All-Inclusive vs. Co-Managed IT Services: Which Option is Right for Your Organization?

Once you’ve recognized the value of managed IT services for your organization, you still have another question to ponder. Which managed IT services option is best for my organization: all-inclusive or co-managed?

But first, let’s make sure that there’s no confusion about the terms all-inclusive and co-managed.

What Are All-Inclusive and Co-Managed IT Services?

All-Inclusive Managed IT Services – An outsourced company takes care of everything from proactive IT and cybersecurity management to helpdesk support and incident response.

Co-Managed IT Services – An outsourced company collaborates with your internal IT team. The company takes care of cybersecurity, advanced support, and IT maintenance while your internal IT staff responds to end user support requests and onsite technical repairs. The exact scope of services can be customized to fit your needs and the tasks you want your internal team to retain.

Before we go into why one option might be better than another, you should note that all managed IT services companies are different. The services and packages may have similar names, but the process for service delivery and results varies widely.

In this article, we're discussing VC3's specific approach to all-inclusive and co-managed IT services. We'll cover:

• What You Get with Both All-Inclusive and Co-Managed IT Services Options
• All-Inclusive Managed IT Services Are for You If You Want to...
• Co-Managed IT Services Are for You If You Want to...
• The Main Difference Between All-Inclusive and Co-Managed IT Services

What You Get with Both All-Inclusive and Co-Managed IT Services Options

Bring Calm to the Chaos

• Fill IT gaps with expert support.
• Reduce noise and disruptions.
• Align technology with business goals.

IT Strategy Consulting

• A dedicated IT advisor
• Proactive planning and technology vetting
• A business-aligned IT roadmap

Rely on a Scalable IT Foundation

• Elimination of growth bottlenecks from outdated or underperforming IT infrastructure
• Improved network performance to support new applications, users, and locations
• A strong foundation enabling your organization to meet stretch goals

Access to a Wide Range of IT Specialties

• A deep bench of IT experts across infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, compliance, etc.
• The ability to stay current with evolving technologies without hiring niche specialists
• The ability to resolve complex issues faster

Ramp Up Your Security Posture Rapidly

• Fast implementation of essential security measures
• Cybersecurity solutions tailored to your IT environment
• Ability to stay ahead of evolving threats with proactive monitoring, threat detection, and response

Related: 18 Foundational Cybersecurity Measures Businesses Need

Quick Response and Lots of Communication

• Timely support
• Transparent communication
• Consistent service delivery

When Is All-Inclusive Managed IT Support the Right Choice?

• When you want to stop thinking about IT and focus on your core business: If you’re an executive who just wants IT to work and not have to be involved in the day-to-day, then all-inclusive managed IT services are for you. At VC3, we take care of whatever comes up. You'll still be involved in future planning, approving purchases, and things like that—but every issue won't need to cross your desk.
• When you want to empower employees with a helpdesk to give them IT help when they need it: Your people will be more productive and happier when they know they'll get help when they need it. No more saving up their issues until an IT vendor visits the office, or having someone else put in a support request on their behalf. Fast support desk response at VC3 is delivered by personable technicians who know how to ask the right questions. Any employee can contact us at any time.
• When you want to eliminate the burden of recruiting, hiring, and training IT staff: It takes resources and skill to successfully recruit technology professionals. However, you no longer need to worry about that when you have all-inclusive managed IT services.
• When you want to free up your internal IT specialists (if you have them) to focus on applications: If you have IT people who are Management Information Systems (MIS) specialists or software developers, bringing on all-inclusive managed IT services will free them to focus on strategic initiatives instead of being pulled into routine IT and security management tasks. In fact, they will be more successful because they can build your apps upon a solid IT foundation.

When Are Co-Managed IT Services the Right Choice?

• When you want to keep your internal IT staff: You can set your internal IT staff up for success with co-managed IT services. They can focus on helping your people and devote their time to their specific area of expertise while having resources available for escalation and collaboration.

• When you want to access specialized expertise that your IT staff lacks: At VC3, most co-managed clients have their internal IT staff take care of support requests from users, and our team takes responsibility for ongoing IT and security management and escalated support issues. The services they get are delivered from multiple teams that represent a wide variety of IT specialties.
• When you have a customized IT partnership in mind: With co-managed IT and security services, we work with you to divvy up responsibilities in a way that works best for you. But, of course, it all depends on the expertise and bandwidth of your team. So we continually review things and identify when an adjustment is needed.
• When you need to ensure continuity and redundancy for your IT department: With a small in-house IT team, you’ve automatically got a gap when someone takes time off. When you have co-managed IT services, you know that the IT management ball won’t get dropped. In case of an emergency or situation when you suddenly find yourself without an IT manager, you can shift service delivery to fill the gaps.
• When you need to supplement your IT team’s helpdesk support: We have a few clients for whom we only provide remote service desk support for their users, hardware inventory management, and employee onboarding/offboarding. This works best for companies with high functioning IT systems and an expert staff to handle IT and security management.

What the Main Difference Between All-Inclusive and Co-Managed IT Services?

The main difference comes down to frontline end user support.

• With all-inclusive managed IT services, any end user can get support whenever they need it.
• With co-managed IT services, the internal IT staff typically manages frontline end user support -- but they're not all on their own. Internal IT staff has full access to our team if they're stuck and need to escalate an issue.

Common Questions About All-Inclusive and Co-Managed Services

What are managed IT services?

Managed IT services involve outsourcing your IT operations to a third-party provider. The goal is to improve the efficiency, security, and scalability of your technology.

What’s the difference between all-inclusive and co-managed IT services?

All-inclusive services handle all IT tasks, taking the entirely of managing IT off your plate. Co-managed services support your internal team with specialized expertise—leaving you in charge of your IT.

How do I choose the right IT service model?

Every organization is different, so you need to assess your current internal IT capabilities, organizational goals, and desired level of control over your IT.

TL;DR

Choosing between all-inclusive and co-managed IT services depends on your business needs. Both models offer strategic IT consulting, scalable infrastructure, and enhanced cybersecurity.

• All-inclusive IT services are ideal for organizations seeking full outsourcing, where the provider handles everything from helpdesk support to infrastructure and security.
• Co-managed IT services are best for organizations with internal IT teams that need external support for specialized tasks, strategic planning, and redundancy.

The key difference lies in who handles frontline end-user support. All-inclusive services cover it entirely, while co-managed services typically leave it to internal staff with escalation support available.

So, Co-Managed or All-Inclusive?

Choosing between all-inclusive and co-managed services depends on your internal resources, business goals, and desired level of involvement—hands off or collaborative. Changing how you resource IT is a big decision, but hopefully, this article has helped you better understand what you’re looking for and points you in the right direction.

Now, all you have to do is decide if VC3 is the right IT partner for you. Here’s what one of our clients says about working with us –

“One person can’t stay up on the technology and understand everything. They’re only as good as what they know. I appreciate VC3 has many levels of employees, from the individuals who come in to lay the cable, to the people who understand the software, to the people who understand all the hardware components, to virtual CIOs who understand the whole gamut of what’s new in the industry and how those new features or systems blend back into what we do, or how it can benefit us.”

- Joe Joswiak, CFO, Chino Basin Watermaster

Get in touch to explore how VC3's managed IT services can turn your IT chaos into calm.