- Why Pay Extra for CIS18 & NIST Compliance Readiness? Next Level IT includes CIS18/NIST risk/gap assessments and readiness services in every package at no additional cost.
Challenge (What was wrong with their old MSP)
A mid-sized company in the smart-home / building-automation / technology services space had outsourced its IT support to a basic managed-services provider. Over time, a number of problems began to emerge:
The existing MSP offered only basic break/fix support and routine maintenance — no proactive monitoring, security oversight, or compliance guidance.
As the business grew and added smart-home automation services with sensitive customer and partner data, the lack of robust security controls and compliance oversight exposed the company to increasing risk: misconfigured devices, weak patching, no audit or security policy enforcement.
The company operated in a regulated environment (e.g., working with clients requiring privacy, data-handling safeguards, vendor security diligence) — yet the old MSP did not offer compliance services, security assessments, or risk frameworks.
The support was reactive, not strategic: problems were addressed only when they broke. There was no long-term planning for scalability, secure device deployments, network hardening, or governance.
For the price the company was paying, they realized they were getting very little value: minimal security posture, zero compliance readiness, no proactive IT strategy — just basic “fix it when it breaks.”
In short: Their managed-services solution was outdated and insufficient — offering low value despite recurring cost, and leaving the business exposed and unprepared for growth or compliance demands.
Our Process
Next Level IT followed a structured, security-first approach to evaluate the client’s outdated managed-services model and transition them into a modern MSP/MSSP + Compliance program.
- Assessment & Discovery - We audited the client’s full environment—network, endpoints, smart-home devices, configurations, patching, and access controls. We also conducted stakeholder interviews and a full risk/compliance review to map gaps against modern security and regulatory standards.
- Strategy & Roadmap - We built a tailored MSP/MSSP + compliance plan, including proactive monitoring, vulnerability management, secure configuration baselines, and documentation standards. A phased migration roadmap ensured smooth transition from the legacy MSP with zero business disruption.
- Implementation & Hardening - We deployed monitoring, hardened devices, enforced authentication controls, closed unnecessary access, and applied all security patches. Compliance audits, reporting, and policy enforcement were put in place to ensure audit-ready operations.
- Ongoing Management & Governance - We delivered continuous MSP/MSSP services—help desk, patching, incident response, log monitoring, and scheduled risk reviews—along with long-term planning for scalability, infrastructure improvements, and ongoing compliance readiness.
Category
Design
Client
Mid-sized Smart-Home / Automation Firm (anonymous to preserve confidentiality)
Industry
Retail, eCommerce
Stack
Infrastructure audit & remediation, security hardening, managed MSP/MSSP services, compliance documentation and readiness, ongoing support & maintenance
Conclusion
The Solution
By switching to Next Level IT’s full MSP + MSSP + Compliance model, the client gained a complete, modern IT support and security infrastructure — including:
Compliance readiness: documentation, audit trails, inventory, change management — ready for vendor or client audits.
Incident response and managed security: continuous monitoring, alerting, remediation — reducing risk of breaches or downtime.
Strategic IT planning: scalable infrastructure, smart-home/automation support, growth-ready network design.
Reliable help-desk and support: faster response times, consistent support, transparent reporting, and regular reviews — all under a fixed, predictable cost model.
Security hardening, patch management, vulnerability scanning, secure device configurations.
Proactive IT maintenance and monitoring (not just break/fix).
Compliance-Ready & Operationally Stable
Achieved audit-ready documentation, logging, and security controls that met client and vendor requirements.
Proactive monitoring reduced downtime, improved reliability, and eliminated reactive firefighting.
Greater Value & Stronger Security
Upgraded from a minimal break/fix MSP to full MSP + MSSP + compliance for roughly the same cost.
Hardened devices, controlled access, and proactive security reduced vulnerabilities and overall risk.
Scalable Infrastructure & Long-Term Growth
Modernized, scalable IT environment prepared for expansion, new clients, and larger workloads.
With strategic IT planning from Next Level IT, the business could focus on growth and innovation instead of IT issues.