We want to make evaluating our IT services less confusing, so we’ve assembled a quick review of our top 22 frequently asked questions.
Perhaps you’ve already spoken with Integris and want to do some research before our follow-up conversation.
We created these FAQs to prioritize the mutual discovery process. Once these basics are out of the way, we can invest more time gaining a deeper understanding of your challenges when we reconvene.
Get to know Integris better by delving into the following topics and clicking on the jump links for more information.
- What are your two primary services?
- What business problems do you solve?
- How are your services packaged?
- How long are your agreements?
- How are you different?
- How do you maximize responsiveness?
- Can you describe your technical support process?
- What are your hours of operation?
- Do you have full-time employees or contractors?
- What is your industry focus?
- Who is your ideal client?
- Is there an onboarding fee?
- What are your project fees?
- How big is Integris?
- How did Integris get started?
- What certifications does Integris have?
- Do I have to move everything to the cloud?
- How does billing work?
- How long does it take to change providers?
- Which vendors do you support?
- Are there any options to lower my costs?
- When may I have references?
Integris IT Services FAQ #1 – What are your two primary services?
Fully Managed IT Services – Integris monitors, manages, supports, and secures all IT systems and users for a fixed and predictable monthly fee.
Co-Managed IT Services – Integris monitors, manages, supports, and secures all IT systems for a fixed and predictable monthly fee. We handle the backend, and an in-house IT resource manages the user help desk & support. Integris will give in-house IT access to ConnectWise, the industry standard for Professional Services Automation and Ticketing.
Integris IT Services FAQ #2 – What business problems do you solve?
We save clients time and money, reduce employee frustration, and solidify client defenses against data breaches, ransomware attacks, and legal exposure.
We help clients increase profitability, improve team morale, and lower cybersecurity and compliance risk.
Integris IT Services FAQ #3 – How Are Your Services Packaged?
Services consist of two specific categories: Core Services and Adjustable Services.
CORE SERVICES are fixed, baseline foundational resources included in every Integris Service Level Agreement.
- Account Management – Your point of contact for all inquiries regarding services, invoices, technical trends, standards, best practices, compliance, etc. They also provide strategic consulting services through periodic account reviews. We make recommendations and use network diagrams, IT roadmaps, and detailed project plans to advance your digital transformation.
- Client Management Tools – Professional Services Automation, Ticketing, CRM, Remote Management and Monitoring, Documentation, Communication, Notification, and Data Privacy.
- Vendor Technical Assistance – We interact directly with your other technology vendors for incident remediation, opening tickets, escalating requests, or working with a vendor to resolve incidents within your IT environment. We will also answer basic questions about your environment or provide access to systems the vendor has requested when approved by the client, such as allocating IP addresses for a copier or security camera vendor or allowing network traffic for a vendor service. This assistance covers hardware manufacturers, software development firms, cloud service providers, ISPs, telecommunication brokers, printer and copier companies, and local couriers.
- Procurement Services – Integris sources products exclusively from authorized channels and recommends business-class solutions. We also identify configuration options, ensure proper registration, manage licensing and warranties, and guarantee that all products are genuine.
- Network Management – Monitoring, Administration, Reporting, Domain Name, and SSL Certificate Management, Remote Incident Remediation, and On-site Incident Remediation.
If a client has more than one location – with expanded Network Management & Vendor Technical Assistance requirements – additional Core Services charges may apply.
ADJUSTABLE SERVICES are based on specific quantities of subscriptions, consulting hours, or backup data volume. Here’s a hypothetical breakdown for a fictitious, 50-person firm.
- Cloud Management – 3 cloud instances
- Server Management – 1 bare-metal server
- Workstation Management – 50 machines with AV, patching, asset management, monitoring, and web filtering
- Technical Support – Standard – 40 users with unlimited remote-only support
- Technical Support – Premium – 10 users with unlimited onsite support (extra hand-holding)
- Email Protection – 50 machines with spam filtering, URL defense, and encryption
- vCIO – 4 additional consulting hours per month (because they have an ongoing compliance initiative)
- Data Backup – 4 TB of data
- Microsoft 365 – 50 user accounts
Each one of these line items can be adjusted – up or down. The firm may replace its bare metal server with four cloud services. Two years from now, they may downsize to 40 people, which would reduce all of their quantities and charges.
Integris IT Services FAQ #4 – How long are your agreements?
Integris agreements are typically 12 months in duration.
Integris IT Services FAQ #5 – How are you different?
Integris selectively partners with growing organizations that like applying strategy and budgets to a proven IT process based on standards and best practices – to improve performance and lower risk.
Integris creates and maintains powerful, quiet, and secure IT systems by actively engaging and advising our clients in regularly scheduled Strategic Business Reviews.
Most Integris locations limit new client onboardings to two per month. This approach allows us to institute comprehensive, data-driven quality controls – on the front end – which create increasing operating leverage for our clients throughout the lifetime of the relationship.
Integris IT Services FAQ #6 – How do you maximize responsiveness?
Integris is responsive by design. We partner with organizations that appreciate the value of following a standards-based approach to inform the architecture and lifecycle management of their IT systems.
This alignment allows clients to enjoy business optimizing technology that doesn’t require constant, reactive, emergency intervention – so they have more time to focus on growing their business.
We give all users direct access to support, which eliminates bottlenecks and allows us to collect data and insights to identify training gaps and recommend system improvements.
Our Service Level Agreement prioritizes all client matters and response times by P1, P2, P3, and P4. A significant server or cloud application outage is a P1.
Assisting with a password reset is a P4. Good news: we can set you up with a self-serve password solution so you don’t have to open a ticket.
The outcome is similar to the concept of compound interest. When you invest in the process over time, both quality of service and responsiveness accrue. Failure to invest (or starting late) makes it impossible to catch up.
Full disclosure: If you have a distressed IT environment with aging, non-standard equipment, and refuse to follow support protocols, maximum responsiveness is impossible to guarantee.
Integris IT Services FAQ #7 – Can you describe your technical support process?
Each client is assigned a vCIO-level Account Manager with day-to-day support from a service pool of engineers who respond based on the priority levels P1, P2, P3, and P4.
Clients have four ways to open tickets: 1 – phone, 2 – email, 3 – website, and 4 – desktop icon.
Integris will provide portal access for all authorized Client personnel to its client ticketing and support systems. All initiated support will be recorded and trackable through the system.
Integris IT Services FAQ #8 – What are your hours of operation?
Our hours are 24/7/365 for coverage, monitoring, and management of all client IT systems. User help desk hours are 8 am-6 pm, Monday – Friday.
We also have customized plans for companies that require user support outside of standard business hours.
Integris IT Services FAQ #9 – Do you have full-time employees or contractors?
All of our employees work full-time. We do not use contractors.
Integris IT Services FAQ #10 – What is your industry focus?
Professional Services (CPA, Legal, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Consulting), Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Nonprofit.
We are always happy to extend our focus whenever we meet open, honest, competitive, growth-oriented businesses that embrace the strategic value of digital transformation.
Integris IT Services FAQ #11 – Who is your ideal client?
Growing businesses and nonprofits (20-500 employees) that like applying strategy and budgets to a proven IT process based on standards and best practices.
A majority of our clients are in the 50-150 headcount range. Our smallest clients have around 10-20 people or at least $4M in annual sales.
Integris IT Services FAQ #12 – Is there an onboarding fee?
Yes. The onboarding fee is fixed and typically the same as your monthly fee. If your monthly fee is $4,000, your onboarding fee is $4,000.
Onboarding is a very comprehensive process and includes:
- The investment of 60 to 120 hours over 60-90 days
- An executive kick-off meeting with several site visits and interviews
- The engagement of engineers and project managers
- Coordination of the transition with your existing vendors
- Documentation of all IT systems and users with a 100-point punch list
- The creation of new hire/exit checklists
- The deployment of management tools and the migration of data and mailboxes
- Delivery of a security assessment and implementation of MFA
- Introduction of the service and user orientation training on our support platform
Integris IT Services FAQ #13 – What are your project fees?
Project fees are $175.00 per hour.
Out of scope, emergencies are the exception. For example, if an executive assistant accidentally deletes five years of email from the CEO’s Outlook account, the recovery timeline would be impossible to predict in advance. It might take 10 hours or 40. We would be happy to work out a discounted rate.
Integris IT Services FAQ #14 – How big is Integris?
We’re a national provider with over $90M in annual revenue and 400+ employees in twenty office locations across three time zones.
Integris IT Services FAQ #15 How did Integris get started?
Something extraordinary happened when five like-minded IT companies – Domain, Compudyne, MyITpros, ProviDyn, and Iconic IT – met in a peer group. We came together through a shared belief that we could accomplish more united. We launched together as Integris in October 2021.
Our name comes from “integrity,” the most important core value we all share. With a combined experience of over 95 years, we now have a national platform to serve clients across the US with time-tested consulting services, systems, processes, and best practices.
Learn More: About Integris
Integris IT Services FAQ #16 – What certifications does the Integris team have?
- Certified Meraki Networking Associate (CMNA)
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
- Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA Security)
- Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt
- Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)
- Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE)
- Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
- VMware Sales Professional (VSP)
Learn More: Partnerships & Credentials
Integris IT Services FAQ #17 – Do I have to move everything to the cloud?
No. We support several hybrid environments – on-premise + cloud. However, the world is migrating to the cloud. Everything seems to be software as a service or “SaaS.” As your on-premise server equipment ages, we will make recommendations about a cloud transition.
Integris IT Services FAQ #18 – How does billing work?
IT services are billed a month in advance because the dedicated resources and facilities assigned to your business are active 24/7/365.
Since it’s an “always-on” fixed fee service – and not based on accumulating monthly usage – we need to exercise financial discipline and cover costs as they occur – which is around the clock.
The effective date of your agreement triggers the billing cycle. Your first bill covers onboarding and your first month of service.
Integris IT Services FAQ #19 – How long does it take to change providers?
Thirty (30) days. We recommend you continue service with your current provider during this time frame. This approach makes the transition more seamless. They’ll be more likely to cooperate with account transfer details if your account is still active.
Integris IT Services FAQ #20 – Which vendors do you support?
We support Apple, AWS, Azure, Cisco, Datto, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Meraki, M365, Microsoft, Nextiva, Polycom, Proofpoint, Ring Central, VMware, Veeam, Vonage, and more.
Learn More: Our Top Partners
Integris IT Services FAQ #21 – Are there any options to lower my costs?
Yes. You can mix and match any of your Adjustable Services. Here are a few examples:
- Unlimited onsite and unlimited remote is a premium service combination – covering both IT systems and users.
- Your fees go down if you choose remote-only service for users. Why? Over 90% of user support tickets get resolved remotely.
- You can select lighter coverage plans for your servers.
- Finally, you may not have servers in the future since everything is moving to the cloud. This transition opens the door for lower-cost alternatives.
Integris IT Services FAQ #22 – When may I have references?
To minimize client disruption, we provide official references at the agreement stage. Once you decide to move forward with Integris, we’ll arrange for you to correspond with a few clients – via phone or email – as a final checkpoint. In the meantime, please see the following Integris Reviews on Clutch.
Next Steps?
You have more than likely read this article because you’re nearing the finish line in your competitive evaluation of IT providers.
While we strive to make this guide as comprehensive as possible, there is always room for more nuance. We welcome inquiries to further simplify your learning process.
