Managed IT Services Canada | North Star
Managed IT Services

Managed IT services across Canada

Flat-rate, per-user support from Canadian technicians. Remote helpdesk, monitoring, patching, security, backup, Microsoft 365, and vCIO strategy across Canada, with on-site dispatch from Prince George, BC and Grande Prairie, AB.

North Star is a managed IT and cybersecurity provider with dispatch locations in Prince George, BC and Grande Prairie, AB. We run day-to-day technology remotely for small and mid-sized businesses across Canada, so owners and managers can stop firefighting IT and get back to the work that pays the bills. One monthly per-user fee covers the helpdesk, monitoring, patching, security stack, backups, and strategy. On-site work is dispatched from our two operating locations or scheduled separately when travel is required.

Managed IT services means we take ownership of your environment instead of waiting for it to fail. That includes a staffed helpdesk for your users, remote monitoring and management (RMM) that watches every device around the clock, automated patching to keep operating systems and applications current, a security baseline built on managed cybersecurity rather than antivirus alone, verified backup and disaster recovery, and a virtual CIO who keeps your technology roadmap aligned with where the business is going. If you live in Microsoft 365, we also harden and run the tenant through our managed Microsoft 365 service and handle any Microsoft 365 migration end to end.

This is built for Canadian organizations from roughly 5 to 500 staff: trades and construction, forestry, professional services, non-profits, local government, and distributed teams that have outgrown break-fix support. Secure remote tooling lets the same Canadian technicians support users, devices, cloud services, and vendors across provinces and time zones. Prince George and Grande Prairie are our dispatch markets for local service; elsewhere, we coordinate remote work first and schedule trusted hands or travel when a task truly requires someone on site.

What's inside

Every Managed IT services workload, covered.

Pick the workstream you need help with. Each one is run by senior engineers with documented runbooks.

24/7 Helpdesk

Tickets that actually get closed.

Phone, email, portal, or chat. Real people on the other end with the access and authority to fix things instead of escalating in circles. SLA-backed response times and clear monthly reporting.

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Managed Cybersecurity

Detection and response, not just antivirus.

Modern attacks bypass antivirus on day one. We run EDR, log analysis, and active threat hunting against your endpoints, identities, and email. When something hits, we contain it before it spreads.

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Backup & DR

Backups that actually restore.

Most backup setups fail at restore time. We use image-based backups with verified recovery tests, immutable storage, and clear recovery time objectives so you know what you're getting before something goes wrong.

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Managed Microsoft 365

M365 set up like you actually own it.

Out of the box, Microsoft 365 is wide open. We harden the tenant, lock down identity, deploy device management to every device, and govern Teams and SharePoint before they sprawl. Then we manage it month over month.

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Managed Network

Networks that don't get rebuilt every 18 months.

Designed properly, segmented properly, monitored continuously. We standardize on UniFi for SMB and Fortinet for mid-market and regulated industries. Both come with config-as-code so handoffs don't break.

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Managed Compliance

Compliance that doesn't expire annually.

Most BC businesses do compliance once during an audit and then forget about it for a year. We treat it as a continuous program: policies, evidence, training, and quarterly review baked into the managed service.

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Virtual CIO

Strategy without the six-figure hire.

Most growing businesses need IT thinking from someone senior, but they don't need a $200K CIO yet. vCIO gives you that strategic layer on a quarterly cadence: roadmap, budget, vendor management, board reporting.

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Small-business managed IT

Managed IT services for small businesses

Small-business managed IT replaces fragmented break-fix support with one accountable operating model for users, devices, Microsoft 365, security, backup, networks, vendors, and technology planning.

1 to 10 users

Build the first dependable IT baseline

Standardize devices, secure identities, configure Microsoft 365, manage updates, document assets, and give every employee one support path. The goal is predictable operations without hiring a full internal IT role.

10 to 50 users

Add operational depth and planning

Growing teams usually need stronger monitoring, verified recovery, email protection, security training, vendor coordination, lifecycle budgeting, and recurring technology planning.

50+ users

Extend the internal team

Larger organizations can use North Star as a complete provider or as a co-managed extension for service desk, security operations, Microsoft 365, infrastructure, projects, compliance evidence, and senior advisory work.

What to compare before choosing a provider

Compare the included service boundary, response commitments, security controls, backup testing, reporting, ownership, project pricing, on-site coverage, and exit support. Review our Canadian MSP comparison guide, MSP explainer, and published managed IT pricing.

Pricing

Per user, per month. No surprise invoices.

Three tiers, transparent feature list. Founding prices lock in for clients signing before December 1, 2026 and hold for the life of the agreement. Discounts stack: 10% off for small business under 10 users, plus volume tiers for 50+ users and 5% off for annual prepay. All prices CAD. GST 5% applies, PST 7% on hardware only.

Essentials

$109 / user / month $129 founding

For 1-10 user teams getting their first real IT stack.

  • Helpdesk with same-business-day response
  • Patch management and OS hardening
  • Endpoint protection and EDR baseline
  • Microsoft 365 tenant security baseline
  • Monthly health report and ticket summary
  • Asset inventory and license tracking
Start with Essentials

CIS-Aligned

$195 / user / month $229 founding

For 50+ users, regulated industries, or multi-site operations.

  • Everything in Professional
  • 24/7 SOC + managed detection and response
  • Dedicated technical account manager
  • Compliance program: PIPEDA, SOC 2, cyber insurance ready
  • vCISO + quarterly board reporting
  • Annual penetration test + remediation roadmap
  • Custom SLAs and named escalation paths
Request a proposal

Want a real conversation about your IT?

Book a 30-minute scoping call. We'll look at what you have, what's hurting, and what's worth changing. No quote-or-die pressure.

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Canada-wide remote service

What remote managed IT support includes

Your location does not change the day-to-day service. North Star supports Canadian teams through secure remote access, documented processes, and one accountable service desk.

Remote helpdesk

Canadian technicians resolve user, device, application, and access issues through our managed helpdesk, with clear escalation and communication.

Monitoring, patching, and security

We monitor endpoints and servers, deploy operating-system and application updates, maintain security controls, and investigate alerts before small issues spread.

Microsoft 365 administration

Our Microsoft 365 management covers identities, licences, security settings, collaboration, and day-to-day tenant administration.

Backup and recovery oversight

We monitor backups, test recovery procedures, document dependencies, and keep the plan aligned with the downtime and data-loss limits your business can accept.

Vendor and technology coordination

We work with internet, line-of-business software, telecom, and hardware vendors so your team has one technical owner instead of relaying messages between providers.

Co-managed and strategic support

Organizations with internal IT can use co-managed IT for extra capacity, tooling, escalation, and vCIO planning without replacing their team.

Need to compare scope and budget first? Review our transparent managed IT pricing and the practical guide to choosing between remote and nearby support in IT services near me.

Coverage

Managed IT coverage across Canada

Remote helpdesk, monitoring, Microsoft 365, security, backup, and advisory services are available Canada-wide. On-site work is dispatched from Prince George for Northern BC and from Grande Prairie for the Peace Country, with scheduled travel elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Do you provide managed IT services across Canada?

Yes. North Star provides remote managed IT services across Canada. Helpdesk, monitoring, patching, security, Microsoft 365, backup oversight, vendor coordination, and planning are delivered remotely. On-site service is dispatched from Prince George, BC and Grande Prairie, AB, with travel or scheduled work scoped separately outside those regions.

What is included in your managed IT services?

One monthly per-user fee covers the helpdesk, remote monitoring and management (RMM), automated patching, an endpoint security baseline, verified backup and disaster recovery, Microsoft 365 tenant management, and quarterly virtual CIO planning. The exact mix depends on the tier you choose. See the plan comparison above for what each tier includes.

How fast do you respond to support requests?

Our plans include same-business-day helpdesk response, with faster targets for higher tiers and for high-priority issues. We agree specific response and resolution targets with you up front, sized to your plan and how critical the affected system is, and we put them in writing. Every plan includes monthly reporting so you can see response and resolution times rather than take them on faith.

What does onboarding a new client look like?

Onboarding starts with a free assessment of your current environment, followed by documentation of every device, user, and critical system. We then apply our security and monitoring baseline, set up the helpdesk and escalation paths, and confirm backups are running and restorable. Most small and mid-sized environments are fully onboarded within a few weeks, though the exact timeline depends on the size and complexity of your environment and we confirm it with you after the assessment. You get a single point of contact throughout.

Do we have to switch all our IT to you at once?

No. Many BC businesses start with a single workstream such as helpdesk, backup, or security, then expand as trust builds. If you have internal IT staff, our co-managed IT option augments your team instead of replacing it. We scope the engagement around what is hurting most first.

Sources

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