Mark Scott

Technology service provider The Utility Company (TUC) has signed a new partnership which will help expand its business in the Alberta market.

Ottawa-based TUC, which is a single-source provider of technology, communications and business management solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses, said The Phone Experts Communications Ltd., of Calgary and Red Deer, Alta., will be providing TUC's Connected Office service portfolio to its customers.

"We are pleased to partner with an organization of the size, quality and reputation of The Phone Experts, particularly in such an important market, where the hot economy is putting a lot of upward pressure on salaries and skilled labour is in scarce supply," said TUC president Mark Scott in a statement. "The fact that The Phone Experts is one of the top TELUS dealers in Canada and has a large business phone install base will allow us to extend our services to these customers, plus acquire new customers that can't find the requisite IT resources in this hypergrowth economy."

The Connected Office offering allows small and medium-sized businesses to avoid the cost of having on-site IT staff on a break/fix basis, by providing more than 90 per cent of their IT services delivered remotely.

TUC also announced that it recently opened new owner-operated franchise locations in Fort McMurray and Lethbridge.