A complete IT department for your Boston company without recruiting, training or replacing anyone. One team handles support, security, vendors and planning for a flat monthly fee.
Get a Free IT AssessmentOne IT employee sounds simple until you add the salary, benefits, tools and the weeks they are away. Outsourced IT services give you a whole team for less than one hire in most offices. When you outsource your IT, you get an outsourced IT department that already has people, tools and processes in place.
IT outsourcing spreads the risk across a team, and good outsourced IT services are judged by results rather than hours billed. Already have one IT person? Co-managed IT keeps them and adds backup. Smaller teams can start with small business IT support, and one-off problems are covered by IT support services.
Want the core plan explained first? Start with managed IT services. Still comparing providers? Read our guide to choosing a managed IT provider in Boston.
One IT employee is one point of failure. When they are on vacation, out sick or take a new job, passwords, setups and vendor contacts often go with them.
An outsourced team removes that risk. Someone is always available, everything is documented and skills you would never hire for, like security or cloud migrations, come with the plan.
Everything below is part of one monthly plan. Pick a topic to see what is handled for you and how it works in a Boston office.
Everything an internal IT department would handle: user support, new hires, departures, devices and software, without you hiring anyone.
Your staff get one place to ask for help instead of chasing whoever seems good with computers. Every request is tracked, so you can see what was done and how fast.
Devices are protected and patched, email is filtered and backups are tested, on a fixed schedule rather than when someone remembers.
Security runs the same way every month, whether anyone thinks about it or not. A short report shows what was blocked, patched and backed up.
Internet providers, phone systems, copier companies and software resellers are all handled by one team.
When the internet goes down or a license renews, your outsourced team makes the call. No more afternoons on hold with carriers and vendors.
Quarterly reviews, a replacement plan and a yearly budget make IT something you plan instead of something that surprises you.
You get the planning a full-time IT manager would provide, including replacement schedules, budgets and advice on bigger decisions, without the salary.
Plenty of companies can swap a laptop. These are the reasons Boston businesses give for choosing Hotkey Boston and staying.
Our team knows which Back Bay brownstones limit new cabling, how nor’easters and spring flooding threaten basement server rooms and how long it really takes to get from the Seaport to Waltham at 5 p.m. That local knowledge means faster, calmer fixes.
Your network, devices and backups are watched day and night. Most problems are resolved before anyone notices, and when something needs your decision you get a plain explanation.
After a free assessment you receive a per-user quote listing every included service. No hourly surprises, no unexpected after-hours charges and no fine print about what counts as extra.
From Financial District towers to campuses along Route 128, companies across Greater Boston hand their IT to one team with technicians nearby.
Asset managers, law firms and insurers in the Financial District work in older towers with strict building access and heavy compliance duties. Managed IT here focuses on encrypted devices, tested backups and documentation that auditors can read.
Many Back Bay offices occupy converted brownstones where thick walls and preservation rules make new cabling difficult. Managed IT plans Wi-Fi around the building, keeps wiring tidy and protects client files for architects, advisors and clinics.
Newer Seaport offices and Fort Point lofts host tech teams, design studios and law groups. Managed IT keeps open-plan Wi-Fi fast, secures cloud accounts and prepares for nor’easter flooding with backups stored off-site.
Biotech and software teams in Kendall Square handle valuable research and source code. Managed IT adds strict access controls, device management and the security documentation partners and investors ask for.
Practices, labs and research groups around Longwood run imaging, scheduling and patient systems that cannot fail. Managed IT keeps them patched, backed up and prepared for HIPAA reviews.
Technology and defense suppliers along Route 128 need dependable campus networks and careful handling of controlled information. Managed IT monitors those networks around the clock and keeps records current.
Regional offices and growing firms north of the city often depend on a few key systems. Managed IT supplies help desk capacity and monitoring without requiring a full-time hire.
Studios, nonprofits and startups in Somerville change layouts and headcount quickly. Managed IT keeps onboarding repeatable and separates guest and staff networks.
Each option solves a different problem. Here is how they compare on cost, coverage and risk. For first-year numbers, read managed IT services vs in-house IT in Boston.
| Topic | Hotkey Boston | In-House IT Hire | Break-Fix IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Flat fee, tools included | Salary, benefits & tools | Hourly invoices |
| Skills available | Help desk, security, cloud & network | One person’s strengths | Whoever is sent |
| Coverage | Every business day + 24/7 monitoring | Office hours, minus time off | Only when called |
| Recruiting & training | None | Months & ongoing cost | None |
| Documentation | Complete & yours | Often in one head | Rarely kept |
| Security | Monitored on a schedule | When time allows | After an incident |
| Scaling up | Add users to the plan | Another hire | More invoices |
| Getting started | 2 to 4 weeks | 2 to 3 months to hire | Same day |
Boston companies that outsource IT see the gaps close quickly. These are the differences they mention most.
Help desk, security and cloud skills on call.
A flat fee replaces salary, benefits and tools.
Every system and password documented and yours.
Upgrades and budgets planned a year ahead.
Outsourcing looks different in each industry. These pages show how it works.
A complete IT team that understands confidentiality, deadlines and document systems.
Financial AdvisorsStrong security, audit-ready records and dependable systems for advisors and their clients.
Logistics CompaniesDispatch, warehouse and tracking systems supported around the clock.
Insurance AgenciesQuoting systems, policy records and client calls kept running and protected.
With our old provider a ticket meant waiting until tomorrow. Now somebody picks up within minutes, and most issues are fixed on the same call. The weekly complaints about IT stopped completely.
We switched providers in the middle of a funding round and expected chaos. Email and files kept working for the whole three weeks, and we received complete documentation at the end.
Every repair used to arrive with its own invoice. Now we pay one monthly amount, get a short report and talk about upgrades before things fail. Planning IT spend is finally straightforward.
Your free assessment ends with a written summary and a per-user quote. If co-managed or lighter support fits better, we tell you on the first call. Then you decide.
Usually a flat monthly fee per user that includes tools, monitoring and support. For most offices under 75 people that is well below one full-time hire; our pricing guide lists typical rates.
Everything an internal IT department would do: help desk, devices, accounts, security, backups, network, vendor calls and planning. You keep ownership of all systems and passwords.
For most Boston offices under about 75 employees, yes. Our comparison of managed IT and in-house IT in Boston shows the full math.
No. Admin access, passwords and documentation stay with your company, and you approve major changes.
Then co-managed IT is usually the better fit. Your person stays in charge with a team behind them.
Yes. Most requests are handled remotely, and technicians visit offices across Greater Boston for hardware, cabling and setups.
With endpoint protection, email filtering, multi-factor sign-in, scheduled patching, tested backups and a written incident plan.
Two to four weeks for most offices, with support moved over in stages so nobody loses a working day.
Yes. Some offices begin with IT support services for a few problems and move to a full plan later.
Documentation, passwords and admin access are handed over with no fee for your own information.
Need something slightly different? These services cover the same ground from another angle.
A free assessment compares your current setup with a full outsourced plan.