Managed IT Services in Boise: Questions Business Owners Ask

These are the questions Boise business owners ask us before they sign anything, answered the way we answer them on the phone. If a question you have is not here, the Boise office page has the local details and a number that reaches a person in about a minute.

What is managed IT, in one paragraph?

A provider takes ongoing responsibility for your technology for a flat monthly fee per user, instead of being called when something breaks. That includes a help desk your staff can call, monitoring of your systems so problems are caught early, patching, security, backups, and planning. The incentive is aligned: we make money when your systems do not break, not when they do.

What does it cost?

Our prices are published, flat per user per month, with no onboarding fee and a 60-day money-back guarantee: Help Desk Connect at $35, Technology Advantage at $55, Total Advantage at $80, and the Secure Advantage security package at $45, which can be added to any plan or stand alone. A 15-person Boise office on Total Advantage plus Secure Advantage is $125 per user, or $1,875 per month. Details and what each includes are on the managed IT packages page, and the calculator models your own headcount.

Do you have an actual office in Boise?

Yes. Onsite work, hardware, network installations, and office moves are handled from the Boise office. The help desk and the security operations center are shared across our 21 offices in 18 states and run 24/7, which is why a Boise client gets the same overnight coverage as one near our headquarters in Minnesota. The Boise office page has the address, local number, and service area.

How fast do you answer?

A live service specialist answers in about a minute, around the clock. Most issues are resolved remotely on that call or shortly after. When something needs hands, a technician is scheduled from Boise; for a failure that stops the business, we dispatch the same day whenever possible. We publish how we measure ourselves in how we measure managed IT.

We already have an IT person. Why would we need you?

Most businesses that have one keep them. Co-managed IT gives your person the things one person cannot provide: 24/7 monitoring and security response, help desk overflow, specialist depth in networking and security, and coverage when they are out. They keep the relationship and the day-to-day; we are the department behind them.

What Idaho rules affect how you set us up?

Idaho’s breach notification law (Idaho Code 28-51-104 and 105) requires a business that discovers a breach of Idaho residents’ personal information (name with Social Security number, driver’s license number, or account number with access code) to investigate promptly and notify affected residents in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay. Encrypted data is excluded, which is why every device we manage is encrypted. On top of that, industry rules apply: HIPAA for medical and dental practices, the FTC Safeguards Rule for accounting and tax firms, PCI DSS for card payments, and CMMC for defense subcontractors supporting Mountain Home or Idaho National Laboratory work. Cyber insurers require the same controls; see what underwriters actually ask for.

What happens in the first 90 days?

1. Discovery. We inventory devices, accounts, applications, network equipment, and backups, and document what we find. Most businesses have never seen this list.
2. Security baseline. Multi-factor authentication on every account, endpoint detection and response on every device, email filtering, stale accounts and local admin rights removed.
3. Backups. Confirm coverage, make them immutable, and run a timed restore so you know your real recovery time.
4. Stabilization. Patching brought current, failing hardware replaced, power protection and internet failover where a single connection would stop the business.
5. Ongoing. Monitoring, help desk, monthly health reports, and a quarterly review with your account manager.

Can we keep our software and our vendors?

Yes. We support the applications you have chosen and coordinate with their vendors; we do not replace them. What changes is that someone is responsible for keeping them patched, backed up, protected by MFA, and for controlling vendor remote access.

What is not included?

Hardware, software licenses, and carrier services are yours to buy (we advise and can procure). Project work such as a network installation or an office move is quoted separately and agreed in advance. On the Help Desk Connect and Technology Advantage plans, onsite visits and advanced engineering beyond the included allowance are billed as needed; Total Advantage includes them.

Is there a long contract?

Plans are priced per user per month with no onboarding fee and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Ask us about term options; we would rather you stay because the service is good than because a contract says so.

How do we know if we need this?

Take the network health check: three minutes, no sales call attached, and it covers backups, security basics, and support. If you are in a specific industry, the IT readiness assessments ask the questions that matter for dental, healthcare, accounting, law, schools, churches, manufacturing, and nonprofits.

What should we ask any provider, including you?

• Is pricing per user or per device, and what counts?
• What is excluded, in writing?
• Which security controls are included: MFA, endpoint detection and response, backup testing, email filtering, monitoring hours?
• How do you measure yourselves, and will you show us the numbers?
• What happens when we leave: do we get our documentation and our data?

Those are the questions that separate a provider from a vendor. Our answers are on this page and on the Boise office page, and the local team is happy to answer the rest.