Managed IT, cybersecurity and business systems for Ottawa organizations

Working close to government, technology and public interest

Ottawa's economy is shaped by the federal government. Departments and agencies sit at the centre, and around them grows a large community of consultants, contractors, associations, advocacy groups and non-profits. Kanata North adds one of the country's best-known technology clusters, with telecom, software and hardware firms of every size. Hospitals, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College round out a city where a lot of people handle information that matters.

That mix produces a recognizable set of IT problems:

• Security questionnaires arriving before the contract. Prime contractors, departments and enterprise customers want to know how you protect data, who has admin access and what happens during an incident.
• Hybrid teams across two provinces. Staff living in Gatineau, Kanata or Orléans work from home part of the week, which puts more weight on identity, device management and secure remote access.
• Small teams carrying big responsibilities. A 25-person consultancy can hold information as sensitive as a much larger firm, without an IT department to protect it.
• Growth that outpaces the original setup. Technology companies often start on consumer-grade tools and a founder's spare time, then need proper structure once customers start auditing them.
• Bilingual users and documentation. Many organizations serve people in English and French, which affects how systems, templates and training materials are set up.

What we do for organizations in Ottawa

Our managed IT services give you one accountable team for daily support, devices, networks and vendors, with a 24/7 help desk for managed-service clients. For firms that already have technical staff, co-managed IT takes the routine load off them without taking control away.

Security is where Ottawa clients usually want the most attention. We start with a security assessment that maps what you have and where the gaps are, then build a layered cybersecurity program: multi-factor authentication, endpoint detection and response, email filtering, backups that restore and logging you can use during an incident. Privacy and compliance readiness work turns those controls into written policies and evidence you can hand to a customer or auditor.

Most organizations here run on Microsoft 365, and a well-configured tenant does a lot of the security work for you: conditional access, data loss prevention, sensitivity labels and sensible sharing rules. We set that up and keep it tidy.

For associations, non-profits and project-based firms that have outgrown spreadsheets and disconnected tools, Prometheus ERP brings finance, projects, membership or grant tracking, purchasing and reporting into one system, customized to how you actually work.

How support works in Ottawa

The help desk, monitoring, patching, security tooling and cloud administration are all delivered remotely, which is how most modern IT support works whatever the postcode. Managed-service clients can reach the help desk around the clock, and response targets for each priority level are written into the service agreement rather than promised in marketing copy.

Some work needs a person in the room: replacing a firewall, running cable for a new office, setting up meeting rooms, or helping during a serious incident. We arrange those on-site visits as needed, and the agreement spells out how they are scheduled and charged so nobody is surprised.

Privacy, compliance and local considerations

• Federal privacy law. Private-sector organizations in Ontario are generally covered by PIPEDA, including its breach reporting and record-keeping rules.
• Quebec. If you collect personal information from people in Gatineau or elsewhere in Quebec, Quebec's private-sector privacy law, significantly strengthened by Law 25, may also apply.
• Government suppliers. Contracts involving protected or classified information can require organization and personnel screening through the federal Contract Security Program, along with specific safeguards. We help with the technical controls and documentation; the screening itself is arranged between you and the contracting department.
• Defence supply chain. Suppliers working toward defence contracts should keep an eye on the federal cyber security certification program being phased into some of those contracts, and start documenting controls early.
• Health information. Clinics and health teams that act as health information custodians, or as their agents or service providers, have obligations under Ontario's PHIPA.

This is general information, not legal advice. We work alongside your legal and privacy advisers when obligations are unclear.