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Managed IT onboarding, your first 90 days.

A clear path from signed contract to a steady-state managed service. Every stage has a named owner, defined inputs and a documented hand-over, so you know who is doing what and what lands at the end.

The first 90 days

From signed contract to steady state.

Onboarding runs in four stages over your first 90 days. You see what we do early, against the same contractual response and resolution targets you keep for the life of the engagement, and you keep every document we produce.

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  1. 01

    Discovery

    Week 1

    Review your existing environment, risks, documentation and vendors.

  2. 02

    Stabilise

    Weeks 2-6

    Address any urgent risks, recurring issues and quick wins.

  3. 03

    Optimise

    Weeks 5-10

    Fine-tune systems, improve user experience and remove bottlenecks.

  4. 04

    Plan

    By day 90

    Agree a roadmap for the next 12–24 months. Reviewed quarterly.

Timing is typical for a mid-market environment. Smaller setups move faster, larger or messier ones use the full window. The stages overlap; we do not wait for one to finish before starting the next.

Stage by stage

What happens, and who owns it.

Each stage has a named owner, the inputs we need from you, and a defined hand-over. Nothing depends on one person remembering how your environment is wired.

01

Discovery

Week 1
What happens
We map your current environment, users, devices, licences and vendors, and we surface the risks and recurring issues already in play.
Who owns it
A lead engineer, with your account manager.
What we need from you
Access to your systems, a short kickoff with whoever runs IT today, and any documentation you already have.
What you have at the end
A written baseline of your environment and a prioritised risk register.
02

Stabilise

Weeks 2-6
What happens
We close the urgent gaps first, the ones that put data, uptime or cyber-insurance at risk, then clear the recurring issues that generate the most tickets.
Who owns it
The lead engineer, with the service desk picking up day-to-day.
What we need from you
Sign-off on anything that needs downtime or spend, and a path to your staff for the quick wins.
What you have at the end
EDR and tested backup in place, the loudest issues resolved, and one number and email for support.
03

Optimise

Weeks 5-10
What happens
With the fires out, we tune: standardised device builds, cleaner identity and access, right-sized licences, and the small frictions your team keeps raising.
Who owns it
The lead engineer, with vCIO input where strategy is involved.
What we need from you
Honest feedback on where the day-to-day still hurts.
What you have at the end
A stable, documented, standardised environment your people stop noticing.
04

Plan

By day 90
What happens
We agree a roadmap for the next 12 to 24 months, budgeted and prioritised, and set the cadence to review it.
Who owns it
Your vCIO and account manager.
What we need from you
A seat at the table with whoever signs off the budget.
What you have at the end
A board-ready roadmap and a quarterly review rhythm.
The hand-over

What you have by day 90.

Onboarding ends with a managed service running to contract, and a record you own outright. If you ever leave, you leave with all of it.

  • A documented environment, with no tribal knowledge locked in one person’s head.
  • EDR, MDR and tested backup inside standard coverage.
  • One accountable team: one number, one email, contractual response targets.
  • A prioritised risk register, each item closed or scheduled.
  • A 12 to 24 month roadmap, agreed at board level and reviewed quarterly.
  • Every document we produce, yours to keep whether you renew or not.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

How long does managed IT onboarding take?

Ninety days, in four stages: Discovery, Stabilise, Optimise and Plan. Discovery is usually the first week, Stabilise runs through weeks two to six, Optimise overlaps from week five, and the roadmap is agreed by day 90. Smaller environments move faster; larger or messier ones use the full window.

What do you need from us to get started?

Access to your systems, a short kickoff with whoever runs IT today, and any documentation you already have. After that we mostly need decisions: sign-off on anything that requires downtime or spend, and a path to your staff for the quick wins.

Will onboarding disrupt our team?

Most of the work happens in the background. Anything that needs downtime is scheduled with you in advance, usually outside business hours. The urgent security and backup fixes in Stabilise come first, and we tell you as each one lands.

Who is our point of contact during onboarding?

A named account manager and a lead engineer own your onboarding from day one. Once Stabilise is done you also have the service desk on one number and email, against the same response targets you keep for the life of the engagement.

Is onboarding charged separately?

Onboarding runs inside your managed service from day one, not as a separate project fee. Any one-off work that comes out of Discovery, a migration for example, is scoped and quoted up front before it starts, so there are no surprise onboarding costs.

What happens to the documentation if we leave?

It is yours. Every baseline, risk register, runbook and roadmap we produce is handed over and stays with you whether you renew or not. Onboarding is built so your environment is never locked inside one person’s head, including ours.

Start the clock

See the 90-day plan against your own environment.

A short discovery call to walk your current setup, then a written plan with the stages, owners and dates mapped to you. No cost, no obligation.

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Managed IT onboarding | Your first 90 days with SDS · Smart Digital Services