Imagine two small and growing businesses in San Francisco.
The first is a 60-person professional services firm with a single IT manager. At 8:30am, they’re helping a teammate reset a password. By 9:00am, they’re troubleshooting network issues. Before lunch, there’s a security alert that needs their attention, while the CEO is asking for an update on the company’s planned technology upgrades. That person is being spread thin, but they don’t necessarily need to be replaced. They need help expanding their IT capacity.
The second company is a 15-person accounting firm. They don’t have anyone working in a dedicated IT role. Instead, the office manager is the person the office turns to when Outlook is down or a laptop won’t connect to Wi-Fi. When something more serious goes wrong, they scramble to find IT help. They don’t just need occasional technical help. They need someone to take responsibility for managing their IT environment.
Both companies need help managing their technology environment, what level of help they need is the fundamental difference between co-managed vs managed IT services.
The choice isn’t simply between two different service packages. It’s a choice between who owns your IT, and how much responsibility your business is ready to handle itself.
What Are Fully Managed IT Services?
When a business does not have the internal resources or expertise to effectively manage its IT responsibilities, fully managed IT services allow it to outsource day-to-day IT operations to a managed service provider (MSP).
The exact services offered by MSPs may vary based on the contract. However, most managed IT services for small and medium-sized businesses provide help desk, device/user management, network monitoring, patching, backup, cloud configuration, and cybersecurity as core parts of their service packages.
Some MSPs also offer long-term strategy and technology planning that helps clients prepare for new hardware upgrades and other future technology investments.
At the end of the day, fully managed IT is about entrusting an experienced MSP to take over the everyday responsibility of keeping a business running from a technology perspective.
What Are Co-Managed IT Services?
When a company already has an internal IT team, co-managed IT services allow an MSP to supplement their internal IT team, splitting duties and gaining support where they had none before.
Co-managed IT services are highly flexible and can be tailored to a business’s specific needs. For example, an organization may have an internal IT person who handles daily support and onboarding, while an MSP provides cybersecurity, monitoring, and after-hours support. A good MSP will work with your internal IT team to establish clear responsibilities, escalation procedures, and communication channels.
The key is keeping the responsibilities of your team and the MSP clearly defined.
Breaking Down the Differences Between Co-Managed vs. Managed IT
Understanding the difference between managed vs co-managed IT services comes down to a few key areas.
Day-To-Day Responsibilities
With fully managed IT support services, the managed service provider is the primary provider for day-to-day operations. They handle everything from routine support and maintenance to cybersecurity and network management.
In a co-managed IT service model, a company’s internal IT team and MSP will divide responsibilities. The internal IT team might handle technical support, while the MSP handles network monitoring, cybersecurity, and infrastructure.
Cost and Staffing
Cost is another important difference between outsourced and co-managed IT services. With fully managed IT services, you pay an MSP to provide professional management of nearly all your IT responsibilities. Because the MSP assumes more IT responsibilities, the monthly MSP fee for fully managed services is generally higher than a co-managed model.
In a co-managed IT arrangement, MSPs responsibilities are narrower. However, the business is still paying the salaries of its internal staff in addition to the MSP, meaning co-managed IT services aren’t inherently cheaper than fully managed services.
Businesses should consider the total cost of maintaining their internal IT team and the cost of filling the gaps with outside expertise when deciding which type of service fits them best.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is one of the most crucial areas of modern IT, and it’s no surprise it is one of the areas where businesses need the most help. A small internal IT team may be able to manage everyday security tasks, but they may not have the expertise to monitor threats, investigate alerts, manage more advanced security tools, or respond to a security incident. Co-managed IT services can step in and fill that gap, monitoring security alerts and managing incident response with 24/7 or afterhours support.
Meanwhile, a company without an internal IT department may rely on a fully managed IT service provider to oversee their entire cybersecurity program.
Both solutions can provide professional cybersecurity, the biggest difference is who operates and oversees it.
Strategic planning
One of the most valuable services that fully managed IT services can provide is developing a long-term technology roadmap for their clients. An MSP can help plan infrastructure upgrades, support cloud migration, prepare backup and disaster recovery solutions, and ensure that the organization’s IT is scalable.
Internal IT departments have in-depth knowledge of the company’s day-to-day operations, but they don’t always have the time to step back and look at the company’s long-term technology needs.
With a co-managed model, the MSP doesn’t necessarily need to replace the in-house IT leader. They can become an additional strategic resource for planning long-term improvements.
Coverage and Continuity
Coverage is another consideration. Fully outsourced IT services can offer 24/7 network monitoring, support, and cybersecurity without hiring an entire team.
In a co-managed model, the MSP can provide after-hours support, vacation coverage, or additional capacity during specialized projects or unexpected workloads. This can be a significant advantage for companies that have only a single IT employee.
How to Decide Between Managed vs Co-Managed IT Services for Your Business
Choosing between managed vs co-managed IT services is less about the size of your company, and more about what IT capabilities you already have, and what gaps you have to fill.
A fully managed IT model makes sense when a business doesn’t have any internal IT staff, or when technical duties fall to an office manager or another employee pulling double duty. Likewise, when leadership wants to have a broader range of IT expertise than hiring a single IT employee can provide, fully managed might be the best option.
Contrast that with a company that has a dedicated IT manager who knows the company’s IT environment in and out, but lacks a team underneath them. They’re overloaded resolving basic IT support tickets, and have less time to focus on cybersecurity, infrastructure, and long-term planning. This type of company could benefit from hiring an MSP to handle network monitoring, cybersecurity, backups, and other responsibilities, freeing up their IT manager to work on bigger picture solutions.
Before choosing between managed vs co-managed IT services, ask:
- Do we already have capable internal IT staff?
- What responsibilities are currently consuming their time?
- Where are our biggest technical or cybersecurity gaps?
- What happens when our IT employee is unavailable?
- Do we need specialized expertise?
- Which IT responsibilities do we want to keep in-house?
The answers to those questions will give you a much clearer idea of whether managed vs co-managed IT services are the right fit for your business.
If you’re still unsure, an IT assessment can help evaluate your internal capacity and determine where outside expertise could provide the most value.
ITque: Co-Managed and Managed IT Services for Small Businesses
The choice between fully managed and co-managed IT services isn’t just about headcount. It depends on what level of existing IT expertise your company has, what your biggest gaps are, and what responsibilities you want to keep in-house.
If your organization doesn’t have any dedicated IT staff, fully managed services can instantly provide experienced technology support. If you already have an internal IT team, but need specialized expertise to close gaps, co-managed IT services might be the better fit.
If you’re unsure which model is best for your organization, contact ITque. We can assess your current IT environment, identify gaps, and help you determine the level of support that fits your organization’s needs.
