FAQ

Our managed IT service program includes unlimited remote and on-site technical support, a comprehensive cybersecurity suite, and proactive system monitoring to keep your business running smoothly. You will also receive quarterly business reviews to align IT strategy with your business goals and ongoing technical standards management to ensure your technology environment stays consistent, secure, and efficient. Read more about our managed IT services or contact us for details.

We keep IT costs predictable with a fixed monthly fee based on the number of end users. This flat rate includes unlimited support, cybersecurity protection, and proactive IT management—everything covered in our Technology Success Program.

Projects and major upgrades are quoted separately, so there are no surprises. Through quarterly vCIO strategy meetings, we help you plan for annual IT budgets, lifecycle replacements, and future technology investments, ensuring long-term financial predictability. See how pricing works in Managed IT or talk to us about a tailored plan.

Yes — managed IT services are typically far more cost-effective than hiring a full-time IT employee. With Version2, you gain access to an entire team of IT professionals who bring specialized skills and insights gained from supporting hundreds of systems and thousands of users.

You get enterprise-level expertise at a fraction of the cost of in-house staff. If you already have internal IT employees, we can also provide co-managed IT services, working alongside your team to offer advanced consulting, cybersecurity, and strategic planning. Compare options in managed IT and co-managed IT.

We aim to respond very quickly — your ticket will not sit in a queue. As noted on our site, “we respond in minutes and fix most issues within an hour.”
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‍But to be precise and align with our contractual and SLA commitments:

• Our remote helpdesk is active Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time, backed by continuous monitoring 24/7.

• Critical or outage-level issues receive a response within 1 business hour.

• High-severity or degraded-service issues get a 1–2 hour response, while routine requests or projects are addressed within 4 business days (for planning, scheduling, or non-urgent tasks).

• Many incidents are detected automatically via our monitoring systems before you even notice, letting us act faster. Review our support model on the IT support desk, or ask for current SLA metrics.

While our tools and expertise allow us to resolve the vast majority of issues remotely, we also dispatch technicians onsite when necessary.

Here is how we handle it:

• Remote resolution is our default — it’s faster, more efficient, and avoids travel delays.

• If an issue cannot be fixed remotely (hardware failure, complex network issue, etc.), we send a technician to your location.

• On-site service is prioritized by urgency and availability.

• For our managed service clients within a 60-minute travel window, there's typically no additional travel charge.  For greater distances or special access requirements, standard travel or onsite rates may apply. 

All onsite visits follow security, access, and confidentiality protocols outlined in our Services Guide and MSA. Check onsite coverage via the IT support desk, or check availability for your location.

We recognize that IT issues do not always wait for business hours.

Here is what you can expect:

• Our standard support window is Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time. Outside those hours, emergency support is available on a case-by-case basis.

• After-hours or weekend work is billed at 2× the normal hourly rate, with a one-hour minimum, consistent with our service-level and billing terms in the Services Guide and MSA.

• Even when your team is offline, our 24/7 monitoring systems and Security Operations Center (SOC) continue to watch your infrastructure. Critical alerts are escalated immediately, enabling us to intervene quickly if needed.

If we miss agreed-upon response obligations (in covered hours), our uptime guarantee and service-credit policies on the website may apply (we maintain 99% uptime for core services, and service credits for downtime beyond thresholds).  See our 24/7 SOC service or contact us about after-hours coverage.

We use a multi-layered security stack to stop phishing, malware, and impersonation attacks before they reach your users. Our email threat protection platform filters spam, quarantines suspicious messages, and uses AI-driven detection to identify credential theft attempts. We also include security awareness training to help employees recognize and avoid phishing scams.

Learn more on our cybersecurity and email threat protection pages, or schedule a security review.

Every client receives a complete cybersecurity suite, designed around a zero-trust framework to protect against both known and unknown threats. Our platform includes:

‍• Next-generation antivirus and endpoint detection and response (EDR) for real-time protection.

• Zero-trust application control prevents unauthorized or unknown software from running on your systems.

• Managed firewalls and network intrusion prevention.

• Patch management, vulnerability scanning, and DNS filtering.

• Dark web monitoring and 24/7 SOC oversight for continuous defense.

This layered approach helps ensure your systems remain secure, compliant, and resilient—whether your employees work in the office, remotely, or in the cloud. See our cybersecurity & antivirus and 24/7 SOC pages, or request a tailored stack.

Absolutely. As part of our Microsoft 365 service, we support:

• Teams setup: channel structures, permissions, policies (e.g., guest access, retention), and integration with voice or meeting systems.

• SharePoint administration: site collections, document libraries, permissions, versioning, and custom workflows.

• OneDrive configuration & sync: ensuring users can reliably sync their files across devices.

• Governance & user training: helping your team understand best practices (naming, access control, collaboration) to avoid sprawl or security gaps.

• Troubleshooting & optimization: performance tuning, resolving sync errors or permissions conflicts, and periodic audits.

We treat Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive as core parts of your productivity stack—not add-ons—so they’re fully managed in your plan. Learn more about our Microsoft 365 services to see how we can support your team.

Backup frequency depends on the type of system—endpoint, server, or SaaS platform—and each client’s specific recovery needs.

For legacy servers, our standard process is to perform a full image-level backup nightly to an on-premise repository that resides on an isolated network for added security. That backup data is then replicated to an offsite repository that is immutable, ensuring it cannot be altered or deleted. Retention periods are customized for each client, and we can adjust backup schedules or frequency—from hourly to daily or custom intervals—to meet your business and compliance requirements.

Each managed endpoint (PC or laptop) also includes the option for secure offsite backup as part of our standard managed services plan. This cloud-based backup runs quietly in the background and protects key user files and settings using encrypted, redundant storage in geographically diverse data centers. While most clients rely primarily on centralized server or cloud storage for data protection, this feature provides an additional safety net for workstations, ensuring data can still be recovered in the event of device loss, failure, or ransomware.

Our SaaS backup solution provides automated, comprehensive protection for cloud-based platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other SaaS applications. Backups run multiple times per day, capturing emails, files, calendar items, and collaboration data across your cloud environment. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, stored in geographically redundant data centers, and retained according to your organization’s policies. With granular restore options, individual files, messages, or full mailboxes can be recovered quickly without disruption. To learn more, explore our data backup and disaster recovery services

Technical support keeps your systems running; strategic IT planning makes sure those systems drive business success. Technical support handles daily issues—tickets, outages, and maintenance—while strategic IT planning looks at the big picture:

• How can technology streamline operations or improve customer service?
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• Where can automation or cloud adoption reduce costs or increase agility?
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• What technology investments will position your business for growth next year?

At Version2, we combine tactical expertise with executive-level insight—ensuring that your technology not only works but works for your business. Explore our vCIO services and strategic IT services to see how they can support your business.

Co-managed IT is perfect for organizations that want to retain control of their internal IT operations while gaining access to additional resources, expertise, and scalability. Compared to a fully managed model, co-management offers:

• Flexibility: You decide which tasks stay in-house and which we handle.

• Continuity: We cover for your staff when they’re sick, on vacation, or unavailable.

• Scalability: Quickly scale up support during peak demand or major projects.

• Specialization: Get direct access to our senior engineers for expert-level troubleshooting and guidance.

• Overflow support: We handle user requests when your IT team is focused elsewhere.

• Strategic alignment: vCIO involvement ensures IT investments drive business performance.

This hybrid approach gives you the best of both worlds—the familiarity of your in-house team with the depth, resilience, and expertise of Version2’s managed services. Explore our co-managed IT services to see how we can enhance and support your internal IT team.

We don’t just fix problems—we partner with you for long-term success. Our clients often highlight our responsiveness, proactivity, and consistency—many have trusted Version2 for 10+ years. Here’s what truly sets us apart:

• Proactive mindset + reactive support: We monitor, prevent, and anticipate issues before they become problems—but when you do need help, we’re fast to respond.
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• No subcontractors or offshoring: Every technician works locally in the Chicagoland area, so you get familiar faces, local accountability, and on-site coverage when needed.
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• Deep relationship focus: We aim to be more than your IT provider—we strive to become as trusted as your attorney or CPA.
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• Long-term partnerships: Many clients stay with us for a decade or more—a testament to the value, consistency, and trust we deliver.

We believe technology should be an asset, not a burden. Our ideal client already views IT as a strategic advantage and wants a partner, not just a vendor. If you’re looking for that kind of relationship, our managed IT services are built to deliver it.

We keep your onboarding process simple. To get started, we’ll need a few key pieces of information:

• Administrative access to the systems, servers, and firewalls we’ll manage.

• Vendor contact details for your internet provider, software, and cloud services.

• A primary contact within your company for scheduling, approvals, and communications.

Once we have these items, our team can begin discovery and setup—often within just a few days. To see how we support your users on an ongoing basis, learn more about our IT support desk services.

Yes. Our Security Operations Center (SOC) provides 24/7 monitoring and rapid response to potential threats. Automated systems detect anomalies, while our experts investigate and contain issues before they impact operations. This constant vigilance helps minimize downtime, protect your data, and maintain compliance. Read about our 24/7 SOC service or discuss coverage with a specialist.

Moving to Microsoft 365 is just the start. To maintain security, performance, and compliance, ongoing management is essential. Our responsibilities typically include:

• User and license management: provisioning, deprovisioning, and optimizing licensing.
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• Security & compliance oversight: enforcing policies (MFA, conditional access, data loss prevention), auditing, and retention settings.
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• Monitoring & alerts: tracking service health, usage anomalies, and sync issues.
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• Backing up and recovering data: ensuring your data (mail, files, SharePoint) is backed up and recoverable according to your business needs.
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• Patching & updates: staying current with feature releases, avoiding breaking changes, and testing major updates.
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• Ongoing training & governance reviews: ensuring your team uses cloud tools correctly and evolves best practices as usage grows.

We integrate these responsibilities into your managed services plan so your cloud environment is always optimized, secure, and aligned with your business goals. See Microsoft 365 optimization and managed IT, or contact us for a governance checklist.

Your vCIO and account management team collaborate to build a strategic IT roadmap that turns technology into a predictable, growth-oriented investment. This roadmap includes:

• Annual budgeting and forecasting to keep IT spending transparent.

• Lifecycle planning for hardware, software, and cloud assets.

• Risk management and compliance alignment to protect your business.

• Technology recommendations that enhance productivity, profitability, and customer experience.

By connecting every IT decision to business outcomes, Version2 helps you plan smarter, operate leaner, and grow confidently—knowing your technology strategy supports your long-term vision. Review our services like Data backups & disaster recovery and offsite backup, and document clear RTO/RPO objectives for each critical system so you know exactly how recovery will work when it matters most.

While these terms are closely related, each plays a distinct role in protecting your organization from downtime and data loss.

A backup is a secure copy of your data — such as files, emails, databases, or system images — created on a regular schedule. Backups allow you to restore individual items or systems if they’re accidentally deleted, corrupted, or impacted by ransomware.

Disaster recovery (DR) is the process and technology used to restore full systems and infrastructure after a significant outage or event. DR focuses on quickly bringing servers, networks, and applications back online, often using virtualized replicas, off-site recovery environments, and failover systems that minimize downtime.

Business continuity goes a step further. It’s the strategic framework that ensures your organization can continue operating even while recovery efforts are underway. This includes communication planning, cloud failover, remote access readiness, vendor coordination, and recovery prioritization—all designed to keep your people productive and your customers supported during disruption.

In short: backup protects your data, disaster recovery restores your systems, and business continuity keeps your business running. Version2 helps you plan and manage all three so you’re prepared for anything—from a lost file to a full-scale outage. Get the full picture in data backups & disaster recovery, or map your DR and BC plan with us.

Our onboarding process is designed to be structured, transparent, and stress-free, ensuring a smooth transition from your current IT environment to a fully managed, proactive partnership with Version2.

Here’s how the process typically works:

• Orientation: We start by introducing your team to ours, reviewing how to contact support, submit tickets, and communicate with your dedicated account and vCIO team. Everyone knows who to reach and how to get help from day one.

• Discovery & Assessment: We evaluate your current systems, network, and cybersecurity posture to identify strengths, risks, and opportunities for improvement.

• Planning & Documentation: Our team develops a detailed onboarding plan, documents your IT environment, and aligns short-term actions with your long-term business goals.

• Implementation: We deploy our monitoring, backup, and cybersecurity tools with minimal disruption to your users.

• Strategic Kickoff: Your vCIO leads a planning session to establish your first 12-month IT roadmap—focused on growth, stability, and efficiency.

• Handoff: Once setup and validation are complete, we formally transition your account to our managed services team, ensuring continuity and ongoing accountability.

From start to finish, our process makes IT predictable, proactive, and aligned with your business objectives. See how onboarding fits into managed IT or contact us to review a sample 90-day plan.

Co-managed IT services are a collaborative partnership between your internal IT staff and Version2’s team of professionals. Instead of replacing your IT department, we extend and enhance it—providing additional manpower, advanced tools, and strategic guidance when and where you need them.

Your internal team continues managing day-to-day support while Version2 delivers the monitoring, cybersecurity, backup management, automation, and vCIO-level strategy that keep systems running securely and efficiently.

We’re here to strengthen your existing IT foundation—not to take it over. Learn about our co-managed IT services or or co-create an escalation matrix with our team.

We do everything we can to make your migration smooth, efficient, and with minimal disruption.

Our migration approach includes:

• Pre-migration planning: we analyze your current infrastructure, mail flow, identity settings, and custom applications to identify issues in advance.

• Pilot & test migrations: we migrate a small group first, validate data integrity, email forwarding, permissions, and make adjustments before full rollout.

• Phased migration windows: we schedule cutovers during low-use hours or off-peak times to reduce impact.

• Parallel execution & synchronization: while your data syncs and mailbox transfers are in progress, users can continue working in both systems until cutover.

• Post-migration validation & support: after the final switch, we verify mailbox content, permissions, and ensure that everything (e.g., Teams, SharePoint links, OneDrive files) works as expected.

If needed, we can also provide coexistence configurations (hybrid setups) to allow both on-premises and cloud systems to operate seamlessly during the migration period. Explore cloud migration & integration and Microsoft 365 optimization, or scope your move with us. 

A vCIO (Virtual Chief Information Officer) is your dedicated business technology strategist—someone who helps you leverage IT to achieve measurable business results. At Version2, your vCIO doesn’t just manage technology; they work to understand your goals, challenges, and growth plans, then design IT strategies that directly support them.

Through regular strategy sessions, your vCIO identifies ways technology can improve efficiency, enhance collaboration, strengthen security, and reduce costs. They help you prioritize projects that deliver the best ROI and ensure every IT initiative aligns with your broader business objectives.

In short, your vCIO bridges the gap between technology and business performance—transforming IT from a cost center into a competitive advantage. Discover how our vCIO services can support your team and move your IT strategy forward.

Your vCIO meets with you quarterly, or more frequently if needed, to keep your IT strategy aligned with business priorities. These meetings go beyond technology—they focus on how IT can drive results. Typical discussions include:

• Reviewing system performance, cybersecurity posture, and user experience.
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• Identifying opportunities for workflow improvement, automation, and operational efficiency.
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• Planning for future growth, remote work strategies, and digital transformation.
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• Forecasting IT budgets, lifecycle upgrades, and vendor renewals.
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Each meeting results in a clear, actionable roadmap that connects technology decisions to business impact, ensuring your IT investments always move your organization forward. Learn how our vCIO services can support your team and move your IT strategy forward.
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We operate as a seamless extension of your internal IT department. Our engineers collaborate directly with your staff through shared ticketing systems, clear escalation paths, and open communication channels.

We can:

• Fill in for your IT staff during vacations, illnesses, or absences.
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• Provide overflow support to your end users when your team is focused on high-priority projects.
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• Offer expert-level assistance with technologies your internal team may not have deep experience in.
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• Deliver 24/7 monitoring and alerting for proactive issue detection.
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• Manage patching, backups, and documentation for consistency and compliance.
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• Support strategic planning and vCIO guidance to align technology with business objectives.

This partnership ensures your IT environment always has coverage, depth, and continuity—without adding full-time headcount. Find out how our co-managed IT services can partner with your internal IT team for better coverage and performance.

We act as your single point of contact for all third-party vendors—ISPs, hardware manufacturers, software publishers, and more—so you don’t have to chase multiple providers. We handle vendor coordination, renewals, and escalation management on your behalf. We also resell hardware and software, so we can simplify procurement and compatibility. For internet circuits, our role is to advise and coordinate directly with ISPs, and when deeper troubleshooting is requested, we step in to assist under their escalation paths.

By centralizing vendor relationships, we reduce complexity, speed resolution, and make sure your technology stack stays aligned and integrated—without you needing to manage every contract or support line yourself. Learn more about our managed IT services and how our onboarding process sets the foundation for a long-term partnership.

Onboarding with Version2 happens in two distinct phases — technical implementation and full operational documentation.

• Technical onboarding, which includes deploying cybersecurity, monitoring, and management tools, typically takes two to four weeks. During this phase, we install our systems, set up backups, and integrate your environment into our managed services platform with minimal disruption.

• Administrative onboarding, which includes gathering existing IT documentation, vendor and subscription details, hardware warranty information, and licensing records, can take longer to complete depending on the size and complexity of your organization. During this period, we also built and documented repeatable internal processes, such as user onboarding and offboarding procedures, password management standards, and IT asset tracking.

This comprehensive approach ensures we not only monitor and protect your systems right away but also create the detailed documentation and process foundation needed for long-term consistency and efficiency.

Throughout the entire process, you’ll have a dedicated project coordinator providing updates, timelines, and clear expectations — so you always know where things stand. Learn more about our managed IT services and how our onboarding process sets the foundation for a long-term partnership.

Once onboarding is complete, your organization is fully integrated into Version2’s Technology Success Program, supported by our local Chicagoland team. At this stage, we transition from setup and documentation into a proactive partnership focused on stability, strategy, and measurable business success.

Here’s what you can expect after onboarding:

• Proactive monitoring and maintenance: Your systems, backups, and cybersecurity tools are continuously monitored and maintained to prevent downtime and security issues.

• Unlimited helpdesk support: Your team has direct access to our local support engineers for fast, responsive assistance whenever it’s needed.

• Quarterly vCIO meetings: Your vCIO reviews performance, system health, and strategic initiatives to ensure technology continues to align with your business goals.

• Documentation management: We maintain and update your IT documentation, keeping asset records, vendor details, and processes accurate and organized.

• Ongoing improvement: As your business evolves, we refine processes and make technology recommendations that enhance efficiency and reduce risk.

This seamless transition ensures that the investment made during onboarding leads directly to long-term reliability, consistency, and measurable business results through the Technology Success Program. Know more about our managed IT services to see how the Technology Success Program can support your organization beyond onboarding

The first 90 days set the foundation for your long-term success in Version2’s Technology Success Program. During this time, our focus is on learning your business, validating systems, and building the proactive processes that will keep your technology reliable and predictable.

Here’s what typically happens in those first few months:

• Fine-tuning and validation: We confirm all systems, backups, and security tools are operating as expected and fine-tune monitoring thresholds for accuracy.

• Documentation and process development: Our team continues gathering details about your environment, vendors, and workflows to build out complete IT documentation and user management processes.

• Regular communication: You’ll receive frequent updates from your onboarding project coordinator and have access to our support team as you begin using our systems and services.

• Early vCIO engagement: Your vCIO begins mapping out strategic priorities, lifecycle planning, and business-aligned technology goals.

• Proactive improvements: Based on our findings, we identify and address any immediate risks, inefficiencies, or quick wins that improve stability and user experience.

By the end of the first 90 days, most clients notice fewer recurring issues, greater visibility into their IT environment, and a clear roadmap for continued improvement — the foundation for a long-term, strategic partnership. Learn more about our Technology Success Program as part of our managed IT services.