Co-managed IT services provide enhanced cybersecurity outcomes by combining the strengths of your internal IT team with the expertise and resources of an external third-party service provider. This hybrid approach enables 24/7 live coverage, access to specialized cybersecurity expertise, and more reliable IT systems. In today’s complex threat landscape, co-managed IT is the optimal solution for organizations seeking robust, proactive security without overburdening their internal resources. Partnering with an external organization enhances the capability and coverage of an internal IT team. An external partner also provides a means to double-check the work and strategies implemented by the internal IT department.
What is Co-Managed IT?
- A hybrid IT management approach where an external IT provider works alongside an in-house IT team to manage the company’s technical environment. The management and workload of day-to-day IT operations is shared between internal and external resources.
- Co-managed IT offers the ability to maintain internal control while benefiting from the additional capacity and expertise of an external team.
Frequent Use Cases
- Off-loading day-to-day tasks, large-scale IT projects, and/or cybersecurity monitoring
- Augment gaps in internal technical expertise with 3rd party subject matter experts
- Increasing live coverage beyond 9 to 5 with external support for nights and weekends
- Strategic advisement to help modernize outdated technology infrastructure
Common Myths About Co-Managed IT
- It’s Too Expensive:
- Co-managed IT is often more cost-effective than hiring full-time specialists, because you’re getting shared access to a wider set of specialized resources.
- Internal IT Workers Might Lose Their Jobs:
- Co-managed IT typically unloads repetitive tasks and workloads that are not specific to company objectives enabling internal teams to have a tighter focus on organizational responsibilities and growth initiatives.
- It’s Only for Large Organizations:
- Small and medium-sized businesses can benefit from à la carte services, avoiding the cost of hiring and managing larger internal IT teams.
Why do Co-Managed IT Services Provide Better Cybersecurity?
Increased Capacity and Coverage for 24/7 Response
The Challenge: Cyber threats don’t keep 9 to 5 business hours, and many organizations lack the resources to maintain around-the-clock monitoring internally. Without constant vigilance, businesses risk missing critical alerts. There is no substitute for live coverage as employees that are on call often go to sleep, or get busy doing other things and don’t see alerts as they are received.
The Co-Managed IT Advantage: Third-party service providers can offer 24/7 monitoring with Network Operation Center (NOC) and/or Security Operations Center (SOC) resources. This extra capacity can help detect anomalies and potential threats in real time, enabling immediate action to neutralize risks before they escalate. A 24/7 proactive approach reduces the likelihood of a network or security event that results in downtime and impacts company operations.
Access to Specialized Cybersecurity Expertise
The Challenge: Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field that demands specialized knowledge. Hiring and managing a technical team is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive with the heightened demand for qualified talent. Internal teams often struggle to keep pace with the latest threats, tools, and compliance requirements when managing a single environment.
The Co-Managed IT Advantage: Partnering with an external service provider can give businesses access to a larger team of certified security experts. These professionals bring expertise and experience from working in various technical environments, helping to keep corporate environments protected with advanced knowledge of cyber threats, vulnerability management and incident response from employees in the trenches responding to active threats.
More Checks and Balances
The Challenge: Internal teams may grow complacent or overly confident about the risks associated with their business. Strategy and implementation can be overlooked allowing the protections of an environment to decay over time.
The Co-Managed IT Advantage: With co-managed IT services, IT systems become more reliable and precise. An external service provider working in an environment alongside an internal IT staff ensures two sets of eyes are ensuring systems are optimized, the right cybersecurity tools are deployed, and details of implementation are double checked. Having a second point of view helps to challenge complacency and provides a natural check to ensure that systems remain stable, secure, and capable of responding to evolving threats.
Additional Benefits of Co-Managed IT
- Scalability and Flexibility: Co-managed partnerships help to scale resources up or down with the changing needs of an organization. During a critical incident a third-party can designate a large portion of their team to address a time sensitive situation in a moment’s notice quickly deploying a team of engineers in minutes.
- Cost Efficiencies: The shared resources of an external team provides specialized knowledge and enhanced capacity at a fraction of the cost of internal full-time hires. Staffing 24/7 can be achieved at less than the cost of a full time employee.
- Protection against Staffing Changes: Internal resources resign and retire, but with an external service provider partnering on the management of your environment, any staffing changes aren’t as impactful and the short term loss of capacity and specialized knowledge can be easily smoothed out during these staffing shortages.
Caution is Required, Not All Co-Managed Relationships Are Equal
Like any partnership, a co-managed relationship can be at risk if there are trust or communication breakdowns. When a partnership devolves into each party pointing a finger at the other, the benefits of a co-managed partnership have already dissipated. It is important to have scheduled touchpoints and open lines of communication for transparent communication. Co-Managed IT partnerships require more conversations to maintain alignment. Over time adjustments of responsibilities and ownerships will change and everyone must remain on the same page.
Advanticom recommends business of all sizes consider co-managed partnerships for their IT operations. Co-managed IT partnerships provide a more resolute solution for businesses seeking enhanced cybersecurity protections. By combining the strengths of your internal team with the expertise and resources of a third-party service provider, you can secure improved outcomes for your organization. Our Monroeville based team has been providing co-managed IT support for decades, helping businesses throughout Pittsburgh secure better outcomes for their organization.