Process
How we work
Clear steps from first conversation to day-to-day support—so you know what working with IT North looks like before you sign anything.
Start here
How the assessment works
Complimentary and no obligation—you get a clear picture either way.
- You reach out. Call, email, or use the contact form. Tell us what’s going on—outages, slow systems, security worries, or “we just need a second opinion.”
- We listen and gather context. Team size, current providers, critical apps, and any hard deadlines (compliance, moves, renewals).
- We review your environment. Remote and/or on-site, depending on what we need to see. No sales theater—just a practical look at risk and opportunity.
- You get a clear summary. Priorities, recommended plan options, and next steps. You’re free to use that insight even if you don’t move forward with us.
Getting started
Onboarding & transition
Switching IT providers shouldn’t feel like jumping without a net. We plan the handoff so coverage continues while we take over.
- Kickoff & access. Agreements, contacts, admin access, and a shared inventory of devices, vendors, and priorities.
- Stabilize first. Monitoring, backups, patching, and security tools go on before we chase nice-to-haves.
- Coordinate the outgoing provider. When you’re leaving another MSP or internal IT, we help request documentation, passwords, and warranties so nothing is stranded.
- Introduce support paths. Your team learns how to open a ticket, what to call urgent, and who to contact after hours if that’s in your plan.
- Review & settle in. A short check-in after go-live to confirm what’s working and what still needs attention.
When you need help
Support workflow & response targets
Most issues start with a ticket or a call. We triage by impact—so a whole-office outage doesn’t wait behind a printer jam.
- You submit. Portal ticket, email, or phone. Include who’s affected and how urgent it feels for the business.
- We acknowledge & classify. Critical (business down), high (major degradation), normal (day-to-day), and low (projects / requests).
- We work the issue. Remote first when possible; on-site from Hibbing when hands-on is required.
- We close the loop. You get an update when it’s resolved—and notes if something needs a follow-up project.
Typical response targets
Exact commitments are confirmed in your service agreement. These are the targets we aim for with managed clients:
| Priority | Examples | Target first response |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Office offline, email down for all users, ransomware suspected | Within 1 business hour |
| High | Key app down for multiple users, major network slowdown | Within 4 business hours |
| Normal | Single-user issues, printers, software troubleshooting | Same business day |
| Low / planned | New PC requests, non-urgent projects | Scheduled with you |
Business hours and after-hours coverage depend on your plan. Ask us during the assessment what’s included for your team.
Living with managed IT
What clients can expect day-to-day
- Proactive work you don’t have to request — patching, monitoring alerts, and backup checks running in the background.
- A clear way to ask for help — tickets and phone support instead of hoping someone “knows a guy.”
- Plain-English updates — what broke, what we did, and whether anything still needs a decision from you.
- Predictable costs on managed plans — with labor rules that match Core vs Standard so billing stays understandable.
- A local partner — Hibbing-based technicians who understand Northern Minnesota businesses.