TMC offers its clients a full range of technological and management services. It’s more than just IT.
Written by Militza Richard & Produced by Xan Wynne-Jones
When you think of information technology, Saskatchewan may not be the first place that comes to mind. But that is exactly where TMC, a full service IT and management services firm, is located. Formed from the merger of three smaller companies in 1993, TMC now employs more than 70 people and offers a wide range of services.
“We are flexible, easy to work with and completely dependable,” says VP and co-founder Chris Taschuk. The company’s two major areas are consulting services and technical services. On the consulting side, it offers custom software development, outsourcing, and turn-key software systems. The technical division is just as diverse, offering help desk support, enterprise systems hosting, and technical consulting to their clients.
The help desk support operates on a subscription services basis, allowing TMC to provide technical support to organizations in a flexible way. Our scheduled model is convenient for organizations without IT departments, as well as organizations with advanced needs. TMC will solve problems remotely or at the client’s location.
The company hosts a full-service data center, providing clients access to their applications and data, with TMC looking after the maintenance, availability and backup. The company also offers co-hosting, allowing customers to locate systems in TMC’s risk managed environment without having to build and maintain it themselves. To complement both the help desk and data center, TMC fills out their client offering with the products division, allowing customers to get hardware, software and services in one place. “If they need something, we can get if for them and service it under one roof,” explains Taschuk. “It makes it much easier for customers to work with us.”
CONTINUAL GROWTH
When Taschuk, Mike Hogan, and Dave Luterbach founded Technology Management Corporation (now TMC) nearly 17 years ago, they were the company’s only employees. But with each focusing on their own area of expertise, growth was just a matter of time. Taschuk focuses on custom development services and project management, while Hogan leads the technology team and handles research and development. Company President Luterbach oversees business development.
The company has consistently improved financially and in process maturity. “We keep setting goals and exceeding them,” says Taschuk.
Part of this growth is continually finding and utilizing, or even developing, the newest technology. “Mike Hogan has always been on the cutting edge of different technologies,” says Taschuk. Hogan has developed home automation technologies such as curtains that automatically open or close in response to sunlight and sprinklers that automatically water the lawn based on the moisture level. He also developed technology that allows gas stations to automatically take pictures of the license plates of cars that drive away without paying.
“We are always looking for the next big thing,” explains Taschuk. “We didn’t survive for 17 years by doing the same thing for 17 years.” Therefore, the company is always analyzing services, deciding which to keep and which to phase out.
TMC also ensures its employees are up to date on the current technology and aware of possible future technologies. “We invest a lot in our people to keep them up to date,” say Taschuk. “Every person has a training budget and we pressure them to spend it.” TMC also retrains staff as technologies change.
INNOVATIVE PEOPLE
Of course, all of the training in the world would be for nothing if TMC didn’t hire innovative thinkers and hard workers. “The types of people we hire are people who love change and education. They are always learning, and that is a draw for the right people,” Taschuk notes. He takes great pride in TMC’s employees. “We run a very flat organization,” he says. “They’re people. They’re not resources; they’re not assets.”
This commendable attitude applies to every aspect of the organization. Employees are welcome to give suggestions, and the company keeps improving its practices based on annual employee satisfaction surveys. “We want to have extremely satisfied people working with us,” explains Taschuk. “We want people to get up in the morning and want to come to work here.” Every manager’s performances are evaluated on their relationship with the people of the company.
TMC recruits worldwide, constantly looking for the best people. They currently employ people from 15 different countries. “We truly believe in diversity, and we have had success with people from everywhere,” continues Taschuk.
MORE THAN IT
TMC’s employee policies are just one part of the company’s larger vision. “We’re more than just IT,” says Taschuck. “We are re-engineering and re-designing the way companies do business.” This is evidenced by the company’s recent rebranding as TMC. Previously called Technology Management Corporation, the company is phasing out that name because it does not want to be known only as a technology company.
In addition to expanding its already wide range of services, TMC plans to expand its employee base. “We may be stingy in our hiring,” says Taschuk, “but we will hire good people.” The data center will also continue to expand as the company is in the process of moving the center to a new, larger environment. Most importantly, TMC will continue to stay on top of the latest trends in business management, human resource management and technology to provide the best service to their customers.
FACTS AT A GLANCE:
Company Name: TMC
President: Dave Luterbach
VP & Co-Founders:
Chris Taschuk and Mike Hogan
Operations: A full service IT and
management consulting company
Established: 1993
Employees: Over 70
Revenue: 10M
www.tmctech.com