Co-Managed IT Services for Canadian Businesses With Internal IT Teams
Co-managed IT services add senior engineering, 24/7 monitoring and CISSP-led security to your internal IT team. Fusion Computing serves Canadian businesses across Toronto, Hamilton and Metro Vancouver. Your IT lead keeps the roadmap and decision authority; a written responsibility matrix sets the work we carry.
first-contact resolution
critical response target
security leadership
NOC & SOC coverage
2024 & 2025
Co-managed IT keeps your internal team in charge
Co-managed IT is a partnership: your internal IT lead keeps day-to-day ownership and decision authority, while Fusion Computing supplies the agreed monitoring, security and senior escalation work. It suits an IT team that knows the business but needs after-hours cover or specialist depth.
Fusion Computing usually serves 10 to 150 employees across Toronto, Hamilton and Metro Vancouver. The deciding factor is what your internal staff will retain. A smaller team with a defined paid project can be scoped separately.
Which IT model fits your team?
Choose the operating model first, then agree the responsibilities. Both options use a written scope; moving work to Fusion Computing should make ownership clearer.
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to compare the options.
| Decision | Co-managed IT | Fully managed IT |
|---|---|---|
| Internal ownership | Your IT lead keeps decision authority and the work assigned to your team. | Fusion Computing carries the day-to-day IT function for your business. |
| Help desk | Internal staff normally handle user requests; overflow and after-hours duties are agreed. | Fusion Computing is the primary help-desk contact for the agreed scope. |
| Security and escalation | Add monitoring, CISSP-led security and senior engineering beside your team. | Include support, monitoring and security within one managed scope. |
| Roadmap and vendors | Your lead owns the roadmap and relationships, with vCIO advice available. | Fusion Computing coordinates the agreed technology planning and vendor work. |
| Published starting price | From CAD $160 per user per month. | From CAD $180 per user per month. |
| Best fit | You have internal IT and know which duties need outside support. | You need Fusion Computing to run the ongoing IT function. |
User count, locations, existing tools, licensing and compliance work determine the final price. Co-managed coverage and after-hours responsibilities belong in the proposal. For an indicative estimate before a call, use the IT cost calculator.
If you need the whole IT function, see fully managed IT services. If you already have a team, start with the responsibility split below.
What Fusion Computing covers vs. what your team keeps
The responsibility matrix turns the chosen model into an operating agreement. This is a starting split; Fusion Computing and your IT lead assign the systems, coverage and handoffs before work begins.
Fusion covers
- 24/7 NOC monitoring with alerts routed to the NOC team through documented escalation procedures.
- Security operations (SOC): Endpoint detection, managed threat response, firewall monitoring, active threat hunting, security-awareness training, CIS Controls v8.1 hardening.
- Tier 3 escalation for complex infrastructure and security incidents, documented in the shared ticketing workflow.
- vCIO strategic sessions: quarterly reviews, annual roadmap, budget modelling, risk-posture review.
- Patch management backup for operating systems, third-party apps, and firmware when your team is behind, on vacation, or on a project.
- Compliance documentation: asset inventories, risk registers, incident-response runbooks, and access reviews for PIPEDA, Ontario PHIPA, SOC 2, and OSFI E-21.
Your team keeps
- Help desk ownership. Tier 1 and Tier 2, password resets, onboarding, and day-to-day user requests stay with the people who know your business.
- Institutional knowledge. Which systems are quirky, which users need extra support. We supplement that context, never supplant it.
- Vendor relationships. Microsoft, your ISP, line-of-business apps, hardware suppliers. We don’t insert ourselves as a mandatory intermediary.
- Day-to-day user management. New-hire setups, account provisioning, internal training. You stay the face of IT to your staff.
- Project delivery. Office moves, Microsoft 365 migrations, hardware refreshes. We can assist on a project, but ownership stays with your lead unless you ask otherwise.
- Decision authority. Every purchasing call, architectural choice, and priority decision is your IT lead’s to make. We advise through the vCIO relationship.
Security is the layer most internal teams run thin on. Co-managed includes a CISSP-led baseline; for a dedicated managed detection-and-response program, see our managed cybersecurity services.
Why businesses with internal IT teams choose Fusion Computing
Fusion Computing has served Canadian businesses since 2012, and about one in three of our clients use a co-managed model. Our support team reports 93% first-contact resolution and a 4:1 technician-to-client ratio. The client accounts below show how the shared responsibility works in practice.
CISSP-led security oversight
Fusion Computing provides CISSP-led oversight for security decisions, incident reporting and compliance documentation alongside your internal IT lead.
Client reviews and recognition
Named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies two years running (2024 and 2025). 4.9/5 on Google. 93% first-contact resolution on support tickets. Security operations aligned to SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria.
Canadian-owned and Canadian-operated
Fusion Computing is Canadian-owned and Canadian-operated, with regional offices in Toronto, Hamilton and Metro Vancouver. We have served Canadian businesses since 2012.
A named account lead
Every co-managed client gets a named lead who attends reviews and serves as the point of contact for the internal IT manager.
What businesses with internal IT teams say
“We had an IT manager who was exceptional at the help desk but couldn’t keep up with security alerts on top of everything else. Fusion took the security layer and the after-hours monitoring off his plate. Now he focuses on projects and our users get faster support. We haven’t had a security incident since onboarding.”
“Our internal IT team of two was good at keeping the lights on. What we needed was someone senior to present to the board on cybersecurity posture and compliance. Fusion’s vCIO stepped into that role immediately. Our cyber insurer renewed at the same premium after their review, which had never happened before.”
“I was worried Fusion would try to take over from our internal IT person. The opposite happened. They documented everything, built the escalation paths around how we actually work, and my IT manager told me it was the first time he felt like he had real backup. The written responsibility matrix was something we should have done years ago.”
Recent engagements
- Co-Managed IT for a GTA Construction Firm
60% ticket-backlog cut and 97% patch compliance in 90 days. - Scaling a Design Studio: 35 to 205 users
Zero unplanned downtime through a four-month phased deployment. - Marketing Agency Cyber Recovery
Stabilized in 72 hours after a ransomware breach; the gap was closed in week one.
Their staff is very professional, reliable and trustworthy, able to handle absolutely all your IT needs and keeping all your data safe and secure. A must have for any business looking for IT solutions.
Truly a blessing to have them by your side and watching your back while you take care of day to day tasks.
4.9/5 on Google · Named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies, 2024 & 2025.
“Co-managed IT is where most Canadian SMBs with internal IT should sit. Keep the IT lead who knows the business, then layer on the CISSP-led security controls, the 24/7 monitoring, and the specialist skills you can’t justify hiring for. Two teams, one accountability chain, and the internal lead stays senior.”
How co-managed onboarding works
Onboarding starts with a signed scope and follows three stages: documentation, tool integration and tested escalation procedures. Fusion Computing and your IT lead agree timing around your current systems and change windows.
Documentation and responsibility matrix
A Fusion senior engineer and your IT lead map every system, tool, vendor contract, and escalation point together. The output is a shared documentation system and a signed responsibility matrix that states who owns every domain. No ambiguity, no gaps.
Tool integration and alert routing
We review your current monitoring, ticketing and security tools before deciding what to retain or change. Any integration or migration belongs in the agreed onboarding plan. Your team reviews and approves every alert-routing rule before the NOC goes live.
Tested escalation procedures
Which tickets escalate automatically, which need a call from your lead first, who gets paged at what severity. All documented, tested with a tabletop exercise, and agreed by both teams. Both teams confirm readiness before the agreed coverage goes live and schedule the first vCIO review.
From Mike
A 120-seat financial services firm in the GTA had an IT director who was excellent at user-facing support but on call every weekend because nobody else watched the EDR queue. We started a co-managed engagement that left Tier 1 and Tier 2 with the internal team and added Fusion as the 24/7 NOC, security operations, and vCIO layer. The IT director kept day-to-day decision authority and recovered roughly 12 to 15 weekend hours a month. The cyber insurer renewed at flat premium after the first joint review, which had never happened before the handoff.
Mike Pearlstein, CISSP, CEO of Fusion Computing. About Mike
Compliance and regulated industries
Regulated industries face requirements that go beyond what a small internal IT team can document on its own. Co-managed IT layers a CISSP-led compliance program on top of your team’s operational knowledge, with the audit artefacts your assessor will request. Each regulated vertical inherits the same standard, with industry-specific regulator mapping.
OSFI E-21 (financial)
Operational-resilience and third-party risk documentation, incident-response testing, and continuous control monitoring for the audit package your assessor requests.
Ontario PHIPA (healthcare)
For Ontario health-information custodians, the technical controls: encryption, access governance, audit logging, and breach-detection capabilities.
SOC 2 audit prep
Change-management logs, access-review records, patch-compliance reports, and incident-response documentation for Type I or Type II readiness.
PIPEDA
Breach-classification and reporting workflows support your responsibilities under Canada’s private-sector privacy law. Fusion Computing documents technical evidence and coordinates with your privacy or legal adviser on notification decisions.
The same co-managed engagement runs differently inside a law firm than a clinic, a manufacturer, or a wealth practice. Follow a vertical for the full version: legal IT · healthcare IT · accounting IT · financial services IT · manufacturing IT · all industries.
We run co-managed IT from three regional offices in Toronto, Hamilton, and Metro Vancouver, with one shared change-control system and a defined escalation matrix, plus remote coverage across Ontario, British Columbia, and the rest of Canada.
Further reading for your IT lead
- Compare co-managed IT providers for Canadian SMBs.
- Managed services versus professional services explains ongoing support and project work.
- IT outsourcing pros and cons and common IT problems help frame what to keep in-house.
- For a dedicated security program, see managed cybersecurity services. For day-to-day help, see IT support.
Frequently asked questions about co-managed IT
Answers from our team. Need more detail? Request a discovery call and we’ll walk through your specific situation.
Can co-managed IT work alongside our existing IT person?
Yes, and working alongside your existing IT person is the entire point. Fusion does not replace your IT manager’s decision authority or take over vendor relationships. The first step of every engagement is a written responsibility matrix that states who owns what, so there’s no overlap and no ambiguity. Fusion adds the 24/7 monitoring, security operations, Tier 3 escalation, and vCIO advisory your IT person can’t deliver alone.
Can a co-managed provider help with OSFI, PHIPA, and SOC 2?
Fusion Computing supports control documentation for the frameworks that apply to your organization, including CIS Controls v8.1, PHIPA and SOC 2 readiness. Asset inventories, access-review records, patch reports and incident procedures provide evidence for your assessor. For financial-services engagements, the scope identifies applicable OSFI requirements and the work retained by your compliance advisers.
How fast do you respond to critical issues?
Fusion Computing targets a live human acknowledgement of critical tickets within one hour. In a co-managed engagement, the agreed escalation matrix defines how your internal team raises incidents, coverage hours and on-site arrangements. Fusion Computing reports 93% first-contact resolution across support tickets; that historical measure is separate from a response target or contractual commitment.
Tell us what your IT team needs help carrying
Share your current team, the work you want to keep and the gaps you want covered. A Fusion Computing consultant can help define a co-managed scope around your business.
A free 30-minute discovery conversation establishes whether Fusion Computing can help. Any paid assessment, project or ongoing service follows a written proposal.
We aim to reply within one business day. For a new-business conversation, call 416-566-2845.
Start the conversation
Share the business problem, team size and timing. Managed services usually suit 10 to 150 employees; smaller project and AI enquiries are welcome.
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