Co-Managed IT · Canada
Service group: Managed ITSupport for your internal IT team, not a replacement for it
Your IT manager or one-person IT department keeps ownership of the work they do best. Podium Catchers adds help desk capacity, tooling, specialist skills and coverage during holidays, with a written responsibility split so nothing falls between two teams.
At a glance
- Service
- Shared IT operations between your internal IT staff and Podium Catchers
- Best suited to
- Organizations of roughly 30 to 200 employees with one or a few internal IT staff
- How work is divided
- A written responsibility matrix naming which party owns each task, approval and escalation
- Typical additions
- Help desk overflow, patching and monitoring tools, Microsoft 365 and security administration, leave coverage, project help
- Not included by default
- Hardware, licences, major projects and after-hours coverage unless written into the proposal
- Pricing basis
- Per user or per component depending on what we take on, confirmed in a written quotation
- How to start
- A consultation with your IT lead and a business sponsor to agree the responsibility split
What co-managed IT means
Co-managed IT is a partnership between your internal IT staff and our team. Your IT lead usually keeps the parts of the job that depend on deep knowledge of your business: line-of-business systems, internal projects, relationships with department heads. We take on agreed areas such as front-line tickets, patching, monitoring, Microsoft 365 administration or security tasks, and we are available as backup when your IT person is on holiday, sick or overloaded.
The difference from an outsourced IT department is ownership. In an outsourced arrangement we are the whole IT function. In a co-managed arrangement responsibility is shared, so the most important document is the responsibility matrix: for each task it records who does it, who approves it, who is informed, and how work is handed between teams. That matrix is reviewed regularly as your team and priorities change.
Why internal IT teams bring us in
One person, too many hats
Your IT lead is expected to answer every ticket, run projects, manage vendors and keep security current, and strategic work never gets time.
No cover for holidays or illness
When the IT person is away, problems wait or a non-technical colleague improvises with administrator access.
Tooling that is hard to justify
Professional ticketing, monitoring and patching platforms cost a lot for a small internal team to license and maintain alone.
Skill gaps in specialist areas
Deep Microsoft 365 security, Intune or network work comes up occasionally, too rarely to hire for but too important to guess at.
What we can take on
Help desk overflow or first line
We handle routine tickets and escalate business-specific issues to your IT lead, or the other way around, as the matrix defines.
Shared tooling
Access to ticketing, remote monitoring, patching and documentation platforms, with accounts for your internal staff.
Patching and monitoring operations
Routine maintenance and alert review on covered devices, freeing your team for project and business work.
Specialist administration
Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune, Defender, network and backup administration where your team needs depth or capacity.
Leave and absence coverage
Documented access and runbooks so we can keep operations running when your IT staff are away.
Project capacity
Scoped help with device rollouts, migrations or office moves, quoted separately from the recurring arrangement.
Co-managed scope
Scope depends entirely on the responsibility split. These are common starting points.
Commonly included
- A written responsibility matrix reviewed on an agreed schedule
- Help desk handling for agreed ticket types and users
- Shared access to ticketing, monitoring and documentation tools
- Patch and endpoint protection operations on covered devices
- Microsoft 365 and identity administration tasks assigned to us
- Coverage during your IT staff’s planned leave
- Joint service reviews with your IT lead
Requires separate scope or quotation
- Tasks the matrix assigns to your internal team
- Hardware, software and licence purchases
- Projects such as migrations, rollouts or office moves
- After-hours or weekend coverage unless written into your plan
- Hiring, managing or evaluating your internal IT staff
Shared platforms and systems
We integrate with tools your team already uses where practical, and offer ours where you have gaps.
- Service desk ticketing with shared queues and escalation paths
- Remote monitoring and management agents on covered devices
- IT documentation platforms and a shared credential vault
- Microsoft 365, Entra ID and Exchange Online administration
- Microsoft Intune and Defender for Business
- Windows Server, Active Directory and hybrid identity
- Business firewalls, switches and Wi-Fi
Who co-managed IT is for
Single-person IT departments
Organizations with one IT generalist who needs backup, tools and a team behind them.
Small IT teams with a project backlog
Teams of two or three whose routine operations crowd out improvement projects.
Leadership seeking resilience
Owners and finance leaders who do not want IT to depend on one person’s availability or memory.
What co-managed IT delivers
- Your internal IT lead gets time back for business-specific work
- IT operations continue during holidays and absences
- Professional tooling without licensing it alone
- Specialist skills available when needed
- Clear ownership of every task, recorded in writing
- Knowledge documented and shared, not held by one person
How a co-managed engagement starts
Joint consultation
We meet your IT lead and a business sponsor to understand workloads, pain points and goals.
Responsibility matrix
Together we map each task to an owner, approver and escalation path, and agree coverage hours.
Tooling and access
Shared ticketing, monitoring and documentation are set up, and access is granted on a least-privilege basis.
Handover of agreed areas
Tasks move to our team in stages, with runbooks so both teams follow the same procedures.
Review and adjust
Regular reviews look at ticket flow, handoffs and the matrix, and adjust the split as needs change.
Ways to buy co-managed IT
Co-managed arrangements are assembled from the components you need. Pricing is confirmed in a written quotation.
Managed IT Support subscription
Per-user help desk and operations support for the users and ticket types assigned to us.
Microsoft 365 Administration
Per-user tenant administration when your team wants depth in Microsoft 365 and identity.
Monitoring and endpoint security components
Network Monitoring per site and Managed Endpoint Security per device, added where your team lacks tooling.
Frequently asked questions
Will co-managed IT replace our IT person?
No. Co-managed IT is designed to support internal staff. If you need the whole function covered, that is our outsourced IT department service.
Who has administrator access?
Both teams have access appropriate to their responsibilities, recorded in the matrix. Your organization owns the accounts, credentials and documentation.
Can we use our existing ticketing system?
Often, yes. We integrate where practical, or provide our platform with accounts for your staff. The approach is agreed during onboarding.
Can you cover our IT person’s vacation?
Yes. Planned leave coverage is a common part of co-managed scope, supported by documented access and runbooks.
How is co-managed IT priced?
By the components you take on, typically per user for help desk and per device or site for tooling. Your written quotation confirms the final price.
Related services
Products and packages
Industries we support
Service areas
Give your IT lead a team behind them
Book a consultation with your IT lead to map out a responsibility split. You will receive a written scope before any commitment.