Managed IT, Cybersecurity, and PCI DSS Support for Canadian Retail and E-commerce Businesses
Managed IT Services
Providing reliable, comprehensive managed IT services for Canadian retailers and e-commerce businesses.
Cybersecurity
Safeguarding card payments, customer data, and online stores with proactive cybersecurity and expert support.
IT Solutions
Providing tailored IT solutions designed to meet the specific needs of multi-location and online retail.
Canadian retailers live and die by uptime at the till and the checkout page. When the point-of-sale system freezes on a Saturday afternoon, when store Wi-Fi drops during a promotion, or when the online store slows down on Black Friday, every minute is lost revenue and card payment data makes retail one of the most targeted industries in the country.
GAM Tech has delivered managed IT and cybersecurity services to Canadian businesses since 2012. From our eight offices across Canada Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal we support independent retailers, multi-location chains, franchise groups, specialty stores, and e-commerce and omnichannel brands with 20 to 500 users on a Canadian-owned, SOC 2 certified platform from a Certified B Corporation.
This page covers what managed IT for Canadian retail and e-commerce looks like at GAM Tech, how we protect payment and customer data, and how we keep stores and online channels running through peak season.
Why Canadian retailers and e-commerce businesses choose GAM Tech
Four things set GAM Tech apart when a Canadian retailer is evaluating us:
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Independent third-party certifications. SOC 2 certified, Certified B Corporation, ESET Canada MSP Partner of the Year 2024 and 2025, ranked #97 globally and #1 in Western Canada on the 2026 Channel Futures MSP 501, three-time Globe and Mail Canada's Top Growing Companies honoree, and Canada's Top 50 Best Managed IT Companies five consecutive years (2021–2025). Canadian-owned since 2012. No private equity owner, no US parent.
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A 5-minute response commitment, delivered on 99%+ of tickets, 24/7. Retail doesn't keep office hours. When a store's POS goes down on a holiday weekend or the online store throws checkout errors at midnight, you reach a GAM Tech engineer immediately.
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A dedicated Client Success Manager providing ongoing vCIO advisory on every plan. Technology strategy, budget planning, vendor advocacy, quarterly business reviews, and peak-season planning handled by one accountable point of contact. Your day-to-day tickets go to our 24/7 help desk team.
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Most IT projects included in your monthly fee. New store openings, network and Wi-Fi rollouts, Microsoft 365 migrations, firewall replacements, and POS hardware refreshes are part of the service on the majority of projects not a surprise invoice.
Managed IT services
24/7 internal monitoring and help desk
Monitoring agents on every back-office workstation, server, and network device across your stores, warehouse, and head office. Alerts triaged around the clock by GAM Tech's Canadian team, with a first human response within 5 minutes on 99%+ of tickets.
Patch management around your trading calendar
Monthly operating system patching and weekly application patching across Microsoft 365 and your back-office stack, scheduled outside store hours and frozen during peak trading periods like Black Friday, the holiday season, and Boxing Day.
Microsoft 365 administration and security hardening
Entra ID identity, Conditional Access, Intune device management for store and head-office devices, shared-device setups for store staff, SharePoint governance for pricing and supplier documents, and Defender for Office 365 to stop the invoice fraud and gift-card scams that target retail head offices.
Store networks and Wi-Fi
Managed firewalls, switches, and Wi-Fi at every location, with point-of-sale, back-office, guest Wi-Fi, cameras, and smart devices kept on separate network segments. Secure connections between stores, warehouse, and head office.
Hardware procurement and lifecycle
Back-office workstations, store laptops and tablets, receipt and label printers, scanners, and network equipment for new locations. Hardware-as-a-Service is available for retailers who prefer operating over capital expenditure.
Backup, business continuity, and disaster recovery
Immutable, off-site, Canadian-replicated backups of your Microsoft 365 tenant, file servers, inventory and accounting data, and line-of-business applications. Restore procedures tested quarterly, with documented recovery time (RTO) and recovery point (RPO) objectives. Business continuity planning included on every plan, with GAM Tech's Breach Recovery Guarantee on our Gold and Platinum tiers.
Cybersecurity for Canadian retail and e-commerce
Retailers hold what attackers want most: card payment flows, customer accounts, loyalty data, and gift-card balances. A breach means card-brand penalties, forensic costs, notification obligations, and customers who don't come back.
GAM Tech's cybersecurity stack, included on managed IT plans by tier:
Baseline cybersecurity (Silver, Gold, Platinum)
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Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) on every back-office workstation, laptop, and server.
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Advanced email filtering with sandboxed attachment inspection to stop phishing, invoice fraud, and gift-card scams.
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Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on every account, enforced by Conditional Access policy.
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Quarterly security awareness training plus ongoing phishing simulations, including store staff.
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DNS filtering and DKIM, DMARC, and SPF email authentication to stop brand impersonation.
Advanced cybersecurity (Gold and Platinum)
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Ultimate MDR 24/7 managed detection and response by a dedicated security operations team.
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Advanced Multi-Factor Authentication, including phishing-resistant options for administrators and finance staff.
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Dark web monitoring for exposed company credentials.
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Password manager licensing for every user.
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GAM Tech's Breach Recovery Guarantee.
Platinum-tier additions
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Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR).
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Advanced Mobile Device Management for store and field devices.
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A documented security compliance program supporting PCI DSS and your insurer's requirements.
Safeguarding customer records and transaction data
iManage Work, iManage Share, and iManage Insight
iManage is the dominant DMS for mid-market and larger Canadian law firms. GAM Tech supports iManage Cloud deployments, iManage on-premises installations, and hybrid configurations. Our iManage services include tenant administration, security hardening, user provisioning and deprovisioning, matter and workspace governance, iManage Share external sharing policies, iManage Insight configuration, Microsoft 365 integration (Outlook and Word), mobile client deployment, and migration from legacy DMS platforms to iManage.
NetDocuments
NetDocuments is a cloud-native DMS used by many Canadian firms that prefer SaaS over appliance-based alternatives. GAM Tech handles NetDocuments tenant administration, Microsoft 365 integration, security configuration, Workspace and Cabinet governance, user training, and migration support.
Clio, PracticePanther, PCLaw, and small-firm practice management
For solo practitioners and small firms running Clio Manage, Clio Grow, PracticePanther, PCLaw, or similar practice management platforms, GAM Tech provides tenant administration, security configuration, data backup, and integration with Microsoft 365 and your accounting system.
DMS migration and transition projects
Moving from one DMS to another including iManage to NetDocuments, legacy on-premise iManage to iManage Cloud, or a sunset platform like Worldox to a current DMS is one of the highest-risk projects a law firm undertakes. GAM Tech handles DMS migration as a project included in your plan: scoping, pilot testing, data validation, phased cutover, and user training delivered by our project team.
PCI DSS and payment security
PCI DSS v4.0.1 is the current standard for any business that accepts card payments, and its future-dated requirements became mandatory on March 31, 2025. GAM Tech provides the technology controls that reduce your PCI scope and support your annual assessment:
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Network segmentation that keeps payment devices and systems separate from back-office, guest Wi-Fi, and smart devices — the single biggest lever for shrinking PCI scope.
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MFA and access control for every account that can reach payment systems or cardholder data.
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Logging, monitoring, and vulnerability scanning across the systems in scope.
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Security awareness training for store and head-office staff, documented for your assessment.
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Evidence for your Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and support for your QSA if you need one.
Your business and your payment processor remain responsible for your PCI DSS validation. For a deeper look at peak-season and payment risk, read our guide to managed IT for Canadian retail and e-commerce, PCI DSS, and peak season.
POS, e-commerce, and peak-season readiness
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Point of sale. We support the IT environment around the POS platforms you already use store networks, back-office workstations, printers and peripherals, user access, and coordination with your POS and payment providers when something breaks.
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E-commerce and omnichannel. Admin account security, MFA, and access reviews for your online store platform, plus the Microsoft 365, inventory, and accounting integrations that connect online and in-store sales.
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Peak-season readiness. Before Black Friday and the holiday season, your Client Success Manager runs a readiness review: change freeze, backup checks, failover connectivity for key stores, and an escalation plan for your busiest days.
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New store openings. Network, Wi-Fi, devices, and accounts set up and tested before opening day, as a project included in your plan on most projects.
Compliance for Canadian retail and e-commerce
GAM Tech provides the technology controls and documentation that support the rules Canadian retailers answer to. Your business remains responsible for the compliance determination.
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PCI DSS v4.0.1 for card payments, as above.
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Privacy law. Controls supporting PIPEDA, Québec Law 25, and provincial privacy laws for customer, loyalty, and employee data, including breach detection and documentation for mandatory breach reporting.
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CASL. Secure handling of consent records and marketing lists in your email and CRM platforms.
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Cyber insurance. MFA, EDR, backup, and training evidence packaged for your cyber insurance applications and renewals.
AI and Microsoft Copilot for Canadian retail
Retail teams are using AI for product descriptions, customer emails, and sales reporting often without rules on what data goes into which tool. GAM Tech's AI advisory covers:
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Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness — permissions clean-up so Copilot only surfaces what each employee should see.
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AI governance policy — clear rules for customer data, payment data, and supplier pricing in AI tools.
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Practical use cases — product content, sales and inventory reporting, and customer service drafting, with human review.
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AI advisory as part of your vCIO engagement — your Client Success Manager keeps your business current as AI tools change.
Transitioning from your current IT provider
Most retailers we onboard are leaving an incumbent IT provider. GAM Tech handles the transition as a documented project, scheduled around your trading calendar so nothing changes during peak season:
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Discovery (weeks 1–2): store and network audit, systems and vendor inventory, user roster, PCI scope review.
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Knowledge transfer (weeks 2–3): structured handoff from the outgoing provider, documented in a Transition Memorandum.
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Agent and tool deployment (weeks 3–5): monitoring, EDR, patching, and management agents deployed outside store hours.
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Security baseline hardening (weeks 4–7): MFA rollout, network segmentation review, Secure Score improvements, backup verification.
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Steady-state operation (week 8 onward): first quarterly business review at 90 days.
Our service plans
Silver
Managed IT with baseline cybersecurity
Starting at $110 per managed device per month with a $1,000 monthly minimum. Appropriate for independent retailers and smaller chains (typically up to 25 users) with standard workflows.
Gold
Enhanced managed IT with Ultimate MDR and Breach Recovery Guarantee
Everything in Silver, plus Ultimate MDR, Advanced MFA, dark web monitoring, password manager, and GAM Tech's Breach Recovery Guarantee. Appropriate for multi-location retailers and e-commerce brands handling significant card and customer data. Pricing determined by scope book a consultation.
Platinum
Full-scope managed IT with Identity Threat Detection and Response
Everything in Gold, including the Breach Recovery Guarantee, plus ITDR, Advanced Mobile Device Management, and a security compliance program. For retailers with 75+ users, franchise groups, and businesses with formal PCI or insurer security requirements. Pricing determined by scope book a consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Independent retailers, multi-location chains, franchise groups, specialty stores, and e-commerce and omnichannel brands with 20 to 500 users, from our eight offices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec.
We provide the technology controls PCI DSS expects network segmentation, MFA, access control, logging, monitoring, and training and the evidence for your Self-Assessment Questionnaire. Your business and your payment processor remain responsible for PCI validation.
Yes we support the IT environment those platforms run on: store networks, devices, user access, and the integrations with Microsoft 365, inventory, and accounting. We work alongside your POS and e-commerce providers and escalate to them when an issue sits inside their platform.
You reach a GAM Tech engineer within 5 minutes, delivered on 99%+ of tickets, 24/7. Store-down and checkout-down incidents are escalated to senior engineering immediately, and your peak-season readiness review sets out the escalation and backup-connectivity plan for your busiest days before they arrive.
Silver plans start at $110 per managed device per month with a $1,000 monthly minimum. Gold and Platinum are priced by scope. Most IT projects, including new store setups, are included in the monthly fee. Book a free consultation to scope your environment.
Partner with GAM Tech
If you're reading this page, your firm is probably at a decision point your current IT provider is not delivering, your technology risk is growing, or you're planning for the next phase of your firm's growth and want to make sure the IT partner you choose can scale with you.
GAM Tech supports Canadian retailers and e-commerce businesses with Canadian-owned, SOC 2 certified managed IT and cybersecurity from a Certified B Corporation, from eight offices across the country, with a 5-minute response commitment, a dedicated Client Success Manager, and most IT projects included in your monthly fee.
Book a free 30-minute consultation to walk through your firm's current state, decision timeline, and what a GAM Tech engagement would look like.
— Adrian Ghira, Managing Partner, GAM Tech
Get started today!
Don’t wait to take control of your IT. Schedule your free consultation with GAM Tech today, and start building a stronger, more resilient IT foundation for your business