Managed IT · Co-Managed · Internal IT + TechWise

Your IT Team Handles
What They’re Good At.
We Cover Everything Else.

Your internal IT person is good. They know the environment, the users, the history. What they don’t have is depth in security, compliance, cloud architecture, or someone to take the 2am call. TechWise fills exactly those gaps : every domain formally assigned, nothing left ambiguous, two teams working as one.

Talk About Co-Managed IT

Scoped per engagement · No commitment required

● Every domain formally assigned in writing

● Priced by scope, not a discount off full managed

● Your team stays, their coverage expands

● 10-Year Average Client Retention: Managed Services

● Chicago · Philadelphia · Los Angeles

What Co-Managed IT Is

Co-Managed IT Is Not a Compromise.
It’s a Structured Model for Companies
With Real Internal IT.

Co-managed IT means a company’s internal IT team and an external managed IT provider share responsibility for the IT environment, with each domain formally assigned in writing. It is not a hybrid of full outsourcing and going it alone. It is a deliberate model for companies where internal IT has genuine value and specific, defined gaps that need professional depth.

Internal IT Keeps What They’re Good At.

Help desk, user onboarding, day-to-day operations, printer maintenance, hardware procurement : the work your internal team does well and has institutional knowledge to handle. These domains stay with your team. TechWise doesn’t take over what your team already owns effectively.

TechWise Takes the Depth Domains.

Security configuration, compliance frameworks, Azure management, cloud architecture, after-hours coverage, and specialized engineering : the work that requires depth and breadth beyond what one or two internal IT people can maintain. TechWise takes these domains formally, with written ownership in the engagement agreement.

Every Domain Assigned. Nothing Ambiguous.

The domain split is documented before work begins. When something breaks at 2am, everyone knows whose problem it is. When a compliance auditor asks who owns security monitoring, there is a written answer. Ambiguity between internal IT and an external provider is where things fall through the cracks. TechWise eliminates it.

Who This Is For

Your IT Person Is Good.
These Are the Three Gaps They Cannot Cover Alone.

Co-managed IT isn’t a compromise between full outsourcing and going it alone. It’s a structured model for companies where internal IT has real value, and specific, defined gaps that need professional depth.

Situation 01

Solid on day-to-day. Thin on depth.

Your internal IT person handles help desk, user setup, and day-to-day issues well. But security configuration, compliance frameworks, Azure management, and specialized engineering are beyond what one or two people can cover. TechWise takes those domains formally, your team keeps what they’re good at.

Situation 02

Need after-hours coverage without replacing your team.

Your internal IT person shouldn’t take the 2am call. But you’re not ready to fully outsource IT. Co-managed lets TechWise own after-hours and weekend coverage by agreement, explicitly defined, formally assigned, not informal on-call that creates resentment and gaps.

Situation 03

Post-acquisition IT that needs augmentation, not replacement.

You acquired a company. They have IT staff. Replacing them disrupts the business and loses institutional knowledge. TechWise brings standards, security, and specialty depth alongside the existing team, same model, applied to M&A integration without the cultural cost of a full replacement.

How It Works

Discovery First.
Every Domain Assigned Before Work Begins.

No two co-managed engagements look the same. The domain split comes out of discovery. TechWise and the client work through every area of IT coverage together, assign ownership to one side or the other, and document it in writing. That document becomes the engagement foundation. If a domain isn’t assigned, TechWise doesn’t own it.

Step 01: Discovery

Map every domain. Understand what your team owns today and where the gaps are.

TechWise works through eight coverage areas with the client, Security & Compliance, Cloud & Infrastructure, Endpoint & Device, Identity & Access, Help Desk, M365 Administration, Vendor Management, and Strategic Advisory. Each is assessed against what the internal team currently handles, where they need depth, and where coverage is missing entirely.

Step 02: Assignment

Every domain gets a named owner. TechWise, your team, or a defined split.

The assignment isn’t a template. It reflects the actual capability and capacity of the internal team. Some clients keep help desk and hand TechWise security and cloud. Others keep strategic decisions and hand TechWise everything technical. The mix is determined by what makes sense for this environment, not by a standard package.

Step 03: Documentation

The assignment goes into writing. Both sides sign it before the engagement begins.

Every domain assignment, escalation path, and coverage boundary is documented in the engagement scope document. This isn’t a handshake. It’s the legal foundation of the engagement. Ambiguity about who owns what is how things fall through cracks. TechWise doesn’t allow that.

Step 04: Ongoing

Two teams working as one. Scope reviewed and adjusted as the business changes.

Co-managed engagements aren’t static. As the business grows, acquires companies, or changes IT strategy, the domain split is reviewed and updated. TechWise monitors whether the scope still fits. If the internal team’s capacity changes or compliance requirements shift, the conversation happens proactively, not after something breaks.

How Pricing Works

Priced by What TechWise Owns.
Not a Discount Off Full Managed.

Co-managed IT is priced based on the domains TechWise formally owns and the expertise those domains require. A co-managed engagement where TechWise owns security, cloud, and after-hours is scoped and priced accordingly. It is not calculated as a percentage reduction from full managed. The scope drives the number, not the other way around.

Every co-managed engagement is scoped through discovery. TechWise and the client map every domain before any commercial conversation happens. It produces a written scope document that becomes the foundation of the engagement agreement, and eliminates the ambiguity that causes most co-managed arrangements to fail.

What drives the scope

Which domains TechWise owns

Security and cloud require different expertise than help desk escalation. The domains TechWise takes on determine the level of engineering committed to the engagement.

What drives the cost

Expertise level required per domain

A co-managed engagement covering security, compliance, and 24/7 escalation requires senior engineers. That’s priced differently from an engagement limited to L3 escalation and cloud monitoring.

What it’s not

A discount off full managed

Co-managed is not a cheaper version of full-service IT. It’s a different delivery model for companies where internal IT has genuine value and defined scope.

Related Engagements

Co-Managed Isn’t Right for Everyone.
Here’s How to Know.

Co-managed works when internal IT has genuine day-to-day capability and defined gaps. If the internal team is overwhelmed, reactive, or leaving faster than TechWise can fill the gaps, full-service managed IT is the right conversation.

If your internal IT is stretched thin

Full-Service Managed IT may be the better fit.

If your internal IT person is handling everything reactively and still falling behind, adding TechWise depth doesn’t fix the underlying capacity problem. Full managed IT replaces the reactive model entirely, one team, every layer, one number.

See Full-Service Managed IT →

If you have a specific project or surge need

Project & Surge Support is a different conversation.

M&A integration, office move, infrastructure refresh, if the need is time-bound and project-specific rather than an ongoing gap, TechWise scopes it as a fixed engagement with a defined end date, not an ongoing co-managed relationship.

See Project & Surge Support →

Common Questions

Questions About Co-Managed IT.

Co-managed IT is a model where a company’s internal IT team and an external provider share responsibility for the IT environment, with each domain formally assigned in writing. The internal team keeps the domains they handle well, generally day-to-day help desk and user operations. The external provider takes the depth domains: security, compliance, cloud architecture, after-hours coverage, and specialized engineering. Every domain is owned by someone. Nothing falls through the cracks.

Co-managed IT is priced by the scope of what TechWise owns, not as a discount off the full managed rate. If TechWise owns security, compliance, and after-hours coverage but not help desk, the price reflects those specific domains. No two co-managed engagements look the same because no two domain splits look the same. Scope is determined in discovery before pricing is finalized.

The domains TechWise most commonly takes in co-managed engagements are: security configuration and monitoring, compliance framework management, Azure and cloud architecture, after-hours and weekend coverage, and specialized engineering for projects the internal team lacks depth for. The most common domains that stay internal are: day-to-day help desk, user onboarding and offboarding, hardware procurement, and printer and peripheral support.

No. Co-managed IT is specifically designed for companies where the internal team has real value and institutional knowledge that shouldn’t be disrupted. TechWise adds depth and coverage alongside the existing team. The internal team expands their effective coverage without being replaced. This is particularly relevant in post-acquisition situations where replacing acquired IT staff would disrupt the business and lose institutional knowledge.

After-hours coverage is explicitly assigned in the engagement agreement : specific hours, specific escalation paths, specific response time commitments. It is not informal on-call that creates resentment and gaps. The internal IT person is not responsible for the 2am call when TechWise owns after-hours coverage. Coverage hours are documented and enforced by the agreement, not by individual goodwill.

Yes. Post-acquisition co-managed IT is one of the most common entry points for this model. When a company acquires another organization that has IT staff, replacing those staff disrupts the business and loses institutional knowledge. TechWise brings security standards, compliance documentation, and specialty engineering depth alongside the acquired team, bringing the environment to a consistent standard without the cultural cost of a full replacement.

Augmented IT staffing fills a headcount gap with a contractor who works under the direction of the internal IT team. Co-managed IT is a formal service relationship where TechWise owns specific domains with defined accountability, SLAs, and documentation requirements. Augmented staffing adds a person. Co-managed IT adds a team, a process, and formal accountability for everything TechWise owns.

Yes. Co-managed engagements sometimes evolve into full managed IT when the internal IT person leaves, when the business grows beyond what the internal team can support, or when a post-acquisition integration reaches a natural handoff point. TechWise structures co-managed engagements so that a transition to full managed is direct. The environment documentation already exists, the domain split is already understood, and the team already knows the environment.

Every Domain Assigned.
Nothing Left to Chance.

The discovery conversation maps every domain before any commercial discussion. It’s free, it’s specific to your environment, and it produces the written scope document that becomes the engagement foundation.

Tell Us What’s Broken.
We’ll Tell You How to Fix It.

Every managed engagement starts with a free assessment of your environment: no scope surprises. Tell us what’s broken, what’s keeping you up at night, or what you’re trying to build. We’ll tell you exactly what it takes and which model fits.

  • Free environment assessment, before any scope is finalized

  • 30-minute call with a senior engineer, not a sales rep

  • Six engagement models, from project to enterprise SOC

  • Chicago · Philadelphia · Los Angeles

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