Internal IT
Your own team retains day-to-day control and close knowledge of the organisation. Plan for specialist skills, training, holiday and absence cover, and capacity for projects as well as support.
Managed IT support
IT support that looks after the bigger picture.
Bring day-to-day support, Microsoft 365, devices, security and ongoing improvement together with one team that knows your organisation and takes responsibility for keeping IT moving.
Managed IT support
Managed IT support is more than a helpdesk.
A good support relationship should make it clear where users get help, who looks after devices and Microsoft 365, where security and backup responsibilities sit, and who keeps ownership when several suppliers are involved.
CompTech brings support, documentation, supplier coordination, security and planning together so everyday problems and longer-term improvements aren’t handled as separate conversations.
Choosing a support model
Should you keep IT in-house, outsource it or combine both?
The right model depends on the skills, capacity and ownership your organisation needs. Outsourcing is not automatically cheaper, and keeping internal IT can be valuable when people need detailed knowledge of your systems and working practices.
Outsourced support
An external provider delivers the agreed support scope and escalation routes. Your organisation still approves access, spending and business priorities, owns its data and checks that the service meets its needs.
Co-managed IT
Internal IT keeps the responsibilities it is best placed to handle, with a partner providing agreed capacity or specialist help. Define ticket ownership, administrator access, documentation and escalation so work does not fall between teams.
Compare the whole cost
For an internal team, consider employment costs, recruitment, training, tools, licences and cover. For outsourced or co-managed support, compare the contracted scope, user and device quantities, licensing, onsite arrangements, projects and transition work. Include costs you retain in either model. Do not assume a monthly support figure replaces every technology expense.
Use the current pricing guidance and a scoped quote rather than an unsupported savings claim. Existing agreements and supplier dependencies can affect the timing and cost of a move.
Response is not the same as resolution
A response target describes when an issue is acknowledged or acted on under the agreement. Resolution depends on the problem, access, parts and other suppliers. Agree support hours, priority definitions, escalation and update arrangements, including what happens during a major incident. Security monitoring availability is separate from user helpdesk hours.
Keep ownership clear
Record who approves account access and expenditure, owns the Microsoft 365 tenant and other subscriptions, maintains documentation, reviews security and tests recovery. The provider and client should each know their responsibilities. Outsourcing support does not transfer every governance or data-handling decision to the supplier.
Support lifecycle
How the support relationship should work after the first ticket.
Managed support should give users a practical route for help while giving leaders a clearer view of ownership, recurring risks and what needs improving next.
Users know where to get help
A clear route for users to log problems, ask questions and get help without chasing different suppliers or informal messages.
Issues are triaged properly
Urgent incidents, security concerns, wider disruption and planned requests should not all sit in the same queue with the same urgency.
Recurring problems are identified
Repeated device, Microsoft 365, Wi-Fi, printing, login or supplier problems should become improvement conversations rather than permanent background noise.
Suppliers are coordinated
Broadband, line-of-business software, phones, printers and other third-party services often need one support partner to keep ownership of the issue.
Security and backup stay visible
Patching, endpoint protection, Microsoft 365 access, leavers, backup and practical recovery risk should remain part of the support conversation.
Reviews turn issues into improvements
Support should not end when the ticket closes. Reviews should agree priorities, improve documentation, plan projects and reduce avoidable disruption.
A clear scope
What managed IT support can include.
Your quote should clearly show what is included, what is optional and what should be treated as separate project work.
Typical managed support scope
Helpdesk support
Telephone and remote support during agreed support hours gives users a clear place to log problems and ask questions. Issues are reviewed in context, with attention to their impact on work and clear ownership of the next step.
Device monitoring and updates
Remote monitoring and managed Windows updates help identify problems early and keep supported devices secure and reliable. This ongoing work supports the everyday health of your device estate, with recurring faults and ageing equipment informing conversations about planned improvements.
24/7 endpoint security monitoring
Supported devices can be covered by 24/7 security monitoring through the agreed endpoint security/MDR service, looking for malware, suspicious behaviour and signs of compromise. This security monitoring is separate from user helpdesk availability.
Patch management
Supported third-party applications are kept updated to help address known bugs and security vulnerabilities. The agreed scope identifies which applications are covered, helping distinguish routine patching from unsupported software or wider changes that need separate planning and attention.
Protective DNS and web filtering
Protective DNS and web filtering help reduce exposure to malicious, unsafe and inappropriate websites. Controls form part of the agreed security scope, supporting safer everyday browsing alongside endpoint protection, account security and staff awareness of suspicious links and content.
Microsoft 365 platform management
Ongoing management covers users, licensing, identity and agreed security settings across your Microsoft 365 environment. Keeping these responsibilities together helps make account changes, access requirements and platform administration easier to coordinate as people join, leave or change roles.
Explore Microsoft 365 managementMicrosoft 365 backup
The Business and eligible Charity/Non-Profit calculators automatically include independent Microsoft 365 backup for every entered Microsoft 365 user. Independent backup and recovery cover agreed Microsoft 365 services, users and data. Retention and recovery requirements are defined within the service scope, giving you a clearer view of what is protected and how recovery fits into your continuity planning.
Explore backup and disaster recoveryPassword and privilege management
Secure password management and controls around administrator access help reduce risks from weak credentials and unnecessary local admin rights. The agreed approach keeps everyday access and privileged access in view, with responsibilities for managing credentials and permissions clearly understood.
Identity Protection is part of the managed baseline
Endpoint protection helps protect supported devices, but it cannot by itself protect an account when credentials are stolen or misused. Identities and credentials need their own managed security layer.
For applicable managed Business and Charity services, Identity Protection is required for each licensed user. The service covers managed password security, identity threat detection and response, security awareness and phishing training, dark web credential monitoring, managed email signatures and managed email protection.
Identity Protection is charged separately from Managed IT Support according to licensed-user quantity. Where the required Microsoft 365 email-protection capability is not already present in the customer’s licence, the necessary Microsoft 365 licensing is added separately. Exact coverage is confirmed in the agreed service scope.
Additional security and governance
These options depend on the agreed service scope and are not included in every managed support agreement. See how they fit into our wider cyber security approach.
Vulnerability management
Internal and external vulnerability scanning to help identify exposed services, unsupported systems and weaknesses that need attention.
AI and data governance
Review points for Copilot readiness, shadow AI, DLP, Microsoft Purview, sensitivity labels and acceptable-use guidance where relevant.
Scoped separately
Some work is normally planned and priced separately unless it is specifically included in the agreement. This includes major migrations, new site setups, large hardware refreshes, cabling, Wi-Fi redesign, CCTV, AV, server projects, major Microsoft 365 restructuring and hardware purchases. Microsoft licensing, broadband and telephony charges, specialist third-party software, vendor fees and out-of-hours project work are also usually agreed separately so the cost and responsibility are clear before work starts.
For businesses, managed support starts at £49.99 per supported endpoint per month ex VAT, with 90-day rolling agreements and no onboarding fee. The final quote shows what is included, optional or separately scoped.
Practical onboarding
A new-starter IT and cyber security checklist
Agree the lead time and responsibilities before a start date. Use this checklist with your actual support scope, recording who completed each step and any exceptions that need follow-up.
- Approve the request. The manager or HR supplies the role, start date, location, working pattern and required systems through the agreed channel. Keep an approved request without collecting unnecessary personal information.
- Approve access using least privilege. The manager and data owners agree access groups and any time-limited exceptions. Do not copy a predecessor’s permissions without reviewing them.
- Create the account and assign licensing. IT sets up a named Microsoft 365 account and the required licences, records ownership and keeps administrator access separate from everyday work.
- Prepare the managed device. IT records the assigned device and checks support status, patching, updates, encryption, endpoint protection and management before handover.
- Set up MFA and recovery. IT and the new starter enrol approved authentication methods and test sign-in securely. Never request passwords or recovery codes in a ticket.
- Check application and data access. IT provisions email, Teams, approved applications and file locations. The manager confirms the person can access what the role requires, including any approved external sharing.
- Verify applicable backup. IT checks the agreed data locations and recovery scope and records exclusions. The Business and eligible Charity/Non-Profit calculators include Microsoft 365 backup for each entered user; other workloads and recovery requirements still need an agreed scope.
- Explain working policies. The manager introduces acceptable use, personal-device rules, approved AI tools and sensitive-data handling. Record acknowledgement of the current policies.
- Complete security awareness. Show the new starter how to contact support, report suspicious messages and report a lost device. Record relevant training through the agreed process. Our free awareness course can support this introduction.
- Review the handover. On day one, the manager and new starter confirm access works and record missing items. At the agreed follow-up, remove unnecessary access, close exceptions and sign off the handover. Apply the same ownership to future role changes and leaving.
This checklist does not make every onboarding task part of every contract. Confirm responsibilities, required notice and separately scoped work before the request is scheduled.
Remote and onsite
Remote when it’s quicker. Onsite when being there matters.
Most everyday issues can be handled efficiently through remote support, but some work is better dealt with in person.
As a local Blackpool/Fylde team, we can provide practical onsite support across Blackpool, Fylde, Preston and wider Lancashire where it adds value. Onsite arrangements are planned around the client, location, infrastructure, projects and agreed support requirement rather than using the same visit model for everyone.
Planning and improvement
Don’t let every IT decision start with something going wrong.
We look beyond individual tickets to recurring issues, ageing equipment, Microsoft 365 changes, security gaps and upcoming needs.
That helps turn recurring problems into planned improvements and gives you a better basis for budgeting ahead.
Clear responsibility
One team accountable, whether we lead IT or work alongside yours.
Good IT support depends on everyone knowing who owns what. CompTech can take responsibility for the day-to-day support relationship, or work alongside an existing IT person or team where additional capacity, Microsoft 365, security, projects or specialist help is needed.
The important part is agreeing responsibilities clearly so users know where to go, internal IT keeps the visibility it needs and important work doesn’t fall between suppliers or teams.
Responsibilities can cover
- clear ownership for day-to-day support
- agreed escalation between CompTech and internal IT
- Microsoft 365 and security responsibilities
- supplier and project coordination
- shared documentation and visibility
The exact responsibilities depend on the agreed service scope.
A clear starting point
Start by understanding what you already have.
Before support moves across, we build a picture of your users, devices, Microsoft 365 environment, security, backup, suppliers and known problems.
That separates everyday support from immediate risks and project work, and gives both sides a clear understanding of responsibility from the start.
Plan discovery, authorised administrative access and supplier handovers in stages. Confirm who owns open incidents, what information the outgoing provider must supply and which dependencies could delay the transition. Test the new support route before closing the handover.
- users, devices and locations
- Microsoft 365 and administrative access
- security, backup and recovery
- existing suppliers and third-party services
- recurring support problems
- onsite requirements
- ageing systems and planned projects
Choosing support
Questions to ask before choosing managed IT support
- How are issues logged, tracked and prioritised?
- What is included in the monthly price and what is treated as project work?
- Who is responsible for Microsoft 365, security, backup and leavers?
- How are third-party suppliers coordinated when something goes wrong?
- How do reviews turn recurring problems and risks into planned improvements?
- What are the support hours, response targets and escalation arrangements?
- At exit, how will documentation, tenant access and service records be handed over securely, and who owns unresolved issues?
- Which notice periods, supplier commitments and transition costs apply?
Talk through your setup
Not sure whether managed IT support is the right fit?
Tell us how your organisation works, what support you already have and where IT is causing problems.
We can help you work out what belongs in ongoing support, what needs separate attention and whether managed IT is the right fit.