Co-Managed IT Services: Are They Ideal for Your Business?

January 22, 2025

To reduce IT costs and improve their overall IT performance, more and more businesses today are turning to managed IT services providers (MSPs). The MSP market is expected to reach $557 billion by 2028, highlighting the growing reliance on outsourced IT solutions.

While many organizations fully outsource their IT operations, co-managed IT services offer a flexible alternative. This blog will explore what co-managed IT services are, how they differ from fully managed IT services, and whether they are right for your business.

What are Co-Managed IT Services, and How Do They Work?

Co-managed IT services are a collaborative partnership between a business and an MSP, designed to complement your in-house IT team. This arrangement allows your organization to leverage the expertise and resources of an MSP while maintaining control over specific aspects of your IT operations.

Think of it as building a team for a critical business project. While your in-house IT team may excel in daily operations and internal systems, there might be areas—such as advanced cybersecurity, large-scale migrations, or specialized technologies—where additional expertise is needed. Co-managed IT services bring together the strengths of your team and external experts to ensure optimal outcomes and support your long-term goals.

Co-managed IT services prove particularly beneficial in situations like:

  • Lack of in-house expertise: A business’s IT team may lack the necessary skills for certain tasks like cybersecurity or disaster recovery. Co-managed IT services provide access to a group of skilled professionals to fill these gaps.
  • Temporary IT needs: If a company is undertaking a major IT project like a cloud migration or a software implementation, co-managed IT services can provide the necessary resources to ensure the initiative’s success.
  • Simplifying IT operations: By outsourcing some IT tasks like backup, patching, security assessment and monitoring to an external provider, the in-house IT team can focus on more important tasks that drive business value.

What are the Benefits of Co-Managed IT Services?

With this arrangement, your business can take advantage of the following benefits:

1. Enhanced IT Support

Under a co-managed IT setup, your company can access an external IT provider’s knowledge and skills, complementing your in-house IT team’s capabilities.  

Through this collaboration, you can be sure that you have a team of IT support experts ready to respond in the event of a data breach, hardware or software failure, or another IT disaster. The combined efforts minimize downtime and facilitate faster recovery times, keeping your business running smoothly.

2. Cost Efficiency

If you’re a small- or medium-sized business, hiring and retaining IT professionals can be costly. By joining in a co-managed partnership with an MSP, you can have a more affordable option that provides you with the expertise you need.

3. Scalability

Co-managed IT services can adapt as your business needs evolve. For instance, if you’re starting a new project requiring specific technical skills your in-house IT team doesn’t possess, you can get the necessary expertise from your co-managed IT services provider.  

Instead of hiring new employees and letting go of them once your project is over, you can easily scale your IT support up or down with the help of your MSP. This flexibility ensures you always have the right level of IT resources without the hassle of managing staffing changes.

Co-Managed IT Services vs. Managed IT Services: How Do They Differ?

Some businesses may confuse co-managed IT services with managed IT services. This is because both fall under the umbrella of types of managed IT services, all of which involve getting access to external IT support.

However, they differ significantly in their scope:

  • Co-managed IT services: This is a collaboration with your internal IT team and an external provider. The latter provides specialized expertise and resources to boost your internal IT team’s capabilities.
  • Managed IT services: This setup fully outsources all IT functions to an external provider. They take on complete responsibility for the management of your entire IT infrastructure.

To put it simply, co-managed IT services supplement your current IT team, while managed IT replaces your entire IT department.

Does Your Business Need Co-Managed IT Services? 

Here are some signs co-managed IT services are right for your business:

1. You're in-house team is overwhelmed

If your IT department is constantly overworked and struggling to keep up with increasing business demands, co-managed IT services can come in handy. This lightens your internal IT team’s load, enabling them to focus on more critical tasks while also ensuring continuous IT coverage and support.

2. You're constantly experiencing downtime

Downtime can cost an as much as $427 per minute for small businesses according to software company SolarWinds. This means that the longer a business experiences downtime, the more they lose money and incur intangible costs, such customer churn and reputational damage.

If your business faces similar challenges, you may benefit from co-managed IT services. Your MSP will monitor your IT systems round-the-clock, proactively detect and address potential issues, minimize downtime and ensure business continuity.  

3. You need 24/7 IT support

When your business closes for the day, your in-house IT team will no longer be there to monitor your systems and address any issues that may arise. But by taking advantage of co-managed IT services, you can gain access to round-the-clock monitoring and support. This way, any IT issues are promptly detected and addressed, minimizing downtime and maintaining smooth business operations.

Ready to Harness the Benefits of Co-Managed IT Services?

For a reliable co-managed IT services provider in Los Angeles, Dallas, or Denver, choose Techmedics. We’ll keep your business running efficiently through our Co-Managed IT Services which includes cybersecurity, helpdesk, and network management services. To learn more, get a FREE consultation today!

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