs.