If you are comparing managed IT providers, you will quickly run into two models. Fully managed IT means an outside provider runs your entire technology environment. Co managed IT means an outside provider works alongside your internal IT staff and takes on the parts they cannot cover. The tools and engineers on the provider side are often the same. The difference is who owns what.
This guide explains how each model works, where each one fits, what each one costs and how to decide. It is written from the provider side: E-Valve Technologies has delivered both models for businesses and nonprofits in New York and New Jersey since 2009.
The short answer
- Choose fully managed IT if you have no internal IT staff, or one person who handles IT on top of another job.
- Choose co managed IT if you have an IT manager or team you want to keep, and you need more depth in security, after hours coverage, help desk volume or projects.
Smaller companies usually do not have a dedicated IT employee, so fully managed is the common choice. Once a company has an IT manager who knows the business well, co managed becomes the better option, because it adds capacity without replacing that knowledge.
What is fully managed IT?
With fully managed IT, the provider takes ownership of the whole environment for one monthly price. Your staff call or email the provider’s help desk, and the provider is accountable for the results. A fully managed agreement should cover:
- Help desk support for every user, with tracked tickets and response times written into the agreement.
- Device management and patching for laptops, desktops and servers.
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration, including onboarding and offboarding.
- Cybersecurity, including endpoint detection and response, email security, DNS filtering, multifactor authentication and monitoring by a security operations center.
- Backup and disaster recovery, tested on a schedule.
- Network and vendor management for internet, phones, printers and line of business software.
- Strategy and budgeting, usually through a virtual CIO who meets with leadership to plan the year ahead.
At E-Valve, every fully managed client gets the same all inclusive service. There is no lighter plan with security removed, because a 15 person office faces the same threats as a 150 person firm.
What is co managed IT?
With co managed IT, your internal IT team keeps ownership of the environment and the relationship with leadership. The provider fills defined gaps. The most common splits are:
- The provider runs the front line help desk, and your IT team handles escalations, projects and business systems.
- Your team supports users, and the provider runs security monitoring, patching and backup in the background.
- The provider covers after hours, weekends and vacations, so your IT manager is not the only person on call.
- The provider adds project capacity for migrations, office moves and Microsoft 365 rollouts that your team does not have time for.
- The provider supplies the tooling, such as remote monitoring, ticketing, documentation and a security stack that would be expensive to license and run on your own.
Every co managed agreement should include a written responsibility matrix that says exactly who owns each task. Without one, the model fails.
Co managed vs fully managed IT at a glance
| Fully managed IT | Co managed IT | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the environment | The provider | Your IT team, with the provider on agreed areas |
| Who staff contact for help | The provider’s help desk | Depends on the split; often the provider handles first contact |
| Security monitoring | Included and run by the provider | Usually run by the provider |
| Strategy and budgeting | Provider’s virtual CIO with your leadership | Your IT lead, with input from the provider |
| Tools | The provider’s full platform | Shared access to the provider’s platform |
| Best fit | No internal IT, or one generalist | An IT manager or team that needs more depth |
| Pricing | Per user per month, predictable | Scoped to the responsibilities you hand over |
When fully managed IT is the right fit
- You have no IT staff, or an office manager is handling IT between other duties.
- You are in a regulated industry, such as healthcare, finance or legal, and need documented controls for HIPAA, FINRA and SEC rules or the New York SHIELD Act.
- Your cyber insurer or auditors are asking questions you cannot answer with confidence.
- You are growing and want IT to scale with headcount without hiring.
- You want one accountable partner instead of managing several vendors yourself.
When co managed IT is the right fit
- Your IT manager is buried in tickets and strategic work keeps slipping.
- You need security monitoring around the clock, and an internal team cannot staff nights and weekends.
- You have a large project coming, such as a cloud migration or a new office, and need extra hands for a few months.
- One person holds all the knowledge. If your IT lead left tomorrow, a co managed partner who already knows the environment keeps the business running.
- Your team wants better tools without the cost of buying and maintaining them alone.
What makes co managed IT work
Co managed IT fails for predictable reasons: tickets bounce between teams, nobody is sure who owns an outage, and requests stall because each side assumes the other is handling it. Before you sign, make sure the provider can show you how it handles:
- A written responsibility matrix, reviewed at least once a year.
- Shared ticketing, so both teams see the same queue and history.
- Ticket ownership during handoffs, so every ticket has one clear owner at every stage.
- Response time rules that state how the clock runs when a ticket is waiting on your team.
- An escalation path that lets your IT staff reach senior engineers directly.
- Shared documentation, so passwords, network diagrams and procedures are not locked in one person’s head.
- Follow up when an action sits with your team, so nothing quietly goes stale.
E-Valve’s service desk procedures include dedicated workflows for co managed clients that cover each of these points, from remote hands requests to inbound escalations from your IT staff.
What each model costs
Fully managed IT is usually priced per user per month. E-Valve’s managed IT runs $125 to $225 per user per month. Where you land depends on your environment, such as the number of locations, the systems you run and how much is in the cloud, not on a tier of service. Servers, onboarding projects and compliance work are quoted separately so the monthly number stays predictable. You can see more on our managed IT pricing page.
Co managed IT is priced against the scope you hand over. Because your team keeps part of the work, the cost reflects only what the provider takes on, so it is quoted after an assessment rather than from a rate card.
When you compare either model to hiring, remember that one internal hire cannot cover every hour, every specialty and every vacation. Salary is only part of the cost. You also pay for the tools, the training and the risk of that knowledge walking out the door.
Five questions to help you decide
- Do you have someone whose full time job is IT? If not, start with fully managed.
- Who would see a security alert at 2 a.m. on a Saturday? If the honest answer is nobody, you need outside monitoring under either model.
- If your IT person left tomorrow, is everything documented? If not, a co managed partner reduces that risk right away.
- Are projects stuck because daily tickets always come first? Co managed help desk or project support frees your team.
- Can you answer your cyber insurance questionnaire today? If not, you need the security controls and documentation a managed provider brings.
You can switch models later
The choice is not permanent. Many companies start with co managed IT and move to fully managed when their IT manager leaves or retires. Others start fully managed and shift to co managed after hiring an internal IT lead. A good provider makes the switch easy, because the tools, documentation and relationships are already in place.
Frequently asked questions
Is co managed IT cheaper than fully managed IT?
Usually the monthly fee is lower, because your team does part of the work. Your total cost includes your internal staff, so compare the full picture: salaries, tools and coverage gaps, not only the provider’s invoice.
Will co managed IT replace my IT staff?
No. The goal is to support your IT team, not replace it. Your team keeps ownership of the environment and the business relationships, and the provider adds coverage, tools and specialists.
Can a co managed provider work with our existing tools?
Usually. A good provider reviews your current tools during onboarding, keeps what works and fills the gaps. Expect the provider to standardize the security and monitoring tools it is accountable for.
What is the difference between outsourced IT and fully managed IT?
The terms are often used the same way. Both mean a provider handles your IT instead of internal staff. Learn more about our outsourced IT services.
How E-Valve can help
E-Valve Technologies has supported businesses and nonprofits across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut since 2009, with offices in Manhattan and Hoboken. We deliver both fully managed IT services and co managed IT services, with the same engineers, tools and managed security behind each one.
Not sure which model fits? Book a free technology assessment. A senior engineer will review your support, security and planning, and recommend the model that fits your team.
