Top 5 Challenges Solved by Co-Managed IT Services

Growing Pains in Today’s IT Departments 

Technology initiatives, such as cybersecurity, cloud migration, and digital transformation, are no longer optional —they’re essential for business growth. Yet, mid-market IT teams often struggle to keep pace. Unlike larger organizations with deep resources and dedicated IT teams, smaller organizations face financial, staffing, and skill-related constraints that slow progress.  

As a result, many mid-market IT teams are falling behind in IT modernization, leaving them under pressure from: 

• New tech demands, cybersecurity risks, compliance needs 

• Hiring and retention issues 

• Too many responsibilities, not enough time or bandwidth 

However, they can bridge the gap with co-managed IT solutions. This article explores why mid-market companies are turning to co-managed IT as a means to alleviate these challenges without replacing internal staff. 

Challenge #1: Overextended Internal IT Teams 

One of the biggest challenges mid-market IT teams face is that they are overstretched. IT leaders are juggling infrastructure, end-user support, security, strategic projects, and more. But, with limited bandwidth, these teams are often stuck in reactive mode, putting out fires rather than driving innovation. With limited resources and overstrained teams, this often leads to more burnout, turnover, and task prioritization issues.  

Co-managed IT provides the overflow support, task offloading, and after-hours coverage needed to fill the gap and help your internal team better manage priorities and tasks. This reduces the strain on your team by providing extra hands, expertise and resources when needed. 

Challenge #2: Skill Gaps in Specialized Areas 

Smaller IT teams often lack specialized technology personnel. Instead, they rely on a few generalists responsible for everything from daily troubleshooting to long-term strategy. These internal teams may be strong in general IT, but lack specialized expertise in areas like cloud, security, or Microsoft 365. 
 
The co-managed model brings specialized support on demand in areas where your team may be lacking, without having to hire any full-time employees. For example, Plow Networks has a team of specialized engineers with Microsoft 365 and cloud capabilities. We help our clients bridge the gap between their IT team and the complex, ever-changing world of managing and optimizing their Microsoft 365 environment. 

Challenge #3: Unreliable Coverage (Nights, PTO, Sick Days) 

IT issues don’t always happen during regular working hours. Mid-market IT teams often struggle to maintain coverage during staff absences or outside business hours. With limited resources, even routine issues can escalate when key team members are unavailable, leaving critical gaps in support when it’s needed most. 
 
Co-managed IT ensures continuous monitoring, support, and issue resolution, even when the internal team is unavailable. This reduces your downtime and ensures you have the expertise on hand to address issues, even when your internal team isn’t available.  

Challenge #4: Scaling IT Support as the Business Grows 

As businesses grow, their technology needs expand. Whether it’s new offices, remote teams, or SaaS tools increasing the organization’s surface area, growth can create pressure on internal IT teams to keep pace with the organization. Scaling a tech team involves expanding skill sets and capabilities to effectively manage and support the growing technology requirements of the business, to meet the increasing demand for technology expertise, and to improve tech support and maintenance. Failing to scale appropriately can result in inadequate support for business growth. 

With co-managed IT, you gain access to seasoned professionals who can help design and implement an IT roadmap that grows with your business. Co-managed partners help scale without infrastructure bottlenecks or delayed projects, and there’s more flexibility to ramp up or down your resources as needed. 

Challenge #5: Falling Behind on Security and Compliance 

In today’s world, data security and compliance are crucial for small businesses. The rise in cyber threats and data breaches highlights the need for strong cybersecurity measures. For mid-market IT teams, it’s challenging to keep pace with the ever-evolving threats, patches, audits, and frameworks that must be managed to maintain security. For regulated industries, such as finance and healthcare, the risk of non-compliance is particularly important to consider if your team is falling behind. 

Co-managed IT helps protect your company with the latest security tools, proactive monitoring, and rapid response to any threats. With experts monitoring your systems 24/7, the compliance-aware frameworks and dedicated security monitoring/support give you peace of mind even if you don’t have the resources to manage it all in-house. 

Bonus: Strategic Visibility for IT Leaders 

Co-managed IT doesn’t just fill gaps — it also brings greater visibility. With shared dashboards, regular reports, and performance insights, internal IT leaders can better communicate needs, track progress, and justify investments. This helps shift conversations with leadership from reactive problem-solving to proactive planning and strategy. 

Facing any of these challenges in your IT department? Let’s talk about how a co-managed IT partnership can help your team stay ahead—without burning out. Contact us today.