The Loop
Professional firms in the Loop often have 20 to 100 staff and no IT department. Outsourcing gives them a full team that also handles building access and after-hours work.
Hand your entire IT workload to one team: help desk, security, backups, network and planning, without hiring a single person.
Get a Free IT AssessmentHiring an IT person in Chicago means recruiting, salary, benefits and tools, and you still end up with one person who can’t know everything or work every day of the year. Outsourced IT support gives you a whole team instead, for less than the cost of one hire in most offices. When you outsource your IT, you get an outsourced IT department that already has the people, tools and processes in place.
Your provider takes over everything: the help desk your staff contact, the security that protects your data, backups, network, vendors and the plan for next year. It works like managed IT services, with the focus on companies that have no IT staff at all.
Already have someone in-house? Co-managed IT supports them instead of replacing them. Weighing both options? Read outsourced IT vs in-house IT in Chicago first.
A single IT hire is a single point of failure. When they’re on vacation, out sick or leave for a better offer, your systems and passwords go with them, and finding a replacement can take months.
IT outsourcing spreads that risk across a team, and good outsourced IT services are measured by results, not by hours billed. Someone is always available, everything is documented and skills you’d never hire for, like security or cloud, are part of the package. Smaller teams can start with small business IT support, and one-off problems are covered by IT support services.
Everything below is part of one monthly plan. Pick a topic to see what is handled for you and how it works in a Chicago office.
Everyone on your team can reach a technician for laptop, software, email and access problems, with most issues solved remotely in minutes.
Your staff get one place to ask for help, by chat, email or phone, instead of chasing whoever seems to know computers. Every request is tracked, so you can see what was done and how quickly.
Security tools, updates, monitoring and tested backups run in the background, with nobody on your team needing to manage them.
Security runs the same way every month, whether anyone on your team thinks about it or not. You get a short report showing what was blocked, patched and backed up.
Internet providers, phone systems, printer contracts and software vendors deal with your IT team, not your office manager.
When the internet goes down or a software license renews, your outsourced team handles the call. You stop spending afternoons on hold with carriers and vendors.
Quarterly reviews cover risks, upgrades and budgets, so you can plan IT spending a year ahead.
You get the planning a full-time IT manager would provide: replacement schedules, budgets and advice on bigger decisions, without the salary.
Plenty of companies can fix a laptop. These are the three reasons clients mention most when they explain why they picked Ping Chicago.
Your technicians know how Loop high-rises handle building access, why basement server closets flood in summer storms and how long it really takes to reach Oak Brook at 4 p.m. That local knowledge turns into faster, calmer fixes.
Your network, devices and backups are watched around the clock. Most issues are caught and fixed before anyone in your office notices, and the rest are explained to you in plain English.
You get a written per-user quote after a free assessment, with every included service listed. No hourly surprises, no emergency rates and no fine print about what counts as extra.
Companies across Chicago outsource IT instead of hiring. These are the neighborhoods where outsourced IT teams work most often.
Professional firms in the Loop often have 20 to 100 staff and no IT department. Outsourcing gives them a full team that also handles building access and after-hours work.
Fast-growing companies in the West Loop and Fulton Market outsource IT so they can scale without hiring ahead of growth.
Agencies and medical offices in River North and Streeterville outsource IT to get security and compliance skills they’d never hire for full-time.
Logistics and distribution companies near O’Hare outsource IT for round-the-clock monitoring of warehouses and shipping systems.
Suburban headquarters in Oak Brook, Naperville and Schaumburg use one outsourced team to support both the main office and city branches.
Practices and professional offices in Evanston and Skokie get a complete IT team without adding a salary.
Practices and small firms in Lincoln Park and Lakeview outsource IT to keep scheduling, billing and patient systems running without hiring an IT person.
Growing offices in the South Loop outsource IT so the help desk, security and new hire setup are covered from day one.
Three ways to cover IT when you have no IT staff today. The full cost breakdown is in outsourced IT vs in-house IT in Chicago.
| Topic | Ping ChicagoOutsourced IT | Hiring an IT Person | Break-Fix IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to get started | 2 to 4 weeks | 2 to 3 months of hiring | Same day |
| Skills available | Help desk, security, cloud & network | One person’s skill set | Whoever is sent |
| Coverage | Every business day, plus monitoring | Business hours, minus time off | Only when you call |
| Turnover risk | None for you | High, knowledge leaves with them | Not applicable |
| Cost | Flat monthly fee per user | Salary, benefits, tools & training | Hourly, hard to predict |
| Planning & budgets | Quarterly reviews | Depends on the person | None |
| Documentation | Complete & yours | Often undocumented | Rarely kept |
Companies that outsource IT see the gaps close quickly. These are the differences they mention most.
Skills you would never hire for full-time are included.
A flat fee replaces salary, benefits and tools.
Every system and password is documented and yours.
Upgrades and budgets are planned a year ahead.
Regulated and fast-moving industries outsource IT to get specialist skills without building a department.
Secure document systems and support around filing deadlines, without an in-house IT team.
Financial ServicesSecurity controls, access logs and documentation that answer client and regulator questions.
Insurance AgenciesAgency management systems, carrier portals and secure client data handled for you.
Logistics Companies24/7 monitoring of warehouse networks, scanners and shipping systems.
Our old provider took a day to answer. Now a typical ticket is closed in about 12 minutes, and password resets happen while I’m still on the phone. Our staff stopped complaining about IT within the first month, which never happened before.
We were nervous about changing providers with deadlines ahead. The whole move took three weeks, email and files kept working throughout, and every login and device was documented. Not one person missed a day of work because of it.
We used to get surprise invoices every time something broke. Now it’s one predictable monthly bill, and problems get flagged before we notice them. Planning our IT budget takes five minutes instead of an argument with the owner.
You get a written monthly price and a list of everything the provider takes over. If co-managed IT or a lighter plan suits you better, you hear that on the first call.
Outsourced IT support means an outside team takes over all of your IT: help desk, security, backups, network, vendors and planning. It replaces the need for an in-house IT department.
For most offices under about 75 people, yes. A full-time IT hire costs a salary plus benefits, tools and training. An outsourced team costs a flat monthly fee and covers more skills.
No. You own every account, license and document, and you get a monthly report and quarterly reviews. Decisions are made with you.
Everything is documented first, then support moves over in stages. Existing equipment is kept unless it is unsafe or past its useful life.
Yes. Security controls, documentation and access policies can be set up to support HIPAA and similar requirements, with compliance consulting for the formal side.
Then co-managed IT is usually the better fit. Your person keeps control and the outsourced team adds coverage and skills.
Most companies are fully moved over in two to four weeks, in stages and without downtime.
Yes. Remote support handles most issues, and technicians visit your Chicago or suburban office when hands-on work is needed.
Everyone uses one help desk by chat, email or phone. Every request is tracked, so you can see what was done and how fast.
Most providers charge a flat monthly fee per user, and your free assessment ends with a written quote.
Need something slightly different? These services cover the same ground from another angle.
Start with a free assessment and a written quote for your office.