Managed IT
Keep Your IT Team. Give Them a Bigger One.
Co-managed IT places Mayer Networks alongside your internal IT staff rather than replacing them. Your team keeps ownership of the systems, users, applications and priorities it knows best, and we add engineers, deeper specialization, cybersecurity capability, infrastructure expertise, our ticketing and remote monitoring platforms, escalation support, project capacity and 24/7/365 coverage behind them.
What the agreement covers
What a Mayer Networks Managed Agreement Actually Gives You
Co-managed IT sits under the same Mayer Networks managed-service model: monitoring, cybersecurity, infrastructure and Microsoft 365 expertise, backup and recovery, vendor coordination, documentation, lifecycle planning and a predictable monthly agreement. The difference is that we are not taking over every day-to-day responsibility. The agreement builds the platform and engineering bench behind the team you already employ.
User support
When technology stops an employee from working, they have somewhere to go that is not a coworker who is good with computers.
- Remote support and onsite support across Southern Illinois
- Workstation, access and application troubleshooting
- Microsoft 365, printers and supported peripherals
- Employee onboarding and offboarding
Your employees spend their time doing their jobs instead of becoming their own IT department.
Proactive monitoring & management
We do not depend entirely on a user noticing something first.
- Device and server health monitoring
- Service failures and error conditions surfaced automatically
- Patching requirements identified and scheduled
- Infrastructure conditions watched continuously
Actionable problems are found earlier, often before they turn into a disruption anyone feels.
Endpoint management
Workstations and laptops are the tools your staff touch every hour of the day.
- Standardized configuration and deployment
- Operating system and application patching
- Security tooling installed and monitored
- Age, warranty and lifecycle visibility
Machines behave the same way across the organization, so support is faster and surprises are rarer.
Server & infrastructure management
The systems everything else depends on need maintenance whether anyone is watching or not.
- Physical servers, virtualization and storage
- Hosted and private cloud infrastructure
- Operating system maintenance and updates
- Monitoring, capacity and performance
Core systems are maintained on a schedule rather than repaired on a deadline.
Cloud & InfrastructureNetwork management
If employees depend on it to connect, it is part of the IT environment.
- Firewalls, switching and wireless
- Internet connectivity and carrier coordination
- Configuration changes and documentation
- Monitoring and network troubleshooting
Connectivity problems get diagnosed by engineers instead of debated between vendors.
Network InfrastructureMicrosoft 365
Most organizations now run their email, files and collaboration inside one Microsoft tenant.
- Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive
- Identity, licensing and tenant administration
- Security configuration and policy
- Migration and adoption support
The tenant is administered deliberately rather than accumulating settings nobody remembers choosing.
Microsoft 365Cybersecurity
Managed IT and cybersecurity are no longer separate conversations.
- Endpoint protection, EDR and MDR
- Identity protection and multi-factor authentication
- Email security and vulnerability management
- Microsoft 365 security and monitoring, with SIEM where appropriate
Security layers are designed for your environment and risk, then actively managed. Which layers apply depends on the security design and agreement.
CybersecurityBackup & recovery oversight
Backup is not software somebody installed once. It is a responsibility somebody has to hold.
- Backups monitored and failures investigated
- Recovery requirements understood, not assumed
- Protected recovery copies maintained
- Restoration performed when it is actually needed
The question stops being whether backups exist and becomes whether you can recover. That is the one that matters.
Backup & Data ProtectionVendor coordination
Stop being the middleman between your IT vendors.
- Line-of-business software vendors
- Internet providers and phone carriers
- Copier, cloud and specialized application vendors
- Escalation handled on your behalf
When vendors point at each other, we take the call so nobody at your organization has to diagnose the problem before they are allowed to ask for help.
Documentation
A technology environment should not exist only in one person's memory.
- Systems, infrastructure and configurations
- Vendors and escalation paths
- Relevant processes and access records
- Maintained as the environment changes
The organization is less dependent on any single employee or technician remaining available.
Procurement & hardware lifecycle
Know what needs replaced before it becomes an emergency.
- Specification, sourcing and configuration
- Deployment and ongoing support
- Age and warranty tracking
- Replacement forecasting
Hardware becomes a planned line item instead of an unbudgeted purchase made under pressure.
IT Procurement & Hardware LifecycleTechnology strategy & budget planning
A managed relationship should help leadership see what is coming.
- Equipment approaching replacement
- Major projects, migrations and infrastructure changes
- Licensing and cybersecurity improvements
- Budget requirements identified early
Especially valuable where spending follows an annual budget cycle: the need is known before the project becomes urgent.
IT Consulting & Strategy
Technology Does Not Stop at 5:00 PM. Neither Do We.
Co-managed clients have access to Mayer Networks support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, behind internal IT rather than instead of it.
- Employees work early, late and on weekends
- Servers can fail overnight
- Security events happen on holidays
- Public-safety operations run continuously
Coverage and how after-hours requests are handled are defined in the agreement.
What this actually is
What It Means When Mayer Networks Becomes an Extension of Your IT Department
Your internal IT team stays in place and keeps ownership of the environment. Mayer Networks works behind them with more engineers, more coverage and more specialization in the moments where one team cannot reasonably do everything.
Internal IT handles everyday issues
Mayer Networks provides escalation when an issue becomes more complex than the day should allow.
Internal IT needs better tooling
Your team can work inside Mayer Networks ticketing and RMM capabilities where the agreement includes them.
Internal IT needs cybersecurity depth
We add security layers and monitoring around the team you already have, based on the agreement.
Internal IT needs after-hours coverage
Managed clients have access to 24/7/365 support and escalation so your staff are not the only phone number.
Internal IT has a major project
We add engineering capacity for the project so daily support does not stall.
Internal IT has a vacation, illness or staffing gap
We provide continuity and coverage while your team is short-handed.
Internal IT needs infrastructure expertise
We add server, networking, Microsoft 365, cloud, backup and cybersecurity specialization.
We extend your IT department. We do not replace it.
Differentiator
Give Your Internal IT Team the Same Tools We Use.
We are not trying to take control away from internal IT. Depending on the agreement and the permissions you set, we can give your team more control and better visibility by putting them inside the same operational platforms our engineers work in.
Ticketing system
Internal IT gains a real service-desk platform instead of a shared mailbox and hallway requests.
- Create and manage tickets
- Track user requests through to completion
- Document work as it is performed
- Assign and escalate issues, including to our engineers
- Maintain support history per user and per device
- Show leadership what the IT workload actually is
Remote monitoring & management
The same RMM platform we use to manage endpoints can be made available to your team.
- View managed endpoints in one place
- Remotely support users without a separate tool
- Monitor systems and alerts
- Track device health, patch state and age
- Perform the management tasks appropriate to their role
Exact permissions and capabilities are defined in the agreement so both teams know who can do what.
Escalation
Your IT Department Does Not Have to Solve Every Problem Alone
Internal staff handle everyday issues. When something becomes larger than a normal day, our engineers become the escalation point.
Server failures
Hardware, operating system and hypervisor problems handled with people who rebuild these regularly.
Virtualization
Host, cluster and storage issues that appear a few times a year and never at a convenient hour.
Networking
Routing, firewall, VLAN and circuit problems across buildings and carriers.
Microsoft 365
Identity, mail flow, licensing and tenant issues escalated beyond a support portal ticket.
Cybersecurity
Suspected compromise, alerts that need interpretation, and containment decisions.
Backup and recovery
Restores that must work the first time, and recovery decisions made under pressure.
This keeps your internal staff from being the single point of failure for every technical discipline in the organization.
Cybersecurity
Add a Cybersecurity Team Without Building One From Scratch.
An internal IT department should not have to independently build and operate every security discipline. Depending on the agreement, we provide these layers around the team you already have.
- Endpoint security
- EDR
- MDR
- Security monitoring
- Email security
- Identity security
- Multi-factor authentication
- Vulnerability management
- Microsoft 365 security
- Backup and recovery
- SIEM or related monitoring where applicable
The security stack is designed around what your organization needs and what the agreement covers. Not every service is included automatically, and we will tell you plainly which layers we think matter most for your environment.
How an engagement runs
Step 1
Define the split
We agree in writing on which systems and responsibilities belong to each team.
Step 2
Share tooling
Monitoring, patching, documentation and security tools are shared so both teams see the same environment.
Step 3
Work together
Your team stays in control; we take escalations, projects and specialized work.
Step 4
Review
Regular reviews confirm the split still fits and identify what should change.
Coverage
Your Internal IT Team Can Go Home.
Co-managed clients have access to Mayer Networks support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so internal staff are not the only phone number that matters at 2:00 AM.
- After-hours and weekend coverage behind your team
- Vacations taken without an on-call phone
- Illness and unplanned absence covered
- Turnover without a gap in support
- Competing priorities during major projects
- Holidays when the organization still operates
Continuity
One Resignation Should Not Become an IT Emergency.
A one- or two-person IT department can be excellent and still be exposed. The risk is concentration of knowledge, not the quality of the people carrying it.
Planned absence
Vacation weeks where nobody else knows how the environment is built.
Unplanned absence
Illness or emergency, usually the same week something else goes wrong.
Turnover
A resignation that takes undocumented knowledge with it.
After hours
Evenings, weekends and holidays when the organization still needs to operate.
Competing priorities
Projects that stall because day-to-day support consumes every hour.
Large projects
Work that requires more hands than the organization employs.
Co-managed IT puts a bench behind your internal team, along with documentation that survives a staffing change.
Capacity
Give Your IT Team More Capacity When the Work Gets Bigger.
Internal IT often has enough capacity for daily operations and none left over when a major project arrives. We add engineers for the project so your staff can keep supporting users.
Migrations
File, server and mailbox migrations planned and executed alongside your team rather than squeezed between support calls.
Server projects
New hosts, virtualization work, storage and operating-system upgrades handled by engineers who do them continuously.
Microsoft 365 projects
Tenant moves, identity work, SharePoint and Teams rollouts and licensing restructures.
Network upgrades
Firewall replacements, switching, Wi-Fi and multi-building connectivity work.
Cybersecurity initiatives
Deploying MFA, endpoint protection, email security or monitoring across the organization on a schedule.
Cloud and datacenter moves
Moving workloads to private cloud or hosted infrastructure without pausing everyday support.
How project work is scoped and whether it is included depends on the co-managed package agreed with your organization.
Specialization
Your IT Team Should Not Have to Know Everything
What internal IT usually does exceptionally well
- Supporting users and departments day to day
- Business applications and how the organization actually works
- Institutional knowledge built over years
- Departmental workflows and priorities
What nobody does well occasionally
- Complex virtualization work
- Advanced networking and firewall design
- Cybersecurity incidents
- Microsoft cloud architecture
- Disaster recovery design and testing
- Server migrations and large infrastructure projects
These arrive rarely and require depth. Mayer Networks engineers do this work continuously across many environments, so your team does not have to relearn it each time.
Capability
Add Capability Without Hiring Every Specialty.
An organization may need expertise across servers, networking, cybersecurity, cloud, Microsoft 365, backup and projects without needing a dedicated full-time specialist in each area.
An internal team covering everything needs
- User support
- Networking
- Servers and virtualization
- Cloud and Microsoft 365
- Cybersecurity
- Backup and recovery
- Project delivery
- After-hours coverage
What the co-managed relationship provides
Access to a broader pool of expertise through one monthly agreement. Co-managed packages can be structured to include escalation support, tools, monitoring, cybersecurity, infrastructure management, projects and 24/7/365 coverage, so an organization can increase capability without hiring several specialists at once.
The point is not that it is cheaper than employees. The point is that no small team can cover all of it alone.
Which model fits
Fully Managed IT or Co-Managed IT
Both sit under the same Mayer Networks Managed IT model. The difference is who carries primary responsibility for the environment.
Fully Managed IT
- No internal IT required
- Mayer Networks takes primary responsibility
- Mayer Networks handles day-to-day IT operations
- A complete outsourced IT department
- 24/7/365 support for your staff
- Best when an organization wants IT handled for them
Co-Managed IT
- Existing internal IT team
- Responsibilities are shared and documented
- Internal IT and Mayer Networks work together
- An additional engineering bench
- 24/7/365 coverage and escalation behind your team
- Best when an organization wants internal IT strengthened
No internal IT team?
Fully Managed IT May Be the Better Fit
If your organization does not maintain internal IT staff, or wants Mayer Networks to take primary responsibility for the technology environment, the fully managed model is built for that.
Mayer Networks can become the organization's complete IT department, providing user support, infrastructure management, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, vendor coordination, planning and 24/7/365 coverage.
Dividing responsibility so nothing lands in the gap
Co-managed arrangements fail in one predictable way: both sides assume the other is watching something. So the division is written down before work starts, system by system rather than in general terms, including who patches servers, who owns identity and conditional access, who verifies restores, who holds vendor relationships and who is called at 2am.
In practice internal staff usually keep the work that depends on knowing the organization, application support, users and departmental process, while we take the parts that need specialist depth or after-hours coverage: firewalls, virtualization, backup engineering, identity, and escalations that would otherwise consume a day of somebody's week.
- Responsibility matrix agreed in writing and revisited when either side changes staff
- Shared documentation, so internal staff are not locked out of their own environment
- Coverage that extends internal hours rather than replacing internal judgement
Why Mayer Networks
- We support internal teams rather than positioning against them
- Deep specialist skills available without a full-time hire
- One organization accountable for support, engineering, security, infrastructure and communications.
- Responsive remote and onsite support from engineers based in Southern Illinois, not a queue in another time zone.
Security considerations
- Independent review of the security baseline
- Managed detection available to internal teams
- Privileged access separation between teams
- Shared documentation of controls
Will you try to replace our IT staff?
No. Co-managed engagements exist to make internal teams more effective, and the division of responsibility is documented.
Can our internal team use your tools?
Yes. Co-managed agreements can be structured so internal IT works inside our ticketing system and remote monitoring and management platform, with permissions defined in the agreement.
Who do users contact?
Whatever fits the organization. Users often continue contacting internal staff, with our team handling escalations.
Can we start with only security?
Yes. Many co-managed relationships start with security monitoring or backup and expand from there.
Do you provide after-hours coverage?
Yes. Managed clients have access to support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with monitoring and response arrangements defined in the agreement.
How is co-managed IT priced?
Co-managed agreements are normally structured around a predictable monthly cost covering the scope selected, which can include escalation, tools, monitoring, cybersecurity, infrastructure management and, depending on the package, project work.
Industries that rely on this
Related services
- Managed ITManaged IT ServicesMayer Networks provides ongoing managed IT services for businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, healthcare organizations and other organizations throughout Southern Illinois. Our managed IT model provides proactive technology management, 24/7/365 support, monitoring, cybersecurity, infrastructure management, Microsoft 365 administration, backup, vendor coordination, documentation, lifecycle planning and strategic guidance. There are two ways to work with Mayer Networks: Fully Managed IT or Co-Managed IT.
- CybersecurityMDR & Security MonitoringManaged detection and response combines security tooling with people who investigate what it finds. Mayer Networks monitors endpoint, identity and log activity so suspicious behavior is examined quickly and confirmed threats are contained.
- Managed ITIT Consulting & StrategyMayer Networks helps leadership decide what to replace, what to keep, what is actually at risk, what belongs in cloud and what should be budgeted next year. We assess the environment, document what it runs on, and build a realistic multi-year plan for infrastructure, security and applications, with the reasoning written down so it survives a budget meeting.
- Cloud & InfrastructureCloud & InfrastructureMayer Networks uses two kinds of cloud together. Microsoft 365 carries email, files, collaboration and identity. Mayer Networks Cloud, our own private infrastructure in Carbondale, Illinois, carries the workloads that still require traditional servers: line-of-business applications, SQL databases, hosted desktops, legacy software and disaster recovery. Infrastructure as a Service is the service; the private cloud is the platform it runs on.
Let's talk about your technology
Tell us what you are running and what is not working. We will tell you plainly what we would do about it.