Services10 IT & infrastructure
The server is old, the backups are a mystery, and nobody owns IT.
Fix the infrastructure as a scoped project, then put the right support provider on it, with me on your side of the contract.
Infrastructure projects $2,500 to $15,000 typical
How it works
- Everything runs on a machine in the closet that one guy understands.
- Nobody has tested whether the backups actually restore.
- Every vendor quote answers a different question.
- 01
Assess what you have
Inventory, risks, and the real decision: replace, move, or leave alone.
- 02
Bring the right specialists and deliver the project
I lead the project. Where specialist help is needed, we agree who is involved and what it costs.
- 03
Source and contract the right IT support provider
I shortlist managed IT providers that match your size and your systems, then explain what each proposal covers. Compare the price with the support hours, devices, monitoring and response commitments included. Response times in writing, what's actually monitored, who owns the passwords, how they report, and how you leave. Agreed before signing, not discovered after.
- 04
Hand over something documented and keep the provider honest
Diagrams, access records and recovery steps give the next person a starting point. We agree the handover and test the recovery steps in scope. Then quarterly reviews against the contract, incidents tracked, renewals negotiated. Usually part of the fractional partner arrangement, so the provider knows someone technical is reviewing their work.
A replacement is only part of the job.
The handover should leave the business with a plan it can use.
Assess
Inventory, risk, dependencies and what can stay.
Plan the change
Agree access, migration, downtime and recovery steps.
Verify
Test the agreed functions and recovery arrangements.
Hand over
Document ownership, access and the next maintenance responsibility.
Ongoing monitoring and support are separate commitments, agreed with the provider responsible.
What it costs
Infrastructure projects $2,500 to $15,000 typical
Provider sourcing and contract review quoted after scope is agreed; ongoing management usually lives inside the fractional partner retainer.
The price depends on the work we agree. The free hour helps us discuss fit and the next step. Scope and price are agreed before paid work begins.
What moves the number
- One server or a whole office
- Cloud move, replacement, or fix-in-place
- How much downtime the business can tolerate
- How many providers you're evaluating or replacing
- Whether it's a one-time contract review or ongoing management
- How complex the current environment is
Are you an MSP?
No. Projects are my work; ongoing monitoring and help desk belong with an MSP. My job is making sure you have the right one at a fair price, and that someone on your side is checking the work.
Why not call an IT company?
Do, for support and implementation. For the decision about what to buy, I don't sell the thing I'm recommending.
Do you favour a particular provider?
No. I recommend the provider that fits, and I'm happy to work with one you already have.
We already have an MSP. Is that a problem?
Not at all. The free hour can help establish whether a review would be useful. Any contract or performance review is scoped separately.
You work directly with me.
I'm Chris Patten: eighteen years leading technology as VP, IT and CIO, a finance and accounting background, and experience building and selling my own business. You work with me directly, and I have no software to sell you.
Running costs and ongoing support
Before you commit, the proposal separates implementation from recurring costs: hosting, software subscriptions, usage charges, monitoring and support where applicable. It also sets the included maintenance or change allowance, response expectations and how additional work is priced.
We agree who owns each account, who operates the system after handover and how issues are escalated. Ongoing monitoring or incident response is included only where specified in the agreement.