If your firm has its own IT person, “co-managed IT” can sound like the first step towards replacing them. Done properly, it’s the opposite. It gives them backup, depth and time back.
The quickest way to show that is to write down who does what. That’s what this post does.
Why the split matters more than the service
Co-managed IT goes wrong in two ways. The first is overlap: both sides work on the same thing, and they get in each other’s way. The second is gaps: each side assumes the other has something covered, and nobody does.
Both have the same fix. Agree the split at the start, write it down and review it. Every co-managed engagement we run starts with that document.
A typical split
Every firm is different, and yours is agreed at the start. This is a common starting point for a professional firm with one in-house IT person.
| Area | Your IT person | INNOSEC |
|---|---|---|
| First point of contact for staff | Owns | Escalation when needed |
| Knowing the firm: people, priorities, quirks | Owns | Learns from them |
| Practice and line-of-business software | Owns day to day | Supports, and deals with vendors when needed |
| On-site work: desks, printers, meeting rooms | Owns | Remote support |
| Security monitoring, including out of hours | Kept informed | Owns |
| Patching and device updates | Approves timing | Runs and reports |
| Microsoft 365 security settings | Agrees changes | Owns the baseline |
| Backup and tested restores | Kept informed | Owns |
| Joiners and leavers | Shared | Shared |
| Documentation | Shared | Shared |
| Projects: migrations, office moves | Scoped one by one | Scoped one by one |
The pattern is simple. Your IT person keeps everything that depends on knowing the firm. We take on the work that needs specialist depth, constant attention or cover outside office hours.
What doesn’t change
- Staff still call your IT person first. They know the people and the context. We sit behind them.
- Your IT person sets the priorities. We work to the firm’s priorities, not our own.
- Nothing changes without them knowing. Changes that affect users are agreed before they happen.
- You keep ownership of your systems. The firm holds the admin accounts and the documentation. Co-managed IT should never leave you dependent on us in the way you were dependent on one person.
How work moves between you
The split only works if handovers are clean:
- One route for escalations. Your IT person raises anything they want us to take, and can see where it stands.
- Agreed escalation paths. It’s clear what comes to us immediately (a suspected compromise) and what waits for the next working day.
- Shared documentation. Both sides work from the same record of systems, accounts and decisions.
- Regular reviews. The split is checked against what actually happened, and adjusted.
Signs the split isn’t working
Watch for these, from either side:
- Both teams fixing the same problem, or neither.
- Requests bouncing between you without being resolved.
- Your IT person still working evenings to keep up.
- Nobody able to say who last patched a device or changed a setting.
- The review keeps slipping.
Each one points back to the split. The fix is to reopen the document, not to add more people.
How this fits with your own responsibilities
Co-managed IT divides the IT work between your person and us. It doesn’t change what stays with the firm itself: data governance, access decisions, staff conduct and policy. We’ve set out that wider line in What your IT provider is responsible for, and what they are not.
Related: Co-managed IT for professional firms
Find out where your IT stands
Book a free 15-minute call. If it’s a fit, the next step is our IT Risk and Ownership Review: £295 + VAT, using read-only access to your Microsoft 365, and credited against your first month.
