IT services are necessary for every business in the country – IT companies help businesses protect their data, ensure day-to-day operations run smoothly, increase productivity across the board and keep up-to-date with the latest technology trends and updates. Without IT services, your business can fall prey to hackers and cybercriminals bent on stealing your company’s and clients’ personal information. But if you don’t have IT services, where do you even start looking?

Many businesses choose to keep their IT services in-house with a dedicated team of IT professionals who are able to offer quick support in most situations. Others decide to outsource and hire a managed IT services provider to handle all of their technology needs. Yet there’s another option many are unfamiliar with that could help fill their needs. It’s a hybrid of in-house IT services and managed IT services called co-managed IT, and it truly provides business owners with the best of both worlds.

With co-managed IT services, you can outsource many of the IT tasks and responsibilities that prevent your in-house team from doing their best work. The outsourced team will watch over your network and address any issues before they become more significant problems. They’ll also install the necessary protections to ensure your business is protected against hackers and cybercriminals. If more hands need to get on deck, your in- house IT team can step in and work to fix any issues that arise.

When you set up co-managed IT services in your business, you’ll likely have a game plan to ensure every need is met. You can partner with a third-party organization and analyze your existing IT department to evaluate its skills, needs, resources and tools. This will tell you where you need the extra help. From there, you can determine which services you need to reach your company goals, regardless of whether they’re related to IT or not. Then you can build a package to cover every base while staying within budget.

Co-managed IT services are truly a win-win for business owners. They can utilize the third party for specific tasks while allowing the in-house IT team to tackle other projects. In most cases, your in-house IT team will retain control of administrative access while gaining the ability to use tools and resources provided by the third-party team. Utilizing a co-managed IT service takes tasks and responsibilities off your shoulders, as you won’t have to check in on every single task the third-party team is managing. This means you can focus on other essential projects that directly impact your business. A co-managed IT service will also allow you to keep up with the latest technology and cyber security trends as they release, and you’ll be able to determine what you want to implement in your business. You get around-the-clock support, so even if your in-house team has people on vacation, you can keep up with your daily responsibilities without worrying everything will come