What Is Co-Managed IT?

Co-Managed IT is a partnership model where your internal IT team works alongside an external provider like AffinityMSP. Instead of replacing your in-house staff, Co-Managed IT strengthens them with additional resources, expertise, and support. 

This model gives you the best of both worlds. Your team keeps full control of day-to-day IT decisions, while we provide extra capacity and specialised skills to fill gaps. It’s a way to make IT more efficient, secure, and scalable without the cost of hiring more staff. 

How Co-Managed IT Works 

With Co-Managed IT, your business chooses which tasks stay in-house and which are supported by AffinityMSP. The model is flexible and can be tailored to your needs. Common scenarios include: 

• Overflow support – When ticket volumes are too high, we step in to handle the extra workload. 
• Specialist expertise – Our certified engineers provide advanced skills in cybersecurity, cloud, and infrastructure. 
• Project support – We partner with your team to deliver complex projects like system upgrades, migrations, or compliance rollouts. 
• 24/7 monitoring – We manage after-hours monitoring and alerts so your staff can focus on business hours. 
• Enhanced security – We strengthen your cyber defences with frameworks like the Essential 8 and proactive threat monitoring. 

Benefits of Co-Managed IT 

Businesses often outgrow the “fully internal” IT model. Co-Managed IT solves this by adding flexibility and scalability. The main benefits include: 

• Scalability – Easily add support when your business grows or projects ramp up. 
• Cost efficiency – Avoid the expense of recruiting and training extra IT staff. 
• Access to expertise – Gain immediate access to specialist skills your team may not have in-house. 
• Reduced stress – Relieve pressure on your internal IT staff, helping prevent burnout. 
• Improved security – Stay protected with advanced monitoring, compliance, and cyber resilience strategies. 

Co-Managed IT vs Fully Managed IT 

One of the most common questions we hear is: How is Co-Managed IT different from fully managed IT? 

• Co-Managed IT means we work with your internal IT team. You stay in control, and we fill in the gaps. 

• Fully Managed IT means we act as your complete IT department, handling everything from strategy to support. 

If you already have an IT team but they’re stretched thin, Co-Managed IT is often the smarter choice. 

Who Should Consider Co-Managed IT? 

Co-Managed IT is especially valuable for: 

• Growing businesses that need IT support to scale without hiring more staff. 
• IT managers who want to free up time for strategy instead of troubleshooting. 
• Enterprises with multiple offices or complex environments. 
• Industries under compliance pressure (finance, healthcare, government) that need additional assurance around security. 

If your IT team is talented but overworked, Co-Managed IT gives them the support they need to succeed. 

The AffinityMSP Approach to Co-Managed IT 

At AffinityMSP, we treat Co-Managed IT as a partnership, not a takeover. Your team brings the internal knowledge of your business, while we bring enterprise-grade tools, certified engineers, and scalable support. Together, we create an IT environment that’s faster, more secure, and more reliable. 

Our goal is to strengthen your IT team, not replace it. That’s the AffinityMSP difference.