Bell Canada and Fusepoint sign Canada's top brands onto managed IT services

Montreal, Quebec, August 9, 2005 – Bell Security Solutions Inc. (BSSI) and Fusepoint Managed Services Inc., today announced the implementation by Maple Leaf Foods of a co-sourced data centre ensuring business continuity under virtually any circumstance. Other recent contract wins for managed IT security include leading companies such as Colliers, Cossette Communications, Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan, Just For Laughs, Oberthur Gaming Technologies and Tim Hortons. 

Customers are relying on BSSI and Fusepoint to guarantee the high-availability of mission-critical applications, despite the threats or risks associated with natural catastrophes, security threats and acts of terrorism.  Services include managed hardware, managed operating systems, web applications, database management, data back-up, firewall security, intrusion detection service and end-to-end monitoring and reporting.  This means that Enterprise customers do not have to worry about their back-end IT systems under any circumstance.

“With a steady rise in security threats such as viruses, worms or unforeseen events such as the 2003 blackout and recent terrorist acts, customers are increasingly looking to technology partners to provide complete end-to-end solutions that protect their mission-critical applications,” said Charles Salameh, President, BSSI. “Bell Canada and Fusepoint are well positioned to meet the security and performance needs of our customers, making Canada a safer place to do business.”

BSSI and Fusepoint work together to identify and pursue new customer opportunities in the managed services environment, with Fusepoint serving as Bell’s hosting provider on a national basis. 

“The Bell brand is synonymous with quality service and overall excellence and makes them an ideal partner for Fusepoint,” said George Kerns, president and CEO of Fusepoint Managed Services. “Customers already rely on Bell technology to provide advanced telecommunications services, and together we can now raise the bar for business continuity. The seamless integration of people, processes and technologies in the Fusepoint and Bell alliance enables our joint customers to enjoy the security and peace of mind that their mission-critical applications are always available and always secure.”

Specializing in global food processing, Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods is working with Bell and Fusepoint to provide the ongoing management of their mission-critical infrastructure.

“At Maple Leaf Foods, we maintain the highest standards of food safety assurance.  We also apply the most stringent standards to other facets of the business, including our IT systems and applications,” said Patrick Ressa, Chief Information Officer, Maple Leaf Foods. “By taking advantage of a co-sourced data centre where the power, cooling, cabling and security is managed by BSSI and Fusepoint, and the hardware is managed by Maple Leaf Foods we can guarantee our business continuity in any situation.”

Bell Security Solutions Inc., (BSSI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bell Canada. BSSI includes managed services and delivers scaleable, integrated, end-to-end security solutions to government, healthcare, financial, manufacturing transportation and retail industry customers across the country. BSSI is headquartered in Ottawa, with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

About Bell Canada

Bell Canada, Canada's national leader in communications, provides connectivity to residential and business customers through wired and wireless voice and data communications, local and long distance phone services, high speed and wireless Internet access, IP-broadband services, e-business solutions and satellite television services. Bell Canada is wholly owned by BCE Inc. For more information please visit www.bell.ca.

About Fusepoint Managed Services

Fusepoint Managed Services is the leading provider of managed IT services and infrastructure for companies running mission-critical business applications. Fusepoint’s technical experts and world-class data centres ensure the continuity of our clients’ businesses. We protect their networks, data and applications against unforeseen disasters and malicious threats while reducing their operational costs and safeguarding their corporate reputation.

Fusepoint maintains a national network of state-of-the-art data centres and offices strategically located in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Quebec City. For more information please visit www.fusepoint.com.