ABM V27N6 2016 64.Indd
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Now your business can have IT all tlantic Canada’s businesses nology solutions under this umbrella Aneed help. With technology includes Wi-Fi, Security, Internet of advancing at a b reak-neck speed, Things, and Cloud services. There companies are spending time and is also Unison, an innovative service money just keeping up — a nd the that brings to mobile users all of the result is a s prawling, unmanageable business features found on trad- web of data, communication and itional office phone systems. Rogers security systems. IT departments are now also has a data centre presence overburdened, spending 70 per cent in Atlantic Canada. of their time just keeping everything “ We take care of managing Bruce MacDougall, who running smoothly, leaving them with the technology so you has recently shifted into a n ew role barely any time to think about ways to can focus on running your as Rogers’ Regional President for use that technology to reduce costs, business. And, you don’t the Atlantic provinces, explains increase employee productivity or how Rogers is taking the burden of improve customer experience. In fact, have to face large upfront day-to-day tasks off of in-house IT according to business leaders, Atlantic capital costs to implement departments: “We want to flip the Canadian IT teams spend an average state-of-the-art solutions.” 70/30 ratio by providing businesses of 200 hours a we ek just managing Bruce MacDougall with the technology and tools their networks. And this stat is down- Rogers’ Regional Pr esident to drive business outcomes. This right unsettling: 64 per cent of busi- for the Atlantic pr ovinces means we take care of managing the ness leaders say the complexity of technology, so they can focus on running the business. It also means busi- their systems raises security concerns. nesses don’t face large upfront capital costs to implement state-of-the-art Fortunately, there is now a b etter solutions.” way to manage IT — through the “as These are high-quality solutions, too. Because of Rogers’ size, they’re able a service” model. In the same way to provide a range of services and a level of expertise that many businesses that established utilities such as water otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. and electricity are provided efficiently “A company with an IT staff of five won’t generally have a specialist in all and reliably as a service, the crucial areas,” says MacDougall. “But we have a specialized staffwith deep knowledge IT services that businesses depend of all of our “as a service” products. Rogers offers white glove customer service on every hour of every day are now to our business customers to ensure those previous IT pain points disappear.” available in similar fashion. There’s no And there are plenty of useful services to choose from. need for business leaders to fret about Infrastructure as a Service Cloud Platform: Rogers’ IaaS offers a variety of how, when or if the proverbial “lights cloud platform options covering many of the needs of Canadian businesses. will be kept on.” Through as a service, Having these services offered by a Canadian company is a significant factor. they will be – reliably and securely. “We have cloud computing services that are hosted in Atlantic Canada right Leading the way as a p rovider of now,” says MacDougall. “This is great for companies looking for all the bene- the “As a S ervice” model in Canada fits of cloud computing while being assured that their data isn’t leaving the is Rogers. Their new suite of tech- region.” 20 Atlantic Business Magazine | November/December 2016 SPONSORED CONTENT Wi-Fi as a Service: Many businesses now offer Wi-Fi access to customers to innovation and offering first-class and employees, but according to MacDougall, managing it can be a headache. products and solutions. With Wi-Fi as a Service, Rogers manages it all for you. They also offer a Rapid “Over the years, Rogers has Application Development Platform, which MacDougall says “allows businesses purchased a number of companies to create applications that generate customer analytics in order to better engage in Atlantic Canada, like Cable Atlantic with customers.” in Newfoundland, Shaw (formerly Internet of Things (IoT) as a Service: Most of us know about the personal Fundy Cable) in New Brunswick and side of the Internet of Things through cloud-based security systems, thermo- most recently, my former company, stats, and lights that can be controlled from your phone. But Rogers is taking the Internetworking Atlantic,” says Internet of Things much further, as the first Canadian telecom provider to offer MacDougall. “By competing in this IoT solutions to business and industry. space, we believe we’re advancing “Rogers’ IoT services offer advanced tracking and monitoring solutions for the Canadian economy.” the agriculture, transport, and food service industries. T hese services allow Including the employees working comprehensive information to be gathered about important parameters such in their major New Brunswick call as refrigeration temperature throughout the production, transportation, and centre in downtown Moncton, consumption of food products, ” says MacDougall. Rogers employs about 1,500 people Security as a Service: Rogers recognizes that security is critical to all of these in Atlantic Canada, including tech- services. They’re able to provide a high level of expertise thanks to their partner- nicians, sales executives and media ship with Trustwave, an international leader in the Cyber-Security field. Trust- employees. And the company’s wave specializes in preventing cyber-crime, protecting data and detecting and investment goes beyond people; reducing security risks. And that’s exactly what this service provides to customers. they’ve also spent a s ignificant “Our cyber security solutions are going to be offered alongside our other amount on cable infrastructure, fibre- solutions and tailored to fit the needs of each individual business,” explains optic networks, and mobile coverage MacDougall. in the region. Rogers’ security service options also include access to their new Halifax data “We have invested significantly in centre, which came with the acquisition of Internetworking Atlantic Inc. (IAI) in the Rogers mobile network,” says late 2015. The facility, which brings Rogers’ total of Canadian data centres to 16, MacDougall. “We’ve upgraded our has a r ange of security features, from the more esoteric protection measures LTE network and launched Rogers handled by cyber-security experts to the multi-level physical security protecting Extended Coverage, which ensures client data. A nd thanks to an independent operational auditing process, our customers have coverage in all customers can trust they’re getting the security that’s advertised. of the nooks and crannies of Atlantic Rogers Unison: Since many Atlantic Canadian businesses have a m obile Canada.” workforce, they need advanced mobile technology to let their employees do With all of these new offerings their best work from any location. To meet this need, Rogers has launched close at hand, it looks like Atlantic Unison, currently the only technology of its kind in Canada. This product lets Canadian businesses will finally be employees use all the landline features they’re used to — like four-digit dialling, able to streamline their IT depart- simultaneous ring, and call forwarding — on their mobile phones. ments, freeing them up to do the “It allows companies to get rid of landlines without losing functionality. It also things they should be doing — finding helps them cut costs by up to 40 per cent and be more responsive to customers,” innovative ways to make their busi- says MacDougall. nesses better.• Rogers has made big investments in Atlantic Canada over the last two decades. Company founder Ted Rogers, who was known as a pioneer in tele- communications and a t rue innovator, always believed this region was key to the national company’s success. A reinvigoration of Rogers’ enterprise busi- ness here, particularly in Nova Scotia, continues the company’s commitment 902-406-1834 SPONSORED CONTENT atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | Atlantic Business Magazine 21.