A smiling Solid Systems IT Professional at his desk, with the live service dashboard on the screen behind him
Managed IT Services

Align technology with your business goals.

Partnering with Solid Systems means your business gets a tailored technology plan that protects against cyber threats, boosts productivity, supports compliance and maximises your Microsoft 365 investment. All with a human-centric approach that empowers your team and lets you focus on your core business.

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What we do

What are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services means a specialist partner runs your IT for you, for a monthly fee per user. At Solid Systems that includes proactive monitoring and patching, security, backups, Microsoft 365 support, a helpdesk for your people and a technology plan, from your own IT Pros in our Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.

Managed IT services help businesses assign their IT needs to an external partner who specialises in all things relating to the digital domain, allowing them to focus on the running of their company.

As a managed IT service provider, Solid Systems have spent the past two decades carefully analysing the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Our team is proficient in providing managed IT service in South Africa and beyond, and we understand, and are well equipped to manage, the technical challenges that you may face.

As a strategic technology partner we:

  • Offer a risk-free subscription service at a fixed monthly fee
  • Provide you with the technical experience you need at a fraction of the cost of employing full-time resources
  • Give you the peace of mind you need knowing that your IT services are in the safe hands of a qualified, fully-equipped IT partner
  • Offer custom and curated plans to meet all your IT requirements
  • Provide access to 360-degree technical coverage from system management, to helpdesk and more

Our Managed IT Services let small and medium businesses hand their growing IT needs to a team of certified experts, so your business stays at the forefront of change. From IT support through to vendor coordination, we take away the complexity, stress and overhead of managing every aspect of your IT internally.

You also gain an actionable technology plan designed for your business. Our human-centric approach focuses not only on technology but on how it works with your teams and makes them more effective. Whether it's protecting against cyber threats, meeting industry standards, improving productivity with AI or getting more from Microsoft 365, our Managed IT Services are a complete technology solution for businesses that want to focus on what they do best.

The Solid Systems team together on a footbridge in Cape Town

Why businesses choose us

Years of expertise23 yrs

Our longevity speaks to our reliability and commitment to keeping your business secure.

Microsoft Partner11 yrs

Over a decade of Microsoft partnership means proven expertise in cyber security solutions.

Organisations secured200+

We've safeguarded countless businesses, keeping their data and operations secure.

Projects delivered150+

Impactful Microsoft 365 Security and Modern Work projects, delivered globally.

Is this you?

What kind of companies need Managed IT Services?

Scenario

As the CEO of a fast-growing technology startup, you and your executive team are frustrated.

Your Information Technology (IT) department is busy all the time fighting internal fires. They put in long hours only to keep a cumbersome system up and running, but the small team does not have the bandwidth to update themselves with the latest trends for improved efficiency. This has led them to become unresponsive, and their management team to become frustrated with them.

Sound familiar? If it does, then you may need to consider partnering with an IT management service provider.

The stakes

IT should never feel like this.

Most businesses don’t come to us because of the technology. They come because of how their IT makes their people feel.

Waiting days for a call back while your team sits idle.

Explaining the same problem to a different technician every time.

Being talked down to in jargon instead of getting clear answers.

Lying awake wondering whether your data is really backed up and safe.

Watching good people lose hours to technology that keeps breaking.

Relying on the one person in the office who “knows computers”.

Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to be this way. See how our plans fix it →

Why Solid

What makes Solid Systems different from other IT Support companies?

We're Human Not Robots

We’re focused on the human side of our business and yours. This means that we don’t just fix issues. We find lasting and meaningful solutions that have a real impact on you, your business and your teams.

Maximising Value At Every Step

We ensure that you get maximum ROI for every solution that you put in place. That’s why our role doesn’t end with implementation. We continue to add value through training, adoption and more.

Planning For The Future

Our strategic technology plans ensure that you never spend money on tech that doesn't have a measurable business outcome, and that the money you do spend on technology is as predictable as possible.

Navigating The Modern Workplace

The way we work is changing. You need a partner who specialises in providing solutions for you and your teams to work effectively in a remote, hybrid or in-office environment. We are that perfect partner.

Plans

Our Managed IT Services plans.

Three plans to suit different budgets. Solid Select suits co-managed environments where support costs may vary. Solid Unlimited and Solid Unlimited + Onsite deliver complete technology management for a fixed monthly fee, so there are no unwelcome surprises.

Co-managed

Solid Select

Get your price Priced per user, per month

Strategic partnership & human touch

  • Systems Review & Technology Plan
  • Ongoing client engagements
  • Primary & secondary IT Pros, backed by the team
  • Dedicated Customer Success Manager

Core IT & support services

  • Proactive device monitoring
  • OS & third-party patching
  • Antivirus subscription & monitoring
  • Backup, integrity checks & problem resolution
  • Microsoft 365 supportBilled
  • Unlimited remote IT supportBilled
  • Onsite IT supportBilled
  • Guaranteed response SLAGold
Fixed monthly fee

Solid Unlimited

Get your price Priced per user, per month

Strategic partnership & human touch

  • Systems Review & Technology Plan
  • Ongoing client engagements
  • Primary & secondary IT Pros, backed by the team
  • Dedicated Customer Success Manager

Core IT & support services

Fixed fee + onsite

Solid Unlimited + Onsite

Get your price Priced per user, per month

Strategic partnership & human touch

  • Systems Review & Technology Plan
  • Ongoing client engagements
  • Primary & secondary IT Pros, backed by the team
  • Dedicated Customer Success Manager

Core IT & support services

Pricing is per user, per month, quoted for your team. The price per user goes down as the number of users goes up.

Looking for Secure365? A tailored security plan that works with your team, safeguards your business and boosts productivity. Explore Cyber Security →
Book your IT consultation
Pricing

How much do managed IT services cost?

Every Solid Systems plan is priced per user, per month, and quoted for your team, so you pay for the people we support. The price per user goes down as the number of users goes up. What you pay depends on the plan, how much day-to-day support you need, and whether you want onsite support included.

Solid Select is co-managed: a monthly fee per user, with remote and onsite support billed as used. Solid Unlimited covers unlimited remote support for a fixed monthly fee, so there are no unwelcome surprises. Solid Unlimited + Onsite adds onsite IT support to the fixed fee.

Compare Solid Select and Solid Unlimited →

  1. 01Book a 30-minute consultationZero cost, no obligation. Tell us how your business works today.
  2. 02We look at what you needYour users, devices and the support your people need day to day.
  3. 03You get a monthly price per userFor the plan that fits, with what’s included set out clearly.
What's included

What are the Managed IT Solutions offered by Solid Systems?

When you choose to work with Solid Systems, it’s more than just another IT company in South Africa that you have to deal with. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with the businesses that we work with, and we’re as invested as our clients are in helping their companies to step into the future confident in their technologies. After all, if our clients lose out, we do too!

Unlimited IT support

  • Round-the-clock remote IT support, whenever you need it.
  • Guaranteed response times to keep your business moving.
  • Expert Microsoft 365 support, always included.
More about our IT support →

Monitoring & maintenance

  • Proactive patch management keeps systems secure.
  • 24/7 monitoring and optimisation of servers and networks.
  • Predictive failure reporting spots issues early.

Email & cyber security

  • 24/7 endpoint protection and real-time response.
  • Continuous identity protection across your organisation.
  • Ongoing firewall management to protect your network.

Infrastructure & cloud management

  • Managed Microsoft 365 and Azure cloud environments.
  • Support for cloud and on-premises servers and storage.
  • Full configuration of networks, firewalls and Wi-Fi.

Backup & disaster recovery

  • Daily monitoring to make sure backups run smoothly.
  • Regular test restores to prove your backups work.
  • Full backup setup, management and restoration.

Vendor management

  • Management of your internet and connectivity providers.
  • Coordination with hardware vendors and suppliers.
  • Support with critical business application vendors.

Device & user onboarding

  • Seamless onboarding of company or personal devices.
  • Secure offboarding of users and decommissioning of devices.
  • Compliant, secure deployment for every device.

Service reliability & costs

  • Preferential response times when it matters most.
  • Fixed monthly costs, with no unexpected surprises.

Recurring focus sessions

  • A dedicated IT Pro embedded in your business.
  • Choose a full-time or part-time IT support presence.
  • Transparent pricing with no hidden costs.

We offer a wide range of managed IT services that cater to businesses large and small. Here are just a few:

Strategic Technology Planning

Our Client Success Managers and virtual Chief Information Officers (CIOs) develop technology roadmaps, assist in creating and maintaining a budget, and help you work towards your business goals.

We ensure that your IT investment positively impacts your business growth. Every step that we take is keeping your organisation’s goals in mind. Our team analyses your business model and your needs, pinpoints the operations that will impact you most, and spends time developing them.

Microsoft Hyper-Focused

We are more than just a Microsoft Solutions Partner. Each of our IT Pros are Microsoft specialists, with certifications that span the range of Microsoft cloud and productivity platforms.

This makes us the ideal partner for businesses that are ready to adopt Microsoft services, or already have Microsoft solutions in place. We ensure that you are putting your Microsoft tools to their best possible use and optimising efficiency through Microsoft services throughout your company, from Microsoft 365, to Azure, to Surface Devices and beyond.

IT Support for End Users With Our Service Desk

We are renowned for our excellent and human customer service, and our IT Helpdesk is the perfect example of this. Our certified IT Pros are always waiting in the wings to give your business the support you need.

Our Solid IT HelpDesk handles a large volume of incidents in a highly coordinated environment. We look to systematically eradicate the root causes of issues, instead of providing a temporary fix.

Not only will you have a single point of contact for addressing specific concerns and issues, but you’ll also have access to your own portal for submitting, monitoring and managing support tickets.

Proactive IT Support for Servers and Network Infrastructure

The demands of modern businesses mean that you need to be up and running at all times, ready to meet your customers’ needs. We make sure that your systems are running at peak performance, and maximise uptime.

We proactively monitor the servers of IT systems to detect potential system failures before they occur, and any resource utilisation issues that might creep in.

A handpicked team of experts forms our Solid Systems Network Operations Centre (NOC), which works 24/7 to keep an eye on your network. They provide immediate solutions to tiny issues, ensuring that they don’t affect the entire system, and keep downtime to a minimum.

Our proactive support sees failures and downtime reduced by 30% on average, while our fully managed programme ensures utmost network reliability.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Modern businesses require effective data backup & disaster recovery solutions. Implementing a layered security strategy is a necessity, as it provides an additional buffer against data breaches. This not only reduces the chance of data loss, but also safeguards the system against ransomware attacks.

Email Security, Cyber Security and Risk Management

Cyber security is of prime importance in this day and age, and every business must lay down clear rules to ensure optimum safety. Deploying an efficient IT Management Service to undertake constant monitoring, testing, and updates, ensures that your business gets maximum security against any modern cyber threat.

Your safety is one of our top priorities. This is why we offer holistic security solutions across devices, networks, cloud and email services, keeping you and your teams safe in all of your online business transactions.

Cloud Management

Whether your systems are on-premises in your offices or cloud based, we ensure that all of your infrastructure is fully managed, maintained, updated and protected. Our IT Pros are trained in looking after your systems including Office 365 and Azure solutions, your servers and storage, and your network, firewall and Wi-Fi management and configuration.

Our SOLID Remarkable Promise

There’s no need to worry about wordy contracts or unnecessary obligations. We offer a convenient month-to-month subscription model at a fixed monthly rate, and with maximum transparency.

In fact, if you are not happy with our service during the first three months, we will give you a 100% refund on your managed services fees to date.

The risks

What are the Risks of Not Using Managed IT Services?

While managing services in-house always seems like an ideal solution, hiring dedicated teams to supervise day-to-day operations and resolve issues immediately is a costly endeavour. And cost is just one risk associated with not making use of managed IT services:

A Reactive Mindset

Time and resource constraints often see recurring problems patched with temporary fixes, and your team becoming reactive rather than focussing on enhancements.

Little Or No Documentation

There is no time to document your existing IT systems, configurations and settings, leading to few people having an understanding of how they work.

Struggling To Keep Up

Feedback takes a backseat to problem solving, leading to frustration from management, and less confidence that the team can keep up with business plans and goals.

Unexpected Expenses

Without a clear IT roadmap and an accurate budget, every development comes as a surprise, and small hiccups become big problems, impacting productivity.

Retaining Experts

With small, dedicated IT teams, the impact of losing a team member can have an effect on morale on top of the cost and effort of retraining new staff.

The return

The ROI of managed IT for growing businesses.

Investing in Managed IT Services with Solid Systems delivers a strong return on investment by:

Reducing downtime

Minimise disruption with proactive monitoring.

Maximising Microsoft 365

Use its full functionality for team collaboration and security.

Strengthening cyber resilience

Stop cyber threats before they affect your operations.

Enabling growth

Scalable IT that evolves with your business needs.

IT outsourcing

IT outsourcing vs managed IT: what’s different?

IT outsourcing means paying an outside company to do some or all of your IT work. Managed IT is outsourcing that goes further: one partner takes ongoing responsibility for running, securing and improving your IT, and is measured on preventing problems, not just fixing them.

Read more about IT outsourcing →

Traditional IT outsourcing compared with managed IT services from Solid Systems
Traditional IT outsourcingManaged IT with Solid Systems
How you payPer hour, per call-out or per projectPer user, per month, quoted for your team
When they actWhen something breaks and you callProactively: devices are monitored and patched before problems reach your people
What’s coveredThe task you hand overDevices, users, security, backups, Microsoft 365 and your technology vendors
PlanningRarely includedA Systems Review and a technology plan for your business
Response timesVary by providerA guaranteed response SLA on every plan

Already have IT people in-house? Solid Select is co-managed: we work alongside your team and take on what they don’t have the time or specialist skills for.

Working remotely or in a hybrid team? We support your people wherever they work, with remote support on every plan, unlimited on Solid Unlimited.

Read: managed vs outsourced IT services →

Remote and hybrid working

Remote and hybrid working support that works.

Remote and hybrid working only stays productive when people have reliable connectivity, devices they can depend on and IT tools that are easy to reach from anywhere. As part of our managed IT services, we set up and support the technology your people need to work well from home, the office or on the road.

We move your critical business data to the cloud with Microsoft Azure and controlled access, and set up Microsoft 365 so teams can meet and chat in Microsoft Teams, co-author documents and share files from any device. Security goes with them: the right people get access to the right information and applications, and data is protected with information protection and data loss prevention policies. We can also show you Microsoft’s productivity insights, so you can see how time is spent and where people need support. When something goes wrong, our support team helps remotely, wherever your people are. Book your IT consultation to talk through your setup.

Read more about remote working solutions →

Case study · Johannesburg

How Touchsides replaced a hard-to-hire IT role

When their internal IT expert resigned, Touchsides, a data analytics business of more than 300 people, needed someone who could cover infrastructure, networking, security and desktop support, and document their systems within a month. They chose an outsourced, managed model with Solid Systems.

“We would have had to hire multiple people to get the same kind of services, and we may still not have been able to find such a range of skillsets.”

Sasha Barnett, Technical Support and IT Manager, Touchsides

Read the Touchsides case study →

330incidents detected and avoided pre-emptively
Where we work

Managed IT services in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Our South African team works from offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, looking after businesses across South Africa. Support is remote and onsite: onsite IT support is included with Solid Unlimited + Onsite, and billed as used on the other plans.

We look after businesses like Touchsides, a 300+ person data analytics company in Johannesburg, BEE Analyst in Pretoria, and the Saldanha Group in the Western Cape, across finance, property, aquaculture and hospitality.

All office details →

Cape Town

Soho On Strand, 128 Strand St, De Waterkant, Cape Town, 8005

+27 21 110 0000IT company in Cape Town →

Johannesburg

5 Willow Brook St, Birnam, Johannesburg, 2196

+27 21 110 0000IT company in Johannesburg →
Reviews

They're loving Solid.

See why dozens of companies are choosing Solid for their cyber security and managed IT needs.

London Based on 16 reviews Cape Town Based on 52 reviews Johannesburg Based on 56 reviews

Frequently asked questions about managed IT services

Still deciding? Ask us anything →

01What do managed IT services include?

With Solid Systems, managed IT includes proactive device monitoring, operating system and third-party patching, antivirus, backups with integrity checks, Microsoft 365 support, email and cyber security, vendor management, user and device onboarding, and a helpdesk for your people. Every plan also includes a Systems Review, a technology plan, your own primary and secondary IT Pros and a dedicated Customer Success Manager.

02How much do managed IT services cost in South Africa?

Solid Systems prices every plan per user, per month, quoted for your team, and the price per user goes down as the number of users goes up. Solid Select is co-managed, with support billed as used; Solid Unlimited is a fixed monthly fee with unlimited remote support. Compare Solid Select and Solid Unlimited, or book a 30-minute consultation for a price for your business.

03Managed IT vs outsourced IT: what’s the difference?

Outsourced IT usually means paying an outside company for specific work, often when something breaks. Managed IT is a form of outsourcing where one partner takes ongoing responsibility for your IT: monitoring, patching, securing and planning it so problems are prevented, for a monthly fee. Read more on managed vs outsourced IT.

04What does a managed IT services provider do?

A managed IT services provider (MSP) looks after a business’s IT day to day. It monitors and maintains devices and systems, keeps them secure and backed up, supports your people when they need help, manages your technology vendors, and plans what to change as the business grows.

05Do you provide managed IT services in Johannesburg and Cape Town?

Yes. Our South African team works from offices in Cape Town (Soho On Strand, De Waterkant) and Johannesburg (Birnam), and supports businesses across South Africa. Support is remote and onsite: onsite IT support is included with Solid Unlimited + Onsite, and billed as used on the other plans.

06Are managed IT services affordable for small businesses?

Managed IT gives you the technical experience you need at a fraction of the cost of employing full-time IT staff, and because plans are priced per user, a smaller team pays less. Solid Select suits businesses that prefer to pay for support as they use it. Why managed IT makes sense for small businesses.

07Can you work alongside our in-house IT team?

Yes. Solid Select is our co-managed plan: your in-house team keeps the work it does best, and we provide the monitoring, patching, security, backups and specialist skills behind it.

08How quickly do you respond when something goes wrong?

Every plan includes a guaranteed response SLA: Gold on Solid Select, and Platinum on Solid Unlimited and Solid Unlimited + Onsite. How fast we respond depends on the priority of the issue, from an emergency that stops your business to a small request.

Free, no-obligation discovery call

Maximise efficiency, minimise risk.

From strategic improvements to daily IT support, Solid Unlimited and Solid Select help you improve productivity and strengthen security.

Book your IT consultation Download the Cloud Migration Checklist
Henrico from the Solid Systems team, smiling in a Solid polo shirt
From the blog

Managed IT insights.

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Microsoft Solutions Partner

Recognised by Microsoft across two solution areas.

Microsoft awards Solutions Partner designations to partners with certified people and a track record of customer success in each area. The team looking after your Microsoft 365 is qualified to do it properly.

Talk to our certified team →