Co-managed IT services for Canadian businesses
Some businesses in BC and AB have an internal IT coordinator or a small IT team, but they are stretched thin, lack specialist skills in cybersecurity or cloud, or need backup when someone is sick or on holiday. Co-managed IT is the answer: North Star layers on top of your existing team, filling gaps without replacing anyone. You keep your internal person and their institutional knowledge; you gain a full-service MSP as their back-up.
Some businesses have an internal IT coordinator or a small IT team who handle day-to-day requests, manage vendor relationships, and keep things running, but are stretched thin when it comes to cybersecurity, cloud architecture, or after-hours escalations.
Co-managed IT is the answer. North Star works alongside your internal team from its Prince George, BC and Grande Prairie, AB dispatch locations: the agreed scope can cover selected tools, specialist work and after-hours escalation without replacing anyone. Your internal person keeps the institutional knowledge and the staff relationships; they gain a full MSP as their back-up and escalation path.
We serve businesses across British Columbia, Alberta, and Yukon.
What Is Co-Managed IT?
Co-managed IT is a shared service model where your internal IT staff and North Star agree who owns each task. One possible responsibility split is:
- Your internal IT could handle day-to-day end-user requests, physical on-site work, vendor access supervision, and decisions that require institutional knowledge of your business
- North Star could handle selected RMM, security tooling, patch management, backup monitoring, after-hours escalation or specialist projects, where included in the agreed scope
These are possible assignments, not automatic inclusions. A responsibility matrix records each system or function's primary owner, backup contact, support hours, approval authority and escalation path. Agree leave cover, access and availability before an absence or major project, and review handoffs when responsibilities change.
What North Star Delivers
Professional Tools for Your Internal Team
RMM, ticketing and endpoint-security tooling can be included when the agreed scope requires it. Tool access, licensing, onboarding and responsibilities are documented so both teams know what is shared.
After-Hours and On-Call Coverage
Your internal IT person should not be the only escalation path. North Star can provide after-hours escalation within the agreed scope, with severity, contacts, authority and response targets documented before work begins.
Specialist Skills on Demand
Penetration testing, cloud architecture, compliance audits and complex migrations can be scoped as separate specialist workstreams when they fall outside the internal team's responsibilities. Scope, access, timing and deliverables are confirmed before work begins.
Patch Management and Security Operations
North Star can take responsibility for agreed patching, backup checks, EDR alert triage and vulnerability-review work. The responsibility matrix records what remains with the internal team and what requires customer approval.
Documented Responsibility Matrix
The responsibility matrix names the primary owner, backup contact, support hours, approval authority and escalation path for each agreed system or function. It records agreed leave cover and is updated when the division changes.
How It Works
Step 1, Scope
Document the current environment and your internal IT function. Produce a responsibility matrix: what your team handles, what North Star handles, and where the handoff points are.
Step 2, Onboard
Deploy the agreed tooling alongside the internal systems, then document access, training and escalation procedures for both teams.
Step 3, Operate
Day-to-day operations split per the responsibility matrix. Scheduled check-ins with your internal IT lead review open items, upcoming projects and changes.
Step 4, Review
Review the responsibility matrix at the cadence agreed for the engagement and adjust it as the team's capacity and needs evolve.
Who This Is For
- BC, Alberta, or Yukon businesses with one or two internal IT staff who need specialist backup in cybersecurity, cloud, or compliance
- Organisations where the internal IT person is strong on helpdesk and operations but not on security or cloud architecture
- Businesses that want to retain their internal IT person's knowledge while adding MSP-grade tooling and capacity
- Growing businesses whose IT complexity is outpacing a single generalist employee
Why North Star
North Star serves Canadian businesses remotely from its Prince George and Grande Prairie dispatch locations. The co-managed model is designed for organizations that want to extend an internal IT function, not replace it. Retainer, project scope, contacts and specialist responsibilities are documented before work begins.
What buyers ask before they sign.
How do you divide responsibilities between North Star and our internal IT staff?
We agree a responsibility matrix for each system or function. A possible split assigns day-to-day requests and on-site tasks to internal staff, with selected monitoring, patching, backup checks or specialist work assigned to North Star. Record the primary owner, backup contact, support hours, approval authority and escalation path, including agreed leave cover. Review handoffs and changes together; these tasks are not automatic inclusions.
Will North Star try to replace our internal IT person?
No. Co-managed IT supports your internal staff while they retain their role and institutional knowledge. Agree their visibility into tickets, documentation and reports, and scope access to the selected systems and tools according to roles, licences and permissions. Shared work does not automatically give either team access to every tool or administrator account.
What tools does North Star use and will our IT person need training?
Tool choice, access, training and documentation are agreed during onboarding. North Star can document the shared operating procedures so the internal team knows how to use the selected tools and escalate work.
Is co-managed IT more or less expensive than full outsourcing?
Compare equivalent scope: internal salary plus the North Star retainer, licences, onboarding, projects and after-hours charges. Confirm included tasks, exclusions, support hours and approval requirements for each option. Co-managed IT is not automatically cheaper than full outsourcing. Published managed IT pricing provides context, not a co-managed quote; request written fees for your agreed responsibility split.
What size of internal IT team does co-managed IT suit?
Co-managed IT works well for businesses with one to three internal IT staff. Larger internal teams sometimes use a similar model for specific disciplines like security or cloud, where they lack in-house expertise.
More managed services
Want to strengthen your internal IT team?
Share approximate user and device counts, key systems, current support hours and the responsibilities you want help with. Leave out passwords, sensitive records and administrator credentials.
Use the assessment link to discuss a possible fit. Confirm fees, access, existing provider cooperation and availability in writing before agreeing to work; an inquiry does not require a provider transition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between managed and co-managed cybersecurity?
Managed cybersecurity assigns an agreed security scope to a provider; it does not necessarily outsource the entire IT department. Co-managed cybersecurity splits security responsibilities between North Star and your internal team. Document which team owns selected tooling, monitoring, alert triage and response actions, along with access, licensing, approval and escalation requirements. Both models need responsibilities and escalation documented before work begins.
How does co-managed IT help a Canadian business?
A Canadian business can use co-managed IT to assign specific security, cloud, backup, helpdesk or project responsibilities without replacing its internal team. The proposal identifies what North Star handles, what remains internal, and which specialist work is separately scoped; cost depends on the agreed users, systems, access and responsibility split.
Can you help with Microsoft 365 and Azure security?
Microsoft 365 and Azure security work can be scoped around your selected tenants, subscriptions and controls. Confirm licences, administrator access, customer approval for changes, and which team owns each task. Agree the evidence to collect and review, and any compliance requirements, before work begins. Configuration reviews and security controls do not automatically establish compliance or prevent every incident.
Does co-managed IT include 24/7 helpdesk support?
Co-managed scope can include business-hours helpdesk overflow and after-hours escalation. The agreement identifies which ticket types North Star handles, when your internal team is contacted and which response targets apply; co-managed IT does not by itself promise 24/7 helpdesk coverage.
Sources
Rules change. These are the bodies that publish them, so you can check the current text rather than take our summary for it.
A clear scope before you commit