Whether you’re evaluating managed IT services for the first time or looking to switch providers, these are the questions we hear most from businesses like yours. Atlantic Computer Systems has been answering them for over 20 years.
General IT Services
What does a managed IT service provider actually do?
A managed service provider (MSP) like ACS takes full responsibility for your IT environment — monitoring, maintenance, security, helpdesk support, and strategic planning. Instead of calling someone when things break, we proactively prevent problems. Our IT Support & Management page details everything included.
How is managed IT different from break-fix?
Break-fix means you pay hourly when something breaks. Managed IT means you pay a flat monthly fee for proactive monitoring, maintenance, and unlimited support — preventing most issues before they happen. Read our in-depth comparison: Proactive vs Reactive IT: The True Cost of Downtime.
What size businesses do you work with?
We primarily serve businesses with 10-200 employees across the Bay Area and nationwide. Our sweet spot is companies that have outgrown DIY IT but don’t need a full internal IT department. We serve multiple industries including healthcare, legal, finance, and government.
What’s your average response time?
Our average helpdesk response time is 3 minutes. Critical issues receive immediate escalation. You can reach us by phone at 1-650-300-7557, through our Client Support Hub, or via the Client Portal.
Do you offer on-site support?
Yes. While most issues are resolved remotely using Splashtop SOS, we provide on-site support when needed. Our Bay Area clients receive same-day on-site visits for critical hardware or network issues.
Pricing & Contracts
How much does managed IT cost?
Our plans range from $80-$295 per user/month depending on the service tier (Core, Proactive, or Complete IT). View our full pricing page with detailed feature comparisons, or use our IT Cost Calculator on the homepage to estimate costs for your specific business.
Are there long-term contracts?
We offer month-to-month, annual, and multi-year options. We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try our services risk-free. See pricing details for full terms.
What’s included vs billed separately?
Our monthly fee covers: helpdesk support, monitoring, patching, security, and strategic planning. Items billed separately include: hardware purchases, software licenses, major infrastructure projects, and compliance audits. Everything is transparent — no hidden fees.
Cybersecurity
What cybersecurity protections are included?
All plans include: endpoint protection, email filtering, MFA enforcement, patch management, and security monitoring. Higher tiers add: advanced threat detection, SIEM, dark web monitoring, and compliance support. Read our Cybersecurity Best Practices guide for what every employee should know.
Do you help with compliance (HIPAA, SOC 2, CMMC)?
Yes. We help businesses achieve and maintain compliance with HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, CMMC, and other frameworks. See our detailed Compliance Checklist and industry-specific guides for healthcare, legal, and government.
What happens if we get breached?
Our incident response process includes: immediate containment, forensic investigation, evidence preservation, notification assistance, and recovery. We work with your legal team and cyber insurance provider throughout. Prevention is always better — read our Email Security Guide for the most common attack vectors.
VoIP & Phone Systems
What is ACS CloudVoice?
CloudVoice is our white-labeled VoIP phone system with HD calling, auto-attendant, voicemail-to-email, mobile apps, and CRM integration. Plans start at $20/extension/month with a 5-extension minimum. See full details on our VoIP page.
Can I keep my current phone numbers?
Yes. We handle number porting at no additional charge. Your existing business numbers transfer seamlessly. See our VoIP vs Traditional Phone comparison for the full migration process.
How much can I save switching from Comcast/AT&T?
Most businesses save 40-60% compared to traditional phone lines. Use the VoIP savings calculator on our homepage to see your specific numbers.
Onboarding & Getting Started
How does the onboarding process work?
Our “Smooth Switch” process takes 2-4 weeks: discovery and documentation (week 1), system setup and migration (weeks 2-3), parallel running and training (week 3-4). Zero downtime guaranteed. See our pricing page for the full onboarding process.
What do you need from us to get started?
We’ll need: current IT documentation (we’ll create it if you don’t have any), admin credentials for existing systems, list of users and their roles, software inventory, and hardware inventory. Our team handles 95% of the work.
How do you handle new employee onboarding?
We handle everything: account creation, device setup, MFA enrollment, app installation, and training. Submit requests through the Client Portal. See our complete New Employee IT Setup Guide.
What about employee offboarding?
We immediately disable accounts, revoke access, preserve data, wipe devices, and audit for any security concerns. See our Employee Offboarding Checklist for the complete process.
Hardware & Infrastructure
Do you help with hardware procurement?
Yes. We recommend, procure, configure, and deploy business hardware at competitive pricing. See our Recommended Hardware Guide for what we currently recommend.
Can you set up a new office from scratch?
Absolutely. We handle everything from network cabling to cloud setup to workstation deployment. See our complete Office IT Setup Guide and Infrastructure Deployment services.
Still Have Questions?
Contact us for answers to anything not covered here. Call 1-650-300-7557, visit our Client Support Hub, or view our pricing. We respond in under 3 minutes.
