Co-managed IT is an arrangement where a business keeps its own IT staff and brings in a provider for the parts they can't cover alone. It suits businesses that have outgrown one IT person but don't want to hand everything over.
Why businesses choose it
An internal IT person is usually stretched across support, projects, security and vendors. Something gets dropped, and it is normally the unseen work such as patching, backup checks and security monitoring.
Common ways to split the work
One pattern keeps first-line support in house and gives the provider the back end: monitoring, patching, security and escalations. Another gives the provider the service desk so the internal person can focus on projects and business systems.
What the provider adds
A provider brings tools the business wouldn't buy for itself, cover for leave and after hours, and specialists in security, cloud and networking for the problems one person rarely sees.
Write down who does what
List each area and name who is responsible: accounts, devices, patching, backups, security alerts, vendors and purchasing. Most friction in co-managed arrangements comes from two parties each assuming the other had it.
Share the tools and the records
Both sides should work from the same ticketing system, the same documentation and the same monitoring. If the provider's records are closed to your IT person, it isn't co-managed.
Protect the internal person
A good arrangement makes the internal role better, with backup for leave and someone senior to escalate to. Involve them in choosing the provider.
Review it regularly
The split that suits you this year may not suit you next year. Review it every quarter and move work as the business changes.
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