What it costs
What does managed IT actually cost?
There is no honest answer to that question until someone has looked at your environment. What there is an honest answer to: what determines your number, and how to tell a fair quote from a bad one.
We could put a figure on this page. Most providers who do are quoting a headline rate that changes the moment they see your tenant — which is worse than useless, because you have budgeted against it by then.
So here is what we can tell you honestly, without seeing anything: how this work is billed, what drives your cost up and down, and what is never included in anyone's number. Then, if you want a real figure, the tool below collects the things that determine it and we will come back with one.
The three ways this gets billed
Nearly every provider uses one of these. None is dishonest, and the right one depends on how your business is shaped — but knowing which you are being quoted makes proposals comparable.
Per user
A flat monthly fee for each person you support, whatever devices they use.
Works when
Predictable, and it scales with headcount rather than hardware. Usually the fairest model for a business where people have a laptop and a phone.
Ask about
Ask what counts as a user. Shared machines, contractors and seasonal staff are where the definition gets interesting.
Per device
A flat monthly fee for each endpoint, server or network device under management.
Works when
Straightforward if your device count is stable and lower than your headcount.
Ask about
It can penalise you for doing the right thing. Adding a second monitor is free; adding a properly managed server is not.
Tiered or flat-rate
A single monthly figure for a defined scope, sometimes banded by size.
Works when
The simplest to budget, and the easiest to compare between providers.
Ask about
The scope definition is the whole contract. Ask what falls outside the band and what happens when you cross it.
What actually moves your number
- How many people you support
- The largest single factor in almost every engagement, and the one every pricing model is ultimately indexed to.
- Servers and infrastructure
- A business running entirely in Microsoft 365 costs less to manage than one with on-premises servers, and considerably less than one with both.
- Whether you handle CUI
- This is the step change. A CMMC Level 2 environment — GCC High, a defined CUI boundary, evidence retained so it can be produced on demand — is a different piece of work from managed IT, and is priced as one.
- The state of what you already have
- Unsupported operating systems, undocumented networks and licensing nobody has audited all cost time before anything improves. This is why a quote before a scoping conversation is a guess.
- How much needs hands on site
- Most work is remote. Physical installs, cabling and hardware replacement are not, and geography starts to matter.
What is never included
Whoever you go with, these normally sit outside a managed services fee. A proposal that appears to include them is worth reading twice.
- Hardware — workstations, servers, firewalls and network equipment.
- Software licensing, including Microsoft 365 and GCC High seats, which are billed by Microsoft.
- Project work outside the agreed scope, such as a migration or an office move.
- The CMMC assessment fee itself, which is paid to an assessor, not to us.
Licensing sitting outside the fee is not the same as it being outside our concern. It is usually the second-largest line in an IT budget and the one nobody audits — and where the money leaks is worth reading whoever ends up billing you for it.
This is question nine of how to choose a CMMC partner — ask what is not included, then stay quiet.
Get a real number
Tell us what shape your business is, and we will come back with an actual figure rather than a range that fits everyone. Usually within one business day.
Would rather just talk?
Twenty minutes, no obligation. We'll tell you what we'd do and roughly what it involves.
Schedule a call