A little history

Where were you in 1990? Were you born? Studying? At another job?

  • The minimum wage was $5.30
  • Prime Minister Brian Mulroney introduced the GST
  • The Nordiques were playing in the NHL
  • It was the fall of communism in the U.S.S.R.
  • Germany was reunited after the fall of the Berlin Wall
  • We were in a full recession and in economic crisis
  • The interest rate was between 13 and 16%
  • 1 out of 4 homes were for sale in Canada
  • The stock market crashed in the United States
  • IBM had a financial loss for the first time in its history
  • And I started my own IT company: Present

While IT was being implemented at an accelerated rate in companies and was replacing manual operations such as accounting and inventory management, demand exceeded supply and suppliers were being arrogant with customers.

Being born into a sales family and having learnt to have the highest respect for customers, I felt very uncomfortable in this environment. With 3 years of IT experience in hand, I decided to start something that would fit my values.

That’s, by the way, what inspired my choice of company name: Present! Present in the sense of presence in customer service, to be there for the client.

And it’s even more true today because over the years I have recruited passionate people who are motivated to help our clients succeed, which has become our motto. Also important, to last and still be relevant after 30 years, we have always been able to adapt and foresee the trends that will serve our clients.

A team passionate about IT and helping clients succeed in their projects, the knowledge of what is done in other companies and other industries, people trained on the cutting edge of technological solutions and who have implemented them over and over again. This is what makes up a seasoned team.

And what is a company if not its team.

If you want to have an impact on the success of your business and you’re looking to ally with a real partner who is there to support you and complement you in this mission, we are there for you, that is our raison d’être.

What we strive for and what we do: be spectacular!

With Present, your future is assured!

Marc Beaulieu, president

Company Timeline

Take a look at our timeline.

1990 - 1992

  • Founding of Present
  • 50 ERPs amended to include GST
  • The only new IBM partner in Quebec in 10 years

1993 - 1994

  • The beginning of the switch from cash registers to micro-computers in retail
  • Present develops and implements more than 2500 POS in North America
  • First in-store OS/2 network in North America

1995 - 1996

  • Implementation of email in compagnies
  • The first Lotus/Messenging partner in Quebec
  • Present installs more than 100,000 emails

1997 - 1998

  • Canada’s first e-business partner
  • IBM’s largest Web Integrator partner in Canada
  • First B2B and B2C websites in Quebec with Net.commerce

1999 - 2000

  • Helped 50 customers prepare for the year 2000
  • Award for Best IBM WW Linux Partner
  • Opening of the Toronto office

2001 - 2002

  • IBM’s largest partner in Quebec and Ontario
  • IBM T.J. Watson Gold Award – 991/1000 points

2003 - 2004

  • IBM T.J. Watson Gold Award – 993/1000 points
  • Named Leader of Tomorrow by Les Affaires
  • Opening of the Quebec City office

2005 - 2006

  • IBM T.J. Watson Gold Award – 997/1000 points
  • IBM Eagle Award, only 12 per year worldwide

2007 - 2008

  • First partner inducted into the iSeries Hall of Fame
  • Best IBM SCON business partner in Canada

2009 - 2010

  • Highest customer satisfaction rating in Canada
  • IBM’s Most Certified Partner in Canada

2011 - 2012

  • Rebranding and launch of centers of expertise
  • World renowned experts Jim Carroll and Rowan Gibson speak at Present innovation conferences
  • Launch of Recruitment services

2013 - 2014

  • First Apple Premier Business Solution Expert in Canada
  • Wins award at the Gala ‘Fleche D’Or’ for excellence in client satisfaction
  • President Marc Beaulieu sits on a panel of cloud experts at IBM’s Cloud Symposium

2015 - 2016

  • Installed first SAP Hana on IBM Power System in Canada
  • Named IBM Storage Partner of the year in Canada
    EMC Silver Partner
  • Celebrates 25 years in a continuously changing IT world

2017

  • Installed first SAP Hana on Lenovo in Canada
  • IBM Gold Partner
  • Lenovo Gold Partner
  • Listed as one of the 20 most promising IT infrastructure solutions providers by CIO Review.

2018

  • Certified as a Great Place to Work®
  • Featured as one of the top 10 Most Innovative IT Infrastructure Solution Providers by Insights Success.

2018

  • Certified as a Great Place to Work®
  • Featured as one of the top 10 Most Innovative IT Infrastructure Solution Providers by Insights Success.

2020-2022

  • Featured in top 10 most Innovative IT Infrastructure Solution Providers by Insights Success
  • Acquisition of Bang Industries
  • 30 years in business
  • Ranked Among Elite Managed Service Providers on NextGen 101 List
  • Certified as a Great Place to Work® 2022-2023
  • Recognised as a MSP Select by Cloudtango
  • Attained 10,000 endpoints protected

2022-2023

  • Achieved “Great Place to Work” certification.
  • Present celebrates a third of a century in business.
  • Awarded MSP Select Certification by Cloud Tango.
  • Real-time integration of the Client Satisfaction Score (SmileBack) on our website, enhancing transparency and commitment to our clients.