Managed IT Services

What it does

Managed IT support means handing the day-to-day running of your IT to a team who look after it for a fixed monthly fee. Instead of calling someone only when something breaks, your staff have a helpdesk to contact, and your workstations and laptops are monitored, updated and secured in the background.

Why your business needs it

Most small and medium-sized businesses don't have a full-time IT team, so problems land on whoever is least busy, updates get missed and nobody owns security. A managed IT service gives your staff somewhere to go for help and keeps every device maintained to the same standard, for a cost you can plan around.

What's included

• Helpdesk support for all staff
• Core IT support and IT guidance
• Device and network monitoring, with proactive alerting
• Operating system and application patching
• Device security baseline on every managed workstation and laptop

Benefits

• One helpdesk for your staff's everyday IT problems
• Every workstation and laptop monitored and patched on a managed schedule
• A consistent security baseline on every managed device
• Published per-device prices, so monthly costs are predictable

Limitations and exclusions

• Support hours, service levels, contract term and any onboarding costs are confirmed in your formal proposal.
• Devices running operating systems that no longer receive security updates can't be brought up to our baseline and may need replacing.
• Not included: Microsoft 365 and other software licences, which are billed separately
• Not included: New hardware and its installation, unless agreed in your proposal

What it does

Co-managed IT is for businesses that already employ someone to look after IT, whether that's a single IT manager or a small team. Rather than replacing them, we work alongside them.

Why your business needs it

One IT person can't patch every device, watch every alert and answer every staff request at the same time. Co-managed IT gives them monitoring, patching and escalation support, so routine maintenance doesn't depend on one person's spare time and difficult problems have somewhere to go.

What's included

• Core IT support for your in-house IT team
• Device and network monitoring
• Operating system and application patching
• IT guidance and escalation
• Microsoft 365 management and security baseline, charged once per organisation

Benefits

• Your IT team stays in control of day-to-day support
• Device and network monitoring, with alert handling agreed between us
• Operating system and application patching taken off your team's list
• An experienced team to escalate complex problems to

Limitations and exclusions

• This plan supports your IT team; it doesn't replace them. If your IT person leaves or your needs change, talk to us about moving to Managed IT Support.
• How alerts and escalations are handled, support hours and any service levels are agreed in your formal proposal.
• Not included: Helpdesk support for all staff; your staff contact your in-house team
• Not included: Endpoint protection and endpoint vulnerability scanning, unless added

What it does

Microsoft 365 holds your email, files, calendars, Teams chats and user accounts. Your tenant is your organisation's Microsoft 365 account: the place where users, settings and security policies live. Microsoft provides the service and the licences, but someone still needs to administer the tenant and keep it secure.

Why your business needs it

Microsoft 365 is where most business data and logins now live, so a poorly configured tenant is a real risk: weak sign-in settings, old accounts left active and files shared more widely than intended. Ongoing administration keeps it organised, secured and set up the way your business works.

What's included

• Administration of your tenant: users, groups, mailboxes and settings
• Starters and leavers handled in Microsoft 365
• Multi-factor authentication across the tenant
• Conditional access policies, where your licences support them
• Anti-phishing and secure sharing policies

Benefits

• One monthly charge per organisation, not per user
• Users, mailboxes and groups administered for you
• Multi-factor authentication and conditional access applied across the tenant
• Anti-phishing and secure sharing policies in place

Limitations and exclusions

• Some controls, such as conditional access, depend on which Microsoft 365 licences you have. If a licence change is needed, we explain why and what it would involve during the review.
• The baseline reduces the risk of account compromise and data leaks but can't remove it. Backup, email filtering and staff awareness are still worth considering.
• Not included: Microsoft 365 licences and subscriptions, which are billed separately
• Not included: Third-party add-ons such as backup or email filtering, unless selected

What it does

A server is a computer that provides shared services to your business: file shares, business applications, databases, printing or staff sign-in. Whether it sits in a cupboard in your office or runs as a virtual machine, it needs regular care to stay secure and reliable.

Why your business needs it

When a server stops, often everyone stops. Missed updates leave known security weaknesses open, full disks and failing hardware give warning signs that go unnoticed, and backups can fail quietly for weeks. Managed servers puts someone in charge of spotting these problems and dealing with them before they become an outage.

What's included

• Monitoring and alerting for each managed server
• Alerts reviewed by our team in line with your agreed service level
• Operating system and firmware updates in planned maintenance windows
• Backup status checked as part of routine monitoring
• Access controls based on least privilege

Benefits

• Health and performance monitored, with alerts reviewed by our team
• Operating system and firmware updates in planned maintenance windows
• Backup status checked as part of routine monitoring
• Administrator access based on least privilege

Limitations and exclusions

• Servers running operating systems that no longer receive security updates can't be kept patched, so they stay at higher risk until replaced. We'll recommend a replacement plan.
• Checking backup status shows whether jobs succeed; it isn't the same as proving you can recover. A Backup Security & Recovery Assessment can test or review recovery.
• Not included: Server hardware, replacement parts and manufacturer warranties
• Not included: Operating system, application and database licences

What it does

Your infrastructure is the foundation your IT runs on: servers, storage, virtualisation and the cloud services that host your applications and data. Every few years, parts of it need replacing or rethinking.

Why your business needs it

Infrastructure changes are infrequent but high-stakes. A rushed server replacement or a poorly planned cloud move can mean lost data, downtime or a design that doesn't fit the business. A planned project gives you a clear design, a tested migration and documentation at the end.

What's included

• Assessment of your current infrastructure
• Design recommendation and written scope
• Build, configuration and testing of the agreed solution
• Planned, staged migration of data and services
• Rollback planning for each migration stage

Benefits

• A design based on how your business actually uses its systems
• Scope and price agreed before work starts
• Migrations planned in stages and tested to limit disruption
• Documentation of the finished design

Limitations and exclusions

• Timings and price depend on the scope agreed after assessment. Any change to scope during the project is agreed and priced before work continues.
• Some business applications have supplier requirements that affect where and how they can run. We check these during design and may need your software supplier's input.
• Not included: Server hardware, storage and networking equipment, unless agreed in your proposal
• Not included: Software licences and cloud subscriptions

What it does

Your network is the equipment that connects everything in the office: switches that link computers, printers, phones and Wi-Fi access points; routers that connect you to the internet and to other sites; and the cabling in between. Most of the time nobody thinks about it, until it stops working.

Why your business needs it

Network equipment often runs for years without updates, its settings live only on the device itself and nobody quite remembers how it was set up. When something fails or needs changing, that means guesswork and longer outages. Managing it properly keeps it updated, documented and recoverable.

What's included

• Device monitoring and alerting
• Firmware updates for supported devices
• Configuration backups and documentation
• Controlled changes
• Advice when equipment approaches the end of manufacturer support

Benefits

• Network devices monitored, with problems flagged early
• Firmware kept up to date to close known security weaknesses
• Configurations backed up, so a replacement device can be set up from a known copy
• Current documentation of how your network fits together

Limitations and exclusions

• Unmanaged switches and many routers supplied by internet providers don't allow monitoring, firmware management or configuration backups. We identify these during onboarding and explain your options.
• Firmware updates are only available while the manufacturer still supports the device. Equipment beyond that point should be planned for replacement.
• Not included: Network hardware, replacement parts and manufacturer support contracts, unless agreed in your proposal
• Not included: Firewalls, which are managed under Managed Firewalls

What it does

Business Wi-Fi is usually provided by access points: small devices on the ceiling or wall that broadcast wireless networks across your office. Staff laptops and phones, visitors, printers and smart devices may all connect to them.

Why your business needs it

Wi-Fi is often the first thing people complain about and the last thing anyone maintains. Shared passwords that stay the same for years, guests on the same network as company laptops and access points that haven't been updated in years all add risk. Managed Wi-Fi keeps it secure and working without someone in the office having to look after it.

What's included

• Access point monitoring and updates
• Separate staff and guest Wi-Fi
• Wi-Fi security settings reviewed
• Controlled changes
• Investigation of coverage and connection problems, with recommendations

Benefits

• Staff and guest Wi-Fi kept separate
• Access points monitored and kept up to date
• Wi-Fi security settings reviewed against good practice
• Changes made for you as the office changes

Limitations and exclusions

• Some access points, including the Wi-Fi built into many internet provider routers, can't be monitored or updated centrally. If replacement is the better option, we'll explain why.
• Wi-Fi coverage depends on your building's layout, its materials and interference from neighbouring networks. Monitoring can highlight problems, but some need a site survey or extra access points to resolve.
• Not included: Wi-Fi hardware and licences, unless agreed in your proposal
• Not included: Cabling and installation of new access points, which are scoped as a project

What it does

Backup and disaster recovery comes down to two questions. If something is deleted, encrypted or destroyed, can you get it back? And how quickly can the business carry on working? Backups answer the first question. A recovery plan answers the second.

Why your business needs it

Ransomware, hardware failure, theft, fire, flood and simple human error can all take data or systems away without warning. Without separate, monitored and tested backups, a business may find that its only copy has been encrypted, has silently stopped working or takes far longer to restore than anyone expected.

What's included

• Review of your servers, data and recovery priorities
• Backup design, including schedules, retention and off-site copies
• Configuration of backup jobs for the systems agreed in your proposal
• Automated monitoring of backup jobs, with failures followed up by our team
• Restore testing on an agreed schedule

Benefits

• Backups designed around what your business can't afford to lose
• At least one copy kept off-site, separated from your main network
• Backup jobs monitored, with failures followed up by our team
• Restore tests, so you know what recovery really looks like

Limitations and exclusions

• Recovery times depend on the amount of data, the backup design, where copies are stored and the condition of your hardware and internet connection. We agree recovery priorities with you, but we don't promise fixed recovery times or a fixed limit on how much recent data could be lost.
• Backups reduce the impact of an incident; they don't prevent one. They work best alongside endpoint protection, patching, firewalls and strong account security.
• Not included: Backup software licences, storage and hardware, unless agreed in your proposal
• Not included: Email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data, which is covered by our separate Microsoft 365 Backup service

What it does

Microsoft 365 is built to keep the service available: if part of Microsoft's infrastructure has a problem, your email keeps working. Protecting your own data from accidental deletion, ransomware or a compromised account is a different job, and much of that responsibility sits with you as the customer.

Why your business needs it

Email and shared files hold most of a business's day-to-day work. A deletion noticed too late, a leaver's mailbox removed along with their licence, synced files encrypted by ransomware or an attacker deleting data from a compromised account can all cause losses that Microsoft 365's own tools may not be able to undo.

What's included

• Backup of Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data for users in scope
• Set-up and connection of the third-party backup service to your tenant
• A retention period agreed with you
• Monitoring of backups, with failures followed up by our team
• Adding and removing users and sites as part of normal changes

Benefits

• A copy of your Microsoft 365 data held outside your tenant
• Email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams data covered in one service
• Restore a single item, a folder, or a whole mailbox or site
• Backups kept for the retention period you choose

Limitations and exclusions

• We can only restore what has been backed up and is still within your agreed retention. Data lost before the first backup, or older than your retention period, can't be recovered from the backup.
• Restoring large mailboxes or sites can take time, depending on the amount of data and the limits Microsoft 365 places on how quickly data can be written back. We don't promise restore times.
• Not included: Microsoft 365 licences, which are billed separately
• Not included: Data stored outside Microsoft 365, such as on servers, laptops or other cloud services, which is covered by Backup & Disaster Recovery

What it does

Some IT work doesn't fit into everyday support: moving email to Microsoft 365, replacing a server, upgrading Wi-Fi and switches, moving into a new office or rolling out new laptops across the business. These are projects, and they go more smoothly when they are planned properly.

Why your business needs it

Unplanned or rushed changes are a common cause of downtime, lost data and frustrated staff. A planned project, with proper discovery, testing and a fallback option, reduces the risk of a migration or move going wrong on the day it matters.

What's included

• Discovery of your current systems and requirements
• A written scope, plan and proposal before work begins
• Project delivery by Pulsar IT engineers within the agreed scope
• Testing before and after cutover
• Communication with your staff about what will change and when

Benefits

• A clear scope and plan agreed before work starts
• Changes carried out in stages, with testing along the way
• Switchovers timed to keep disruption to your team low
• Security built into the new setup from the start

Limitations and exclusions

• Timescales depend on the size of the project, your suppliers and lead times for lines and equipment, so we confirm them in your proposal rather than promising them up front.
• Some short disruption can be unavoidable, for example while email routing changes take effect or staff sign in to new systems for the first time. We plan to keep it brief and tell your team what to expect.
• Not included: Hardware, software licences and third-party services, unless agreed in your proposal
• Not included: Building and electrical work

What it does

Scheduled Onsite IT Support gives you planned days with a Pulsar IT engineer at your premises, on a regular pattern agreed with you, such as one day a week or a set number of days each month.

Why your business needs it

Not every issue suits a phone call or a remote session. Staff who find technology difficult, physical equipment, meeting rooms and network cabinets often need someone in the room. Regular onsite days give you a familiar face who knows your office, and a planned slot for the jobs that tend to get put off.

What's included

• Onsite days at your premises on the agreed pattern
• An engineer at the level you choose
• Visit planning based on your tickets and requests
• Desk-side support and hands-on work within the agreed scope
• Work recorded against your support tickets

Benefits

• A familiar engineer who gets to know your office and team
• Desk-side help for staff who prefer face-to-face support
• Time for hands-on jobs that are hard to do remotely
• A planned slot for smaller projects and improvements

Limitations and exclusions

• Onsite days are booked in advance. We don't promise attendance at short notice, and moving a booked day depends on engineer availability.
• Some tasks planned for a visit may need to be carried forward, for example if a job turns out to be bigger than expected or parts haven't arrived.
• Not included: Emergency or same-day call-outs; scheduled days are planned visits, not an emergency response
• Not included: Hardware, parts and software licences

What it does

As more of your work moves to Microsoft 365, cloud apps and internet-based phones, a slow or unreliable connection affects everyone. We source business internet connections for each of your sites and look after them alongside the rest of your IT, dealing with the provider so you don't have to.

Why your business needs it

When the internet goes down, so do cloud apps, email and internet phones. The right connection for each site, with a backup where the business can't afford to be offline, keeps people working and saves time spent chasing providers.

What's included

• Advice on the right connection type for each site
• Availability checks and quotations from the provider
• Ordering and coordinating installation
• Secure configuration of the router or firewall connected to the line
• Fault reporting and liaison with the provider

Benefits

• Plain-English advice on broadband versus leased lines
• Connections sourced to suit each of your sites
• Routers configured securely, with default settings changed
• One point of contact: we deal with the provider for you

Limitations and exclusions

• Availability, speeds and prices depend on your address and the provider. Leased lines need a provider survey, and installation lead times vary, so we confirm timings once the order is placed rather than promising dates up front.
• Fault repair times are set by the provider and depend on the type of connection you choose. We report and follow up faults, but we can't repair the provider's network ourselves.
• Not included: Line rental and provider charges, unless listed in your quote
• Not included: Construction work or extra installation charges identified by the provider's survey

What it does

VoIP (voice over internet protocol) means making phone calls over an internet connection instead of a traditional phone line. With a hosted system, the phone system itself runs in a provider's data centre, so there's no phone system hardware to maintain in your office.

Why your business needs it

Older phone systems tie calls to a desk and a building, and can be costly to change. With staff working from home and between sites, a hosted phone system lets calls follow people, makes adding users straightforward and puts your phones under the same support as the rest of your IT.

What's included

• Review of numbers, users, call flows and network readiness
• Set-up of users, call routing, hunt groups and voicemail
• Configuration of handsets and softphones
• Number porting coordinated with your current provider
• Security settings to reduce the risk of call fraud

Benefits

• Take business calls in the office, at home or on the move
• Keep your existing numbers through number porting
• Call routing set up around how your business answers calls
• Users added and removed as your team changes

Limitations and exclusions

• Call quality depends on your internet connection and network. If the connection is slow, overloaded or down, calls are affected, which is why we check readiness and may recommend network changes or a backup connection.
• Emergency calls (999 and 112) over VoIP depend on power and an internet connection, and the address registered for a number may not be where a home worker or softphone user actually is. We help you keep registered addresses up to date, and staff should be ready to give their location when calling 999.
• Not included: Call charges and line rental, unless included in your agreed plan
• Not included: Handsets and headsets, unless listed in your quote

What it does

New laptops, desktops, monitors and network equipment need more than a delivery before they're useful. They need the right specification, updates, security settings, licences and your business applications. IT Equipment Procurement & Deployment covers all of that.

Why your business needs it

Devices bought from consumer retailers often arrive with an operating system edition not suited to business management, unwanted pre-installed software and no security settings, and someone still has to set them up. Buying through your IT provider means equipment is chosen to fit, set up consistently and secured before anyone signs in.

What's included

• Recommendations based on your requirements and budget
• A quote for each order, covering equipment and set-up
• Ordering and tracking delivery
• Configuration, updates and security settings before handover
• Deployment to your office or your staff, as agreed in the quote

Benefits

• Advice on specifications that suit each role and your budget
• Devices configured and secured before they reach your staff
• A consistent setup across the business
• New starters' equipment prepared in advance, subject to stock and delivery times

Limitations and exclusions

• Delivery times depend on manufacturer stock and supplier lead times, and equipment prices and availability can change. We reconfirm both before placing your order.
• Pulsar IT doesn't provide its own hardware warranty. Repairs and replacements under warranty follow the manufacturer's terms.
• Not included: Hardware warranty, which is provided by the manufacturer on its own terms
• Not included: Certified data destruction or destruction certificates