By VSM News Staff

published: Tuesday, May 06 2008

JIT Manufacturing Inc. Turns to The Utility Company When Moving Business from a Tactical to a Strategic Use of Technology.

May 6, 2008 - Ottawa, Canada - The Utility Company, a single-source provider of technology, communications and business management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) across North America, continues to help vertical industry markets, such as manufacturing, that increasingly rely on data and, in turn, technology.

"Small and medium-sized businesses, particularly those with under 50 employees, are somewhat disillusioned with technology and are typically interested in only two things - saving money and/or getting higher-value service," stated Mark Scott, president and founder of The Utility Company at one of the recent stops in Seattle on the company's North American 2008 Road show called ‘Utility 360 Technology Boot camp for Business Executives'. "We aim to become the single-source business-technology provider for companies like JIT Manufacturing and make technology a profit-driver for their business-cost saver and revenue generator. To do so, requires that we map our services to the three types of SMB technology customers: tactical, reliant and strategic."

The Utility Company has brought to market several initiatives to help business executives self-assess their spending and effective use of technology. Starting with the launch of the Utility Meter Reading, SMB's are given the ability to gauge their business in four categories: spending, operations, communications, and management with a free online assessment tool (available at www.theutilitycompany.com/UMR ). Next up are the Utility 360 events, where business executives learn how to make technology a profit-driver rather than a "necessary evil". The came the recent launch of 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute, offering new tactical/reactive customers access to LIVE helpdesk services, on demand when they need it, as an alternative to traditional "break/fix" IT guy.

With the recent addition of 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute to their existing portfolio of Connected Office 3.0 Services, The Utility Company now addresses the three types of SMB technology consumers, including:

• Tactical - "Do more with less", reactive customers with 1-866+My-Utility Per Minute
• Reliant - Technology critical to business, proactive customer with Connected Office (CO)
• Strategic - Technology as a profit-driver customer with CO Business, CO Web, CO VoIP 

JIT Manufacturing's Move from Tactical to Strategic

 JIT Manufacturing of Seattle, Washington, has a dependence on their information technology (IT), yet has experienced a great deal of strife in its deployment and management in the past.

"We signed on with The Utility Company after dismissing our IT support person, then giving up on our break-fix provider. I like to say we went from ‘in-house to ‘out-house' to the Utility model. This was our last alternative...I don't know what else we couple have tried but fortunately we've found our trusted business partner for ALL things technology. I don't need to look anymore!" exclaimed Dan McDrummond, General Manager at JIT Manufacturing. "In our business we have partnerships with a variety of suppliers, finishers, etc. and we depend on our partners. The Utility Company really are more than a technology service provider - they become a strategic partner, helping guide an organization in using their EXSISTING technology more effectively."

JIT's story is a prime example of a company learning to utilize their investment in technology strategically. Most companies in knowledge-cased industries tend to move for a haphazard or tactical use of technology to becoming reliant on technology for day-to-day operations. The forward-thinking organizations then make the move to strategic use of technology to drive revenues and/or reduce costs and streamline business processes. KIT's move from and in-house ‘IT guy' to disappointment with out-sources help, opened the door for Utility's Connected Office services. Once they saw the difference this proactive, managed services model provided them, they turned to Utility as their trusted technology advisor as they delve further into web strategies and Voice-over-IP communications services.

"We educate businesses about what utility-cased hardware, software and support services can do for even small organizations in terms on bringing stability to their infrastructure and then we can introduce the concept of strategic use of technology like unifies communications and integrated CRM/accounting. We like to think of ourselves as ‘the Accenture for the SMB' and now have the service portfolio and user base to make this statement a reality." concluded Scott.

For the full case study on JIT Manufacturing and others please visit www.theutilitycompany.com/success and subscribe to The Utility monthly newsletter at www.theutilitycompany.com/tuv

About The Utility Company

The Utility Company is a single-source provider of technology, communications and business management solutions for small and medium-sized businesses across North America. Our connected Office Technology-as-a-Service program provides a single point of contact for ALL things technology delivering the required hardware, software and service for a monthly fixed fee per user. Customers are supported by local Utility Service Providers delivering on-site service and business-technology consulting to reduce spending and increase utilization - our Beyond Managed Services franchise opportunity is available y prospectus only. Learn how to make technology work for your business today at www.theutilitycompany.com.