Managed IT services
We monitor, manage, support and secure your IT systems and users under one agreement, for a fixed and predictable monthly fee.
Managed IT & Support
Co-managed IT for internal IT teams
Co-managed IT gives your in-house IT staff a service team behind them. We handle the back-end work, such as patching, monitoring, repetitive tasks, one-off requests and special projects, while your team manages everything else and keeps the relationship with your users.
Who this service is for
A good fit if
- You have one or more internal IT staff who spend too much time on routine maintenance.
- Your IT lead needs cover for evenings, weekends, holidays or leave.
- You have projects waiting because day-to-day support uses all available time.
- You need tools such as RMM, patch management and ticketing without buying and running them yourself.
- You want to keep internal knowledge and control while adding capacity.
Another approach may suit you better if
- You have no internal IT staff. Fully managed IT is designed for that situation.
- You need a single specialist placed inside your team full time. Staff augmentation may suit better.
- Your internal team is not willing to share access or agree a split of responsibilities.
What this service is
Co-managed IT is a partnership between your internal IT team and Promatics. We act as an extension of your team, taking on the work that is necessary but repetitive, plus one-off services and special projects, so your staff can concentrate on the systems and people they know best.
It is one of our two primary managed service models. The other is fully managed IT, where Promatics monitors, manages, supports and secures all IT systems and users for a fixed and predictable monthly fee. Co-managed IT suits organizations that already have IT staff and want to keep them in charge.
What we usually take on
The split is agreed with your IT lead, but most co-managed arrangements hand us the back-end work:
- Patching. Operating system and application updates, tested and scheduled so they do not interrupt work.
- Monitoring. 24/7 monitoring of servers, network equipment and endpoints, with alerts routed to whoever owns the issue.
- Repetitive tasks. New starters, leavers, licence changes, mailbox requests and other routine work that eats into your team's day.
- One-off services. Requests that need a skill your team does not use often, such as firewall changes or a cloud configuration review.
- Special projects. Upgrades, migrations and rollouts, scoped and delivered alongside your team.
- Escalation. Help from our wider service team when a problem is outside your team's usual experience.
Your in-house team keeps the relationships with your users, decisions about priorities and any systems you choose to keep.
How the two teams work together
Clear boundaries matter more than tools. We document who owns each area, how tickets move between teams, who can approve changes and what happens out of hours. Your staff get access to our client management tools (ticketing, remote monitoring and management, and documentation) so both teams see the same information.
Matters are prioritized from P1 to P4 in the same way as our fully managed service, and the response targets are written into the agreement. Your team also has access to a vCIO for budgeting and planning discussions, and to vendor technical assistance when a supplier needs to be chased.
Why organizations choose co-managed IT
- Your team stops firefighting. Routine work is handled consistently, and your staff have time for improvements.
- Cover without gaps. Evenings, weekends, holidays and leave are covered by people who already know your environment.
- Access to tools and skills. You get RMM, patching, ticketing and specialist skills without buying and running them yourself.
- Lower risk. Consistent patching and monitoring reduce the chance that a missed update becomes a security incident.
Shared responsibility for security
Security gaps often appear where two teams' responsibilities meet. When both teams work in the same environment, it has to be clear who reviews security alerts, who approves firewall changes, who manages administrative accounts and who leads the response to an incident. We record these decisions in the responsibility matrix and review them at each business review. If you handle personal information, clear ownership also helps you meet your safeguarding obligations under PIPEDA and provincial privacy laws. We explain the technical side; this is not legal advice.
If you need a person placed inside your team for a set period instead of a shared service, see IT staff augmentation.
What is included
The exact list is agreed in writing for each project. These are the usual deliverables and the usual boundaries.
Typical deliverables
- A responsibility matrix showing which tasks belong to your team, to Promatics, or to both.
- 24/7 monitoring of agreed servers, network equipment and endpoints, with alerts routed to the right people.
- Patch management for operating systems and supported third-party applications.
- Handling of repetitive tasks such as user onboarding and offboarding, licence changes and routine requests.
- One-off services and special projects, scoped and scheduled with your IT lead.
- Shared access to ticketing, documentation and remote management tools, as agreed.
- Escalation support from our service team for problems outside your team's usual work.
- Regular reviews of workload, open issues and the roadmap with your IT lead and our vCIO.
Not included unless agreed separately
- Tasks your team has kept, as recorded in the responsibility matrix.
- Hardware, software and licence costs, billed separately.
- Large projects beyond the agreed allowance, which are quoted separately.
- Responsibility for changes your team makes without using the agreed change process.
What we will need from you
Most delays in this kind of work come from access and decisions, not from the technical build. Knowing these early keeps the project predictable.
- A named internal IT lead who owns the relationship and approves changes.
- Administrative access, with separate named accounts for our staff so actions can be traced.
- Agreement on which ticketing and documentation system is the single record.
- Existing documentation, even if incomplete, and time from your team during onboarding.
Delivery
How the work is delivered
Each stage ends with something you can review before the next one starts.
Understand your team
We meet your IT lead and staff to learn what they do today, where time goes and what they want to hand off.
Output: Current workload summary.
Map responsibilities
Together we decide who owns each area, how tickets move between teams and who approves changes.
Output: Responsibility matrix and escalation paths.
Onboard tools and access
We deploy monitoring and management agents, set up shared ticketing and document the environment.
Output: Working toolset and shared documentation.
Operate and review
Both teams work to the agreed split, and we review workload and priorities regularly.
Output: Regular reports and an updated responsibility matrix.
Testing and handover
- Every action our staff take is logged against a named account and a ticket.
- The responsibility matrix is reviewed at each business review and updated when roles change.
- Response targets for each priority, from P1 to P4, are set in the service agreement.
- Documentation we create belongs to you and stays accessible to your team.
- If the arrangement ends, we hand over credentials, documentation and open work in an orderly way.
What affects the cost
We do not publish package prices. Each estimate is based on an agreed scope, in Canadian dollars, with taxes shown separately. These are the things that move the number most:
- The number of users, devices and servers in scope.
- How much of the workload you want us to take on.
- Whether you want out-of-hours cover for your team.
- The size and number of projects included.
- The number of locations.
Questions buyers usually ask
What is the difference between fully managed and co-managed IT?
With fully managed IT, Promatics monitors, manages, supports and secures all IT systems and users for a fixed monthly fee. With co-managed IT, we support your internal team as an extension of it. We typically handle back-end work while your team manages everything else.
Will you replace our IT staff?
No. Co-managed IT is designed to support internal staff, not replace them. Most teams use it to free time for projects and improvements that routine work was crowding out.
Whose tools do we use?
That is agreed during onboarding. Some teams adopt our RMM, patching and ticketing tools; others keep their own and give us access. What matters is that there is one agreed record of tickets and changes.
Can you cover our IT person when they are on holiday?
Yes. Holiday and leave cover is a common reason for co-managed IT. Because we already know your environment, cover starts without a long handover.
Related
IT staff augmentation
Add IT professionals to your team for a project, a busy period or a gap in skills, working under your direction.
24/7 IT help desk and service desk
Direct, organized IT support for your users, with clear priorities, tracked tickets and 24/7 cover for managed-service clients.
Is your IT team stretched?
Tell us about your team, what takes up their time and what you want to hand off. We will reply to arrange a conversation.