IT Outsourcing for Canadian SMBs, A Full Team for Less Than One Hire
Hiring a full-time IT person in BC or AB costs between $70,000 and $100,000 per year in salary alone, before benefits and turnover risk. Outsourcing your IT to North Star gives you a full team - helpdesk, security, cloud, and network specialists - for a fraction of that cost. No HR headaches, no sick days, no knowledge leaving when someone quits.
Hiring a full-time IT person in BC or Alberta costs between $70,000 and $100,000 per year in salary alone, before benefits, training, vacation coverage, and turnover risk. That one hire is a generalist, they cannot specialise in cybersecurity, cloud architecture, networking, and helpdesk simultaneously.
Outsourcing your IT to North Star IT gives you a full team: helpdesk technicians, security specialists, cloud architects, and network engineers, all available under a flat monthly retainer. No HR overhead, no single point of failure, no knowledge walking out the door when someone resigns.
North Star is headquartered in Prince George, BC, and serves SMBs across Northern BC, the rest of British Columbia, Alberta, and Yukon.
What Does IT Outsourcing Actually Include?
IT outsourcing means North Star takes full responsibility for your technology environment under a defined scope: helpdesk support, proactive monitoring, patch management, endpoint security, backup management, cloud platform management, and vendor coordination, delivered as a flat monthly fee.
Unlike break-fix IT, outsourcing to an MSP means the provider is financially incentivised to keep your systems running and your staff productive. Fewer incidents means lower cost to deliver the service. Your interests and ours are aligned.
What North Star Delivers
Unlimited Helpdesk Support
Your staff call, email, or open a portal ticket any time during business hours. No per-ticket billing, no hourly charges. Critical issues covered 24/7 on enterprise plans. North Star staff handle the call with full access to your environment, not a ticket-logging service that routes to someone else.
24/7 Monitoring
Every server, workstation, and network device monitored for CPU, disk, memory, service status, and security events. Most infrastructure issues are caught and resolved before your staff notice them.
Patch Management
Operating system and application updates deployed on a defined monthly schedule. Critical patches deployed within 48 hours of advisory. Patch compliance tracked and reported monthly.
Endpoint Security
EDR deployed on every managed device. Dark web monitoring for your domain. Security incidents triaged and contained by North Star, you are notified of real threats, not a stream of low-confidence alerts.
Backup Management
Backup jobs monitored daily. Restoration tests run quarterly. Backup coverage reviewed whenever your environment changes. You do not find out your backup was failing only when you need to restore.
Cloud Management
Azure and AWS environments monitored, patched, and cost-optimised under the same retainer. Not a separate cloud support contract.
Vendor Coordination
Internet provider, phone provider, software vendors, and hardware suppliers coordinated by North Star. One number to call instead of managing a list of vendor support lines yourself.
Named Account Manager
A North Star contact who knows your business, tracks your environment, and reviews your technology roadmap quarterly. Not a different person every time you call.
How It Works
Step 1, Assess
Full environment assessment: every device, application, cloud resource, and vendor relationship documented. Baseline security and infrastructure posture established.
Step 2, Onboard
RMM agent deployed on all managed devices. Monitoring configured. Backup verified. Security tooling deployed. Helpdesk contacts established. Completed in two to four weeks.
Step 3, Operate
Day-to-day operations managed by North Star. Quarterly business reviews with your account manager covering environment health, open projects, and technology planning.
Step 4, Evolve
Annual technology roadmap review. As your business grows or changes, the managed service scope is updated to match.
Who This Is For
- Prince George, Northern BC, BC, Alberta, or Yukon businesses with 5 - 150 staff that need a complete IT function without the overhead of building one internally
- Businesses currently using break-fix IT who are tired of unpredictable bills and reactive support
- Growing companies that have outgrown relying on a part-time IT person or a friend who knows computers
- Organisations that need to demonstrate IT governance and security controls to clients, insurers, or regulators
Why North Star IT
North Star is a Prince George-based MSP with a security-first approach to managed IT. Fixed-fee. No per-ticket billing. A team with the depth to cover helpdesk, security, cloud, and network under one retainer. Local to Northern BC with coverage across BC, Alberta, and Yukon. One account manager who knows your business and holds the relationship.
What buyers ask before they sign.
How is IT outsourcing priced?
North Star prices IT outsourcing on a per-user or per-device monthly basis. Most SMBs in BC and AB pay between $100 and $200 per user per month depending on the service tier. There is no setup fee for most engagements.
What is the minimum contract term?
North Star's standard agreements are 12 months. Month-to-month arrangements are available at a higher rate. Longer commitments (24 or 36 months) come with price protection.
Do we still need any internal IT staff?
No. North Star can function as your entire IT department. If you already have an internal IT coordinator or office manager who handles basic requests, we work alongside them rather than replacing them - that is co-managed IT. See our co-managed IT page for details.
What happens if our account manager leaves North Star?
Your environment documentation stays with us and is not locked to any individual. A new account manager is briefed and up to speed before the transition is communicated to you. This is one of the key advantages of outsourcing over hiring.
Can North Star support remote and hybrid teams spread across BC and AB?
Yes. The vast majority of support is delivered remotely using secure remote access tools. For on-site work in Prince George and surrounding communities we dispatch technicians directly. For other BC and AB locations we coordinate with vetted local partners or send a technician for planned work.
Ready to hand off your IT?
Tell us about your environment and we will come back with a scoped proposal in two business days. No obligation, no pressure.
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