Co-Managed IT
John Drake & Associates works alongside internal IT leaders to provide additional help desk coverage, engineering expertise, cybersecurity support, project resources, and operational continuity while your team retains ownership and control.
Responsibility model
Support structure
Support access
Engineering resources
Additional capability without giving up control.
Effective co-managed relationships begin with clear responsibilities, respect for your internal team’s expertise, and practical support where additional capacity or specialized knowledge is needed.
Shared support model
Define responsibilities around your team’s priorities, workload, existing capabilities, and preferred operating structure.
Escalation resources
Give your internal IT staff direct access to experienced technical resources when complex issues require additional expertise.
Project & engineering help
Add engineering capacity for migrations, infrastructure upgrades, security initiatives, and other projects without increasing permanent headcount.
Security support
Strengthen cybersecurity operations while keeping your internal IT team informed and involved in security decisions.
Coverage & continuity
Maintain support during vacations, staffing transitions, growth periods, and times when internal demand exceeds available capacity.
Documentation & process
Improve shared documentation, communication, and coordination so both teams understand the environment and their responsibilities.
The first design decision is who owns what.
Keep internal ownership visible
Your team should continue leading the areas it knows best and where internal context matters most.
Assign external ownership clearly
Help desk coverage, security support, infrastructure management, escalation, and project responsibilities should be clearly defined.
Create direct escalation paths
Internal staff should know when and how to reach experienced engineering resources without unnecessary handoffs or repeated explanations.
Share enough context
Shared documentation, regular communication, and practical coordination keep both teams working from the same understanding of the environment.
Define the seams before the first ticket crosses them.
Scope
Map responsibilities, constraints, existing tools and the areas where the internal team wants leverage.
Connect
Set communication paths, escalation rules, documentation access and working rhythms.
Operate
Deliver the agreed support, security, engineering or project capacity alongside the internal team.
Rebalance
Adjust responsibilities as staffing, priorities, technology and workload change.
Add capacity without surrendering visibility or authority.
For the IT manager, the value is leverage: more hands, deeper escalation and broader capability. For executives, the value is continuity and resilience without unnecessary internal headcount.
Keeps ownership
Shared service capacity
Additional depth
Escalation resources
Need more depth without replacing your internal IT team?
Tell us what your team owns today, where it is stretched and what kind of additional capacity would make the biggest difference.