Supplemental IT Services: Xantrion’s Approach to
Co-Managed IT
Are you looking for IT support that enhances your team without replacing it? Supplemental IT services let you keep control of your core operations while strategically expanding your technology capabilities and expertise.
Also known as co-managed IT, supplemental IT involves an external provider working alongside your in-house team. This approach enhances your existing team’s capabilities. Rather than completely replacing your internal expertise, supplemental IT provides specialized skills and additional resources where and when needed.
On this page, we’ll explore supplemental IT and what it entails. We’ll also discuss how it works with your existing team and why it’s valuable for growing businesses.
What Are Supplemental IT Services?
Supplemental IT services (or co-managed IT services) combine in-house technology experts with external IT specialists. They are designed to enhance your internal IT teams.
Businesses often use Supplemental IT to fill skill gaps, extend capabilities, and offload time-consuming IT tasks that can prevent internal teams from focusing on strategic initiatives. This approach lets you steer your IT strategy while still leveraging expert knowledge. It also grants access to advanced tools and scalable support when needed.
How Supplemental IT Works with Your Internal IT Team
In supplemental IT, an outside IT partner seamlessly integrates with your in-house team, allowing you to take a unified approach to technology management. Depending on your specific needs, this type of collaboration can take different forms.
For example, common collaboration models include:
- Outsourcing help desk tasks to provide faster response times for employees.
- Delegating security management to specialists with advanced threat detection capabilities.
- Bringing in project-based IT support for major initiatives like cloud migrations or system upgrades.
Supplemental IT offers the benefits of managed IT services while letting your internal IT teams maintain control of your tech strategy. Your team can maintain visibility and authority over critical systems while gaining support in areas where you need additional expertise or capacity.
Who Benefits from Supplemental IT Services?
Supplemental IT services are especially valuable for mid-sized businesses, growing companies, and lean IT teams. These organizations need specialized expertise but lack the resources for a large, diversified IT department. Common supplemental IT use cases include:
- Scaling IT resources without hiring additional full-time staff lets your organization expand its technological capabilities without increasing permanent headcount.
- Shifting routine IT maintenance and monitoring to an external provider enables your internal teams to prioritize innovation and strategic growth.
- Bringing in specialized expertise for cybersecurity, cloud management, and network support ensures you can access advanced skills without having to hire full-time specialists.
Why Choose Xantrion for Supplemental IT Services?
Are you looking for a supplemental IT partner with deep expertise, a tailored service approach, and an unwavering commitment to security and reliability? Choose Xantrion. When you work with Xantrion, our team becomes an extension of yours, providing certified specialists who understand your technology and your business needs.
Xantrion designs our supplemental IT services to meet your unique requirements. Our team handles routine IT tasks like security, patching, and monitoring, allowing your in-house IT professionals to concentrate on strategic initiatives that move your business forward.
Our proven history speaks for itself. For example, one Bay Area RIA firm partnered with us to enhance cybersecurity compliance, resulting in improved regulatory adherence, reduced risk exposure, and strengthened client trust. Another client — a pharmaceutical company facing a complex split — partnered with us for supplemental IT services to manage its infrastructure overhaul. As a result, both new organizations seamlessly commenced operations, with all systems fully functional from day one.
SUPPLEMENTAL IT SERVICES
Key Benefits of Supplemental IT Services
Supplemental IT offers massive advantages in efficiency, flexibility, and strategic capabilities. Your organization gains enterprise-grade IT support without fully outsourcing its technology management, creating an ideal balance between control and enhanced capabilities.
Increased IT Capacity Without Hiring More Staff
One of supplemental IT’s biggest benefits is that it lets you expand your organization’s IT capabilities without the lengthy process of hiring, training, and managing new employees. You can immediately access skilled professionals who can quickly integrate with your existing systems and processes.
Supplemental IT offers a more affordable approach than expanding your in-house team. It helps you avoid costs tied to benefits, training, and management overhead. Your organization can adjust IT support as needed, ensuring you pay only for the services you use instead of maintaining unnecessary capacity.
Enhanced Security, Compliance, and Risk Management
Supplemental IT can strengthen your organization’s security by adding external monitoring, regular security audits, and proactive threat detection capabilities. This multi-layered approach allows you to combine your internal team’s system knowledge with your provider’s specialized security expertise.
Additionally, organizations in regulated industries benefit from compliance support. Supplemental IT providers like Xantrion understand complex IT security regulations. They can help you implement controls, documentation, and monitoring that will help you meet requirements while minimizing the chance of business disruption.
Access to Specialized IT Expertise
Supplemental IT gives your business access to numerous specialists — cybersecurity experts, cloud technicians, and other advanced IT consultants — who would be prohibitively expensive to hire and nearly impossible to find in today’s competitive job market. Supplemental IT provides access to enterprise-level expertise, no matter the size of your organization. It helps you implement best practices and innovative solutions effectively.
Co-managed IT gives you access to an on-demand IT skillset that would otherwise be impractical for your organization to maintain internally. When facing unique challenges or implementing modern technologies, your team can draw on the supplemental IT team’s specialized knowledge and then return to standard operations once the project is completed.
More Reliable IT Support & Reduced Downtime
Businesses using supplemental IT services typically experience improved uptime and faster issue response times. The combination of proactive monitoring and rapid response capabilities helps identify potential problems before they impact business operations.
Many IT service providers deliver round-the-clock monitoring and swift issue resolution, ensuring continuous coverage beyond standard business hours. This approach eliminates the need for internal staff to be available on call. When continually monitoring your critical systems, your supplemental IT partner keeps everything running smoothly while giving your team a better work-life balance.
TYPES OF SUPPLEMENTAL IT SERVICES
Common Services Offered Through Supplemental IT
Supplemental IT includes various services tailored to each business’s unique needs. Customize your IT support by leveraging supplemental services for individual projects or long-term needs, ensuring the right level of expertise when required.
IT Help Desk and End-User Support
Companies frequently use supplemental IT to provide Tier 1 and Tier 2 support without overloading internal teams. This ensures that employees receive prompt assistance with day-to-day technology issues while your core IT staff can focus on more strategic initiatives.
Co-managed IT services deliver immediate value by improving employee productivity and satisfaction. Your company can actively scale its help desk support to match its needs, from after-hours coverage to comprehensive 24/7 support.
Network & Cloud Infrastructure Management
Supplemental IT can help your organization manage cloud systems, networking equipment, and on-premises infrastructure. Expert teams ensure that all technological components work seamlessly together, regardless of where they’re hosted.
Organizations with hybrid IT environments also benefit from supplemental IT expertise, as managing diverse systems requires specialized knowledge across multiple platforms. Supplemental providers maintain certifications across major cloud platforms and infrastructure vendors, ensuring you implement best practices.
Cybersecurity & Compliance Services
Regardless of your organization’s size, security is top-of-mind. Supplemental IT offers your organization enterprise-level security without requiring a dedicated internal security team. With security assessments, threat monitoring, and compliance management, supplemental IT partners enhance your security. They provide access to advanced tools that would otherwise be expensive to implement on your own. Your supplemental IT partner can also help develop security policies, conduct training, and prepare for audits or assessments.
IT Strategy, Consulting & Digital Transformation
In addition to using supplemental IT for ongoing support, many businesses partner with supplemental IT providers for high-level technology strategy, major migrations, and modernization projects. Strategic guidance from a supplemental IT partner can help your organization make informed decisions about technology investments and implementation approaches.
Supplemental IT can also be extremely helpful for digital transformation initiatives, as they often require specialized knowledge across multiple domains. Your supplemental IT partner can provide strategic guidance and hands-on implementation support, ensuring your project’s success.
How to Implement Supplemental IT in Your Business
Wondering how to get the most from supplemental IT services while keeping operations running smoothly? Follow these steps to take the right approach.
Evaluating Your IT Needs
To get started, assess your current IT challenges and identify gaps in your capabilities, capacity, and expertise. Focus on areas where your team struggles to keep pace, technologies that require specialized knowledge, and routine tasks that consume too much of your team’s time.
Common situations that indicate your organization should consider adding supplemental IT support include:
- Increasing security threats or compliance requirements
- Planning major technology transitions or upgrades
- Experiencing growth that outpaces internal IT capacity
- Dealing with challenges in recruiting or retaining specialized IT talent
Choosing the Right Supplemental IT Provider
Not all supplemental IT providers are the same. When choosing your supplemental IT provider, ask:
- Do they have proven experience with co-managed IT solutions and successful collaboration with internal teams?
- Can they customize services to fit your business needs rather than forcing standardized packages?
- Do they have security and compliance expertise relevant to your industry and regulatory environment?
- Will their cultural compatibility and communication style mesh well with your organization?
Integrating External IT Support with Your Internal Team
To integrate supplemental IT support with your internal team, you must have clear communication, well-defined responsibilities, and established collaboration processes. With this in mind, you should develop detailed service-level agreements (SLAs) that clearly outline expectations, response times, and escalation procedures.
Additionally, implement regular communication channels between your internal team and the supplemental IT provider, including scheduled reviews of service performance and opportunities for improvement. By ensuring your internal staff understands how the partnership functions and how to work with external resources, you’ll maximize the value of your supplemental IT investment.
