PG. 1

“As a business owner or manager, you don’t have time to waste on technical

and operational issues.

That’s where we shine!

Call us and put an end to your IT problems finally

and forever!”

- Stacy Adams Direct Tec Inc.

Cloud solutions have become an integral part of

many businesses. If you are looking to implement a

new cloud solution, one of the best places to start

is with Microsoft’s Office 365. This business-

oriented platform has a lot to offer users, however,

as with all other Microsoft products, there are a

wealth of plans to select from. Here is an overview

of the most common versions.

A brief look at Office 365

The easiest way to classify Office 365 is as a cloud-

based version of Microsoft Office aimed at

businesses. This subscription-based service offers

businesses all the productivity software they need

plus a solid platform for their communications.

Think of Outlook combined with Lync (or Skype)

and Office apps, all of which are accessible via your

browser, or can be installed on your own servers.

Beyond this, there is a supporting layer called

SharePoint that links all of these apps together,

thereby giving you a central place to store all of

your documents which can then be collaborated on

using various Microsoft apps.

As noted above, Office 365 is subscription based.

The business-oriented subscriptions are broken

down into two main categories: Business and

Enterprise subscriptions.

Business subscriptions

Office 365 Business Essentials - Comes with online

versions of Office apps (Office Web Apps), Lync for

business, online storage through OneDrive and a

corporate email address.

Office 365 Business - For businesses who need

installable versions of Office along with cloud-

storage through OneDrive.

Office 365 Business Premium - This subscription is

for businesses who want the whole package.

Enterprise subscriptions

Office 365 Enterprise E1 - Comes with online

versions of Office apps (Office Web Apps), Lync for

business, online storage through OneDrive, a

corporate email address, and a corporate video

portal.

Office 365 Pro Plus - This plan is for businesses who

need installable versions of Office along with more

advanced apps like Access, and cloud-storage

through OneDrive.

Office 365 Enterprise E3 - This subscription is ideal

for companies who want absolutely all Office 365

has to offer.

Contact us today to learn more about how Office

365 can enhance your business.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org.

Office 365 Subscriptions

PG.2

Open House at

Direct Tec

Direct Tec Client Profile: Results Canada Making Good Companies Great

On Wednesday, April 29th Direct

Tec will be hosting an Open House

Event with our special guest Results

Canada. We would like to welcome

our clients and colleagues to join us

for the opportunity to network and

to enjoy some food and beverages.

Tim O’Connor from Results will be

delivering an exclusive 90-minute

seminar that will focus on the

fundamentals required to create a

simple plan and put in place the

structures and disciplines to

execute on that plan and achieve

results. If you are interest in

attending this session, please

contact Tiffany Elliott at 403-271-

0882 ext. 150.

Tim O’Connor is a leading business

consultant, speaker, veteran

entrepreneur, and CEO of Results

Canada Inc. He has applied his

leadership and business skills to

drive significant results in both

entrepreneurial and corporate

environments.

Today Tim and the Results Canada

team work with growth-oriented

clients, both large and small,

helping them to deliver

extraordinary results. He engages

leadership teams in the creation of

their strategic plans and coaches

them through successful execution.

Results Canada is built on a belief; the belief

that good companies can be great! But the

missing component is execution. Business

leaders set goals, provide vision and have

good intentions, but without execution the

results fall short. In the words of Tom

Peters, “Execution is the missing 98%”.

A new approach - During 17 years of

advising business leaders and owners,

Results has defined and codified a set of

execution disciplines that drive business

success. These disciplines directly link to

higher profitability and company value,

greater levels of employee engagement and

accountability, and better overall

performance.

A passionate team - Unlike other

professional service firms, the Results team

is made up of experienced, seasoned

business leaders from a variety of industries.

Team members have owned their own firms

or have worked in senior leadership

positions.

What and How:

Business Execution Discipline - Our

business execution experts provide you and

your leadership team with the inspiration,

education and accountability to integrate the

Disciplines of Execution into your firm. This

program increases your organization’s ability

to execute on strategic priorities by

improving employee engagement,

accountability, leadership capability and

performance management.

Strategic and Operational Planning -

Results Canada provides expert, objective,

external facilitators to structure your

planning sessions and engage your team in

creating extraordinary RESULTS. By using

world-class research and best-practices

influenced by global leaders in strategic

thinking - Collins, Porter, Drucker, Hamel, etc

- our unique planning framework emphasizes

the creation of one-page strategic plans with

a practical execution focus.

Business Execution Resources and

Workshops - We continually review and

update our tools, workshops, templates,

articles and assessments to reflect the latest

research in best-practices that drive higher

levels of performance for business. Results

Canada Inc. works with ambitious, open

minded business leaders seeking better

results. Results clients are mid-sized firms

from a variety of industries where the

leaders want to take their company from

Good to Great!

Through the application of Execution

Disciplines, RESULTS helps clients to drive

results through visibility, alignment,

accountability and engagement of all

employees in executing on the strategic plan.

Direct Tec supports the Results Canada team

with business IT consulting and support

services, and recently engaged Results to

help us develop our growth plan and

business execution strategy. To learn more

about Results visit www.resultsci.com

Tim O’Connor

Shiny New Gadget Of The Month:

The Oort Smart Socket

If you want to remotely turn on/

off any device in your home using

your smartphone, this Smart

Socket could be the answer.

It plugs into any outlet and works

via Bluetooth. It allows you to set

a schedule for up to a week. It also

measures how much power the

connected appliance or device

drinks, and can even inform you if

there’s an overload.

If you like the sound of this and

you have an iPhone, check out

iDevices’ Switch. It’s a similar plug

device that you can remote

control it using Siri. It doesn’t

require a hub to work remotely

because it has Wi-Fi built-in, and it

will cost $50 when it launches

sometime this spring.

(via digitaltrends.com)

Case Study: Electrical Design Firm Powers Up Mobile Solution with Dell Products

PG. 3

Mulvey + Banani adds a jolt of efficiency to

its workflow by moving on-site inspection

process from pencil and paper to Dell

tablets.

Mulvey + Banani knows quite a bit about

recharging dated systems with new, more

effective processes. The Calgary-based firm has

built, updated, and modernized the power and

lighting designs for hundreds of buildings and

landmarks in Canada, including Centennial

Towers, Bankers Court, and Calgary City Hall in

the heart of downtown.

The only thing Mulvey + Banani hadn’t

modernized in its 35 year history was its own on-

site electrical building inspection process. The

company’s seven inspectors would go to a job site

carting large 6 x 8 ft. pads of paper with printed

drawings of the building’s electrical system to

diligently conduct a physical survey.

When the field team was done with the

inspection, they carried their handwritten notes

back to the Mulvey + Banani offices where they

manually entered modifications into the

appropriate software application to share with

engineers. The process was not only time-

consuming, but inefficient, frustrating, and prone

to errors.

Mobile Technology Saves Time by

Streamlining Workflow

By 2014, Mulvey + Banani CEO Nick Halls knew he

had to find a better way for his inspectors to

operate. He tried first to digitize the inspection

process using recommendations from his internal

tech team and outside consultants. Mulvey +

Banani tested a variety of mobile devices from

leading technology vendors. When these

solutions didn’t deliver the results the company

needed, Halls tapped a referral. He reached out

to Stacy Adams, president and CEO of Direct Tec,

a Calgary-based strategic business IT support and

management firm and respected Dell Channel

Partner.

Adams met with Mulvey + Banani inspectors to

determine the technology needed to do their

building surveys more efficiently. “Mulvey +

Banani had received a lot of technical

recommendations from other resellers, but they

were not aligned with the outcomes they

wanted,” explains Adams. “We took a different

approach and tried to find out what they wanted

to do and what technology would work best vs.

just recommending that they buy a lot of

computers.”

Direct Tec began mobilizing Mulvey + Banani’s

workflow by providing on site inspectors with a

Dell Venue tablet. The firm continued to use the

Dell Venue tablet on a trial basis. “Based on the

configurations and accessories Dell offered, we

did not feel the need to evaluate other solutions,”

says Halls. One key reason he liked the Dell Venue

11 was because it allowed his engineers to have

two external monitors connected to a single

device.

During the trial period, Adams was optimistic that

the inspectors would readily see the benefits of

transitioning to a mobile solution. “The engineers

were frustrated with the old pencil and paper

way of doing inspections,” says Adams. “One

inspector told me, ‘I don’t want to do my job four

times.’ So we knew we had to eliminate the paper

and streamline the workflow in the field.”

For the full details on how Mulvey + Banani adds

a jolt of efficiency to their workflow – download

the complete case study here: directtec.ca/

files/2015/03/Direct-Tec-Case-Study-Dell-Final.pdf

HOW TO OPEN A SERVICE REQUEST Web Portal: http://connect.directtec.ca/support Email: support@directtec.ca Phone: PH: 403-271-0882 TF : 877-384-1444

Let’s Connect

Did you know you can connect with Direct Tec using social media? We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Connect with us and lets expand our business network.

PG. 4

DIRECT TEC Times April 2015

Q. What season is it when you are on a

trampoline?

A. Spring-time!

Q. When do monkeys fall from the sky?

A. During Ape-ril showers!

Q. Can February March?

A. No, but April May!

Q. What flowers grow on faces?

A. Tulips (Two-lips)!

Q. Why is the letter A like a flower?

A. A bee (B) comes after it!!

Q. What's the best day for monkey

business?

A. The first of Ape-ril!

Q. Do you know all about April 1st?

A. Yes, I'm fooly aware of it!

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Noah.

Noah who?

Noah body . . . April Fool's!

April Antics

Our Service Coordinator, Heather

Dorscher has decided to take on

the 160km MS Bike Tour on June

13 & 14. This ride helps raise funds

for Canadians living with multiple

sclerosis (MS).

One-hundred thousand Canadians

live with MS and three more

people are diagnosed every day.

Multiple sclerosis is an

unpredictable illness that affects

vision, balance, memory and

mobility. We don’t know what

causes MS and there is no cure.

Your support means families who

are impacted by this often

devastating disease do not have to

face MS alone.

To find out more about the MS Bike

Tour and to help support Heather

for her ride, visit msbike.ca.

Direct Tec

Inside Scoop

The Lighter Side: April Showers Bring…Laughter!