B

1. Managing Uptime
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!)
FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5•
ISSUE 2
Why Businesses Are Falling In Love
With IT Outsourcing
As Valentine’s Day approaches, love ternal IT departments are spending so
WHAT’S INSIDE is definitely in the air. But it’s a different much time fighting fires they don’t
kind of love many businesses are seeing have the time to develop strong pro-
lately – a love for outsourcing their IT. active maintenance procedures. They
It has become more rare to see a busi- also don’t have the software tools and
My iPad Mini 2 ness with less than 100 employees with automation an outsourced IT compa-
internal IT staff. The trend this decade has ny has to implement strong mainte-
Tech Tip of the 2 been to outsource and there aren’t many nance consistently across the network.
Month/The Techie signs that trend is about to change.  Purchasing support – IT guys are
Dictionary Here are eight reasons many business- usually good at solving problems or
es love outsourcing their IT: implementing changes in their area of
A Complete IT 3
 Fewer technical problems – an in- expertise. Understanding licensing,
Facelift for Our
Client—Prospero ternal IT staff can frequently be very putting together hardware recommen-
Learning Solu- reactive. Outsourcing to the right dations and building new solutions is a
tions company changes the approach to be different set of expertise that is usually
10 things we do 4 a proactive one only found
better than our that focuses on at out-
competitors eliminating IT sourced IT
issues before companies
they happen. with pur-
 Faster re- chasing
sponse times – specialists.
Follow us: internal IT de-  Super-
www.facebook.com/ partments are vision and
tdcnet notorious for accounta-
www.twitter.com/
tdcnet
being slow to bility –
respond and resolve user issues. most of the time an internal IT per-
They’ve even made British sitcoms son will report to a CFO or manager
about it! An outsourced IT company who doesn’t have much technical
has a larger help desk and the proce- experience. Supervising and holding
Our Mission is to use dures in place to solve issues quicker. them accountable is tough in this
technical wonder to  No sick or vacation days – if you scenario. A good outsourced IT
wow businesses.
have one IT guy on staff and he goes company is focused on developing
on vacation or gets sick, what do you the HR policies/procedures to keep
do? That’s not an issue when you out- staff performing highly and ac-
source. countable.
 Advanced maintenance – most in-
- Continued on page 2

2. PAGE 2 MANAGING UPTIME
Recent Blog Post from www.tdcnet.ca
My iPad Mini
I received an iPad mini recently from work as a Holi- I really love all the amazing free apps on the iPad,
day present, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it. which is the major benefit that I can see for this tablet over
For a person like me, who’s never had a smart phone, others. I have recipe apps, errands apps, shopping list apps,
or any Apple-related products, I have to admit that I was and others. It helps me make my life a little bit more effi-
impressed with the speed at which I set up cient and definitely a lot more fun.
the Mini. Even setting up my Outlook email But there is one thing about the iPad that
on the Mini was easy, so easy that I was a irks me to no end. Every single time I have
little bit surprised at it. I kept on thinking, I to buy an app, a paid one or free, I have to
must be doing something wrong here, it put in my password. The reason they began
can’t be that easy to do. doing this is because there are a lot of chil-
I set up my Facebook app, LinkedIn dren’s games that you can buy additional
app, and Royal Bank app in a jiffy, and was items for, that parents want to keep their
all set to be social in a few minutes. Setting children from spending hundreds of dollars
up the wireless on the Mini is easy, and con- on. That makes sense to me, but there
venient, because it remembers the pass- should definitely be an option in settings that
words for the various networks, so when I moved from the allows you to opt in or out of the password being asked for
office, to my house, to my friends’, it seamlessly moved every single time.
from network to network, without me needing to type in Do you have an iPad? Do you hate it or love it? Let me
the password again and again, which is a bonus, considering know at blogs@tdcnet.ca.
some of these network passwords are 16 digits long. - Written by Shikha Dhawan
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.
TECH TIP OF THE MONTH Techie Dictionary
Paste Feature in Microsoft Word: Access Point: An Access Point is a device, such as a
In Word 2010, the Paste Feature is something that has been im-
proved. You now have more choices in pasting. On the Home tab, wireless router, that allows wireless devices to con-
you should see an arrow below the Paste button. nect to a network. While access points typically pro-
Use that to find your choices. The choices are Keep Source Format-
vide wireless access to the internet, some are intend-
ting, Merge Formatting, Keep Text Only.
ed only to provide access to a closed network.
Follow us on LinkedIn! Follow us on Twitter!
www.linkedin.com/company/tdcnet-inc. www.twitter.com/TDCNet

3. FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5• ISSUE 2 Page 3
A Complete IT Facelift for Prospero
Learning Solutions
The Challenge its Toronto and Montreal offices to replace its aging
ones; joining the offices together under a single new
Prospero, a people development company founded network, supported by more robust internet services;
in 1998, blends the best in educational technologies and improving security with new firewalls and anti-virus
traditional learning strategies to produce custom solu- software; improving risk management by implementing
tions that are engaging and effective. a backup solution; standardizing the specs for new PCs
and laptops; and bringing all workstations under a cen-
The company’s rapid growth in the last 5 years cre- tral monitoring and maintenance regime.
ated serious challenges for managing its existing in-
house technology infrastructure. It had not kept pace But the most significant change has been the estab-
with Prospero’s expanding client and lishment of a help desk. For the
employee base. At the same time, Pros- first time, Prospero staff work-
pero’s long-standing service provider ing at home and remotely have a
proved incapable of meeting the compa- team of IT experts to turn to
ny’s support expectations. for immediate and dedicated
support when issues arise. This
It was time for a radical change. has enabled Prospero’s manage-
Prospero decided to invest in new hard- ment, including its Chief Tech-
ware and software, to develop new stra- nology Officer, Alan Douglas
tegic plans for managing data and securi- Ray, to focus on what they do
ty, and to offer its 80+ employees and best: providing custom services
associates better service with a dedicated to its own clients.
help desk. It found a new partner in
TDCNet.
“It is always takes a leap of faith
when you outsource a vital business
The Solution “In six months of working together, function like IT to a new partner. But
TDCNet first conducted an exten- we have undoubtedly put Prospero we appreciated TDCNet’s consulta-
on a stronger foundation for future tive approach and professionalism
sive audit to determine the current state
growth.”
of Prospero’s infrastructure and to ana- from the start. In six months of work-
Alan Ray, Chief Technology Officer,
lyze its immediate and future require- Prospero Learning Solutions ing together, we have undoubtedly put
ments. The result was a plan of action Prospero on a stronger foundation for
that Prospero and TDCNet have been implementing future growth.”
together over the last six months. Alan Douglas Ray, Chief Technology Officer,
Prospero Learning Solutions Inc.
The key changes included: installing new servers in
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.

4. FEB 2013 • VOLUME 5• ISSUE 2 PAGE 4
Attention Business Owners: Check out 10 Things We
Do Better Than Our Competitors
We are the leaders in IT services for businesses in and around placed). We back up your data securely offsite in case of
the GTA. Here are 10 things we do better than our competitors: fire, flood, theft or hardware failure. We completely man-
We’ll Have a Technician Working on Your Issue in age and monitor the process so you don’t need to worry
60 Minutes or Less – Our Guarantee. Our experienced about taking tape or hard drives home with you and you
qualified technicians will answer immediately or will re- won’t lie awake at night wondering if your data is proper-
spond to your service request in less than sixty minutes – ly backed up.
Guaranteed. We are far less expensive than hiring a full time
Ultra Speedy Repairs. We know you don’t want to computer support staff. By outsourcing your computer
waste your valuable time waiting for your computer to be support to us, we can save you thousands of dollars on
fixed so our remote network IT support services are the hiring salaries and benefits. We have a proven track rec-
answer. We can fix 93.5% of problems immediately by ord of reducing IT and internet costs, sometimes by
taking control of your computer from our office. For any more than 50%!
problems that require an onsite visit, we’ll send a techni- We will give you fixed quotes on all work and prod-
cian over. uct. This ensures your project gets completed on budget
We Talk Like You Do. If you have any problems or without any surprises at the end.
computer support questions, you can ask and we will We proactively look for ways to improve your busi-
answer in PLAIN ENGLISH. Don’t worry – there is no ness. We monitor your network 24/7 to prevent prob-
“geek speak” by our team of IT support technicians. lems before they occur and will give you proactive sug-
We Guarantee Absolute 100% Satisfac- gestions regularly to improve the way your business runs.
tion. Complete satisfaction will be yours with our prod- We integrate your IT and Internet services. When
ucts, technology services and IT Consulting. With our IT you have an email or internet problem, you don’t have
management services, nothing will get in the way to to worry about calling five different people. We take care
make sure you are a happy customer. of everything whether it’s your internet services, Black-
We protect your critical business data and back it berry, server or individual computers.
up offsite. The most important part of your network is We are always here to help. We have technicians on
your data (hardware and software can always be re- call 24/7.
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. Megan Richardson -
The Tech Wonder Profile is a new series where we’ll be profiling a member of our great team. Tech Team Member
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