Straight answers to the questions we hear every week.
From what a managed IT partner does, to how fast we respond, to what happens on a bad day—the answers below are the same ones our engineers give in person. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Working with Spicsoft.
What a managed IT partner actually does, and how the first weeks go.
What does "managed IT services" actually include?
One agreement that covers the day-to-day running of your technology: help desk and 24/7 support, monitoring and patching of servers, workstations and network equipment, Microsoft 365 administration, security tooling, backups and the planning conversations that keep everything current. You get one accountable partner rather than a list of vendors.
How does onboarding work, and how long does it take?
We start with discovery: documenting every device, account, application and vendor you rely on, then fixing the risks we find. Monitoring and support tooling are rolled out with minimal disruption, and support goes live on an agreed hand-over date. A typical single-site business is fully onboarded within a few weeks; multi-site environments are phased.
We already have an internal IT person. Can you work alongside them?
Yes. Many of our clients keep an internal contact who handles day-to-day requests while we provide the engineering depth, 24/7 coverage, security and projects. We agree on who owns what so nothing falls between the two.
Can you take over from our current IT provider without disruption?
Yes. We request documentation and credentials from the outgoing provider, verify everything independently during discovery, and run both in parallel until the hand-over date. Your staff notice a new phone number and a faster response, not an outage.
Do you work with small businesses, or only larger companies?
Both. Our clients range from a single dental practice or trucking office to multi-site operations. The service is the same; the scope is sized to your environment.
When something breaks.
How you reach us, who answers and how quickly things move.
What are your support hours?
Our Mississauga office is staffed Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Monitoring, incident response and emergency support run 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Do you offer 24/7 emergency support?
Yes. Critical issues are picked up around the clock by our remote and global engineering team, with local engineers dispatched on-site when hardware needs hands on it.
How do we reach support?
By phone, by email or through the monitoring system that raises many issues before you notice them. Every request is logged, assigned to an engineer and tracked to resolution.
How fast do you respond to a new request?
Most requests are acknowledged by an engineer within minutes, not hours. Business-down issues are escalated immediately rather than waiting in a general queue. [Confirm the response-time commitments you want published.]
When do you fix things remotely versus coming on-site?
Most issues end remotely; it is faster and less disruptive for you. When a problem needs hands on hardware, cabling or a physical install, a local engineer who knows your building is dispatched.
Who actually answers—engineers or a call centre?
Engineers. There is no first-line script to get through. The person who picks up can start working on the problem, and a named team owns your environment year after year.
Protection and recovery.
Ransomware, backups, cyber-insurance and what happens on a bad day.
How do you protect us against ransomware?
In layers: a managed firewall and segmented network, behavior-based endpoint protection on every workstation and server, email security and multi-factor authentication, 24/7 monitoring, and isolated backups that we restore-test. No single control is trusted to do the whole job.
We use Microsoft 365. Do we still need backups?
Yes. Microsoft keeps the service running, but deleted mailboxes, overwritten SharePoint files and ransomware-encrypted OneDrive folders are your responsibility to recover. We back up Microsoft 365 independently, with retention you control.
How often are backups tested?
Backups are monitored every day and restore-tested on a schedule, because a backup that has never been restored is an assumption. You receive proof, not a promise. [Confirm the test cadence you want published, e.g. quarterly.]
Can you help us meet cyber-insurance requirements?
Yes. Insurers now ask for MFA, endpoint detection, tested backups, patching and documented policies. We implement the controls, keep the evidence and help you complete the questionnaire accurately.
What happens if we are hit anyway?
The incident is contained—affected systems isolated, credentials reset, the entry point closed—and then recovered from clean backups on a documented plan. Because the plan was written and tested before the day, recovery is a procedure rather than a scramble.
Servers, cloud and everything connected.
Where your systems should live, and how far a network can reach.
Should we move our server to the cloud?
Sometimes. Email, files and collaboration almost always belong in Microsoft 365. Line-of-business applications, imaging systems and anything with heavy local data often run better on a well-managed on-premise server. We assess each workload and recommend the mix that fits, not a one-size answer.
Can you migrate us to Microsoft 365?
Yes. Mail, files, identity and security are migrated in planned stages with staff kept working throughout. Existing data is preserved, MFA and email protection are switched on from day one, and we support the environment afterwards.
Do you handle phones and telephony too?
Yes. Business telephony, Teams calling and contact-centre features are delivered and supported under the same agreement as the rest of your technology, so call quality and network issues are never a hand-off between vendors.
Can you connect a warehouse, yard or second building?
Yes. Long-range wireless, point-to-point links, outdoor-rated switching and cameras bring shops, yards, gates and remote sites onto one managed network—see our trucking and logistics work for an example.
What it costs and how it works.
Predictable monthly pricing with the scope written down.
How is pricing structured?
Managed services are priced as a predictable monthly fee based on the users, devices and sites we support, so the budget is known in advance. Projects such as migrations or new installs are quoted separately with a fixed scope. [Confirm pricing model and any starting figures you want published.]
Is there a minimum contract term?
[Confirm term, e.g. 12 months, and renewal terms.] Either way, the scope, service levels and responsibilities are written into the agreement so there are no surprises on either side.
What is not included in the monthly fee?
Hardware, software licensing and project work outside the agreed scope are quoted separately and approved by you before any cost is incurred. Nothing is added to an invoice without your sign-off.
Do you sell hardware and software licensing?
Yes. We source, license, configure and support servers, network equipment, workstations and Microsoft licensing so you are not left coordinating vendors. You are free to buy elsewhere; we will still support it.
Where we work.
Based in Mississauga, supporting businesses across the Greater Toronto Area.
Where is Spicsoft located and which areas do you serve?
We are based at 6655 Kitimat Rd #12, Mississauga, Ontario. On-site engineers serve Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Etobicoke, Toronto and the wider Greater Toronto Area, with remote and 24/7 coverage available to every client.
Do you support multiple locations and remote staff?
Yes. Multi-site businesses, home-based staff and remote sites are connected into one managed environment with the same security, monitoring and support, wherever the person or building happens to be.
Do you support businesses outside the GTA?
Yes, for remote-first services such as Microsoft 365, security, backup and 24/7 monitoring. Where regular on-site work is needed outside our local area, we tell you up front whether we are the right fit.
