Serving the USA · Driving business ahead of the curve
How we work
CES bills, starts, and stays vendor-neutral wherever possible. We are best for shops that want a crew, not a per-seat MSP package. We will recommend hardware and licenses for you to purchase in your name without a CES markup. We will not lock you into a stack we resell.
Not an MSP package
We do not resell products
Most MSPs sell a per-seat stack. Most IT firms sell a seat. The seat includes a stack they resell and a contract that is hard to leave. CES does not take a margin on hardware or licenses. We recommend what fits. You buy it. We put it in and stay on the line to make it work for you.
Billing
How systems work is billed
Hours actually used. No per-seat minimum. No quota to push a firewall brand. Some clients keep a planned monthly block so the crew already knows the environment. Some run true time-and-materials. Projects sit next to support; they are not hidden inside a “bundle.” The agreement states what is in, what is a project, and how after-hours is treated.
How a hardware or license buy works
We write the spec. You purchase from the vendor or distributor — or we purchase as agent with the invoice in your name. Either way there is no CES markup baked into the box. We install it. We document it. We support it.
First 90 days
What the start actually looks like
- Days 1–10. Access, vendor list, backup proof, identity, circuits, who has the keys. We write down what is real, not what the last invoice claimed.
- Days 11–45. Stabilization. The fires, the backups that were never tested, the admin accounts nobody owns. You will see the list.
- Days 46–90. A living roadmap: what to retire, what to leave alone, what to budget next year. That is the start of vCIO — virtual CIO, IT leadership on a cadence, not a full-time hire — not a slide deck.
Contrast
CES vs a typical MSP
| Typical MSP package | CES systems bench | |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | 1–3 year lock, per-user minimum | Fit the boat. Leave if it stops fitting. |
| Hardware and licenses | Resold with margin | You buy what was recommended. No CES quota. |
| Stack | The stack that pays the partner tier | The stack that fits the work |
| Desk | Tier-1 then a queue | Ext 1. Same crew that knows the environment. |
| When a spreadsheet dies | A vendor ticket | The same bench can build the application |
| Documentation if you leave | Often stays in their PSA | Your trail and your environment notes go with you |
| Strategy | QBR that sells more seats | vCIO with a budget and a five-year bias |
Onboarding
What we ask for on day one
- Admin contacts and after-hours contacts
- Domain, DNS, and registrar
- Microsoft 365 or Google admin
- Firewall, Wi-Fi, switching — or a photo of the closet
- Backup product, last successful restore test, offsite location
- Internet circuits and account numbers
- Line-of-business apps and who owns them
- Vendors you want us to call on your behalf
Who this is for
Our crew partners with you.
Professional services, agencies, multi-location operators, churches and charities. If the work is a closet server that is the honest architecture, that is allowed.
Pattern stories
What this looks like in practice
No client names. These are jobs the bench actually does.
Inherited backups that had never been restored
Situation: a shop with backup software and no restore anyone had watched. We refused to call that a plan. Outcome: a copy offsite, on a clock, with a restore date you can see.
One person sailing a yacht
Situation: a mature office running on one internal person who also had to be the night desk. We refused to sell a packaged per-seat stack. Outcome: a crew on ext 1, their person still in the boat, one ticket trail.
Questions
Systems FAQ
Are you an MSP?
No. An MSP is a managed service provider that sells a per-seat stack. We provide outsourced IT with a crew, not a packaged stack we resell.
Do I have to buy hardware from you?
No. We recommend. You purchase. We install and support.
What if I already have a vendor for firewalls, backups, or Microsoft 365?
We work with what works. We replace what exists because of a quota.
Can I keep my internal person?
Yes. That is co-managed. One ticket trail, a split of duties, no ego contest.
How fast can you be on site?
Physical work gets a person in the building. Exact windows live in the agreement, not in an ad.
Do you lock me into three years?
We are not in the lock-in business. The relationship should survive because the environment is quieter, not because a clause says so.
Who owns the documentation if we part ways?
You do. The trail and the environment notes are yours.
Do you support a single server in a closet?
Yes, if that is the honest architecture. It still gets backup, monitoring, and a plan.
What happens in hour one of ransomware?
Isolate, preserve, call the people who need to know, restore from a copy the attacker did not reach. Details live on the Security page.
Is the night desk a different company?
No. Ext 1 is this crew.
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