Service · Managed IT Services
Managed IT services in Hampton Roads, with the whole stack accountable.
Managed IT services should give Hampton Roads operators real IT support, not a 36-month contract sold before anyone listens for 36 minutes. The 'managed' part too often turns into 80% help desk tickets and 20% strategy from whoever had time that week. We act as the IT company and managed service provider accountability layer: coordinating IT support services, Microsoft 365, servers, cloud, backup, vendors, and the roadmap your CFO keeps asking for. This is the other model.
Helix Stax provides the consulting and accountability layer over the infrastructure stack for Hampton Roads businesses: monitoring, helpdesk coordination, cloud and Microsoft 365 administration, Windows and Linux servers, network management, backup and disaster recovery, and endpoint management. Hands-on support may come from your internal team or a vetted provider we manage. Either way, the roadmap, documentation, vendor accountability, and business outcome have an owner.
We are not a traditional MSP and we are honest about the difference. We do not bill per ticket, lock you into multi-year contracts, or resell software for a margin. The engagement is a scoped monthly retainer tied to outcomes, scored quarterly on the CTGA framework (Controls, Technology, Growth, Adoption, 100 to 900). When the score moves, the work is paying off. When it does not, the conversation gets honest.
Key service areas
What the work looks like.
- 24/7 monitoring and alerting: proactive detection of outages, performance degradation, and security events through a vetted NOC partner or your existing provider
- Helpdesk and IT support: responsive end-user support coordinated through a partner we select, vet, and hold accountable inside your overall IT program
- Cloud and Microsoft 365 administration: licensing, tenant configuration, Teams, SharePoint, Exchange Online, Entra ID, and Intune governed as a live service, not a one-time setup
- Networking and infrastructure management: routers, switches, firewalls, Wi-Fi, segmentation, and SD-WAN kept current and documented
- Windows and Linux server management: patching, backup, health monitoring, and change control for on-prem and cloud-hosted servers (Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V, or cloud IaaS)
- Backup and disaster recovery: tested backup schedules, off-site copies, documented recovery runbooks, and annual DR exercises so the restore is never the first time you try it
- Device and endpoint management: RMM visibility for Windows and Mac, MDM for mobile devices and BYOD policies, software distribution, and remote remediation through accountable operators
Named engagements inside this capability
How this shows up as a scoped engagement.
24/7 Monitoring & Support
Always-on monitoring for your servers, network gear, endpoints, and cloud workloads, with alerting that reaches a human, not a queue. A vetted NOC partner or your existing provider can handle the hands-on response; Helix Stax owns the escalation design, documentation, and accountability.
- RMM agent on every managed device, health, performance, patch status, and event logs in a single pane
- Threshold-based alerting with escalation paths documented before the first incident, not during it
- Monthly uptime and incident summary delivered in plain English, not a dashboard you have to decode
- After-hours coverage coordinated through a vetted NOC partner; all escalations flow through us
Helpdesk & IT Support
Day-to-day IT support through partner coordination: password resets, laptop issues, software problems, and new-hire onboarding. We coordinate a vetted helpdesk partner inside your overall IT program, own the relationship, and hold them to your SLAs.
- Tier 1 and Tier 2 support via a vetted partner we select and manage on your behalf
- Documented escalation path from helpdesk to Helix Stax for anything that needs infrastructure or security eyes
- Monthly helpdesk metrics reviewed in your working session, ticket volume, resolution time, repeat issues
- New-hire and off-boarding IT checklists maintained and handed to the helpdesk partner so provisioning does not slip
Cloud & Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is the backbone of most Hampton Roads businesses and it is under-managed at almost all of them. Licenses nobody uses, Teams channels nobody governs, SharePoint sites nobody can find anything in. We administer the tenant as a live service, licenses right-sized, security defaults on, and the configuration documented so it survives the next person who joins the team.
- License audit and right-sizing, cut unused seats, consolidate overlapping plans, flag the annual renewal before it auto-renews at last year's headcount
- Entra ID / Azure AD configuration, conditional access, MFA enforcement, guest access policies, and privileged identity reviewed quarterly
- Exchange Online and Teams administration, shared mailboxes, distribution lists, channel governance, and retention policies kept current
- OneDrive and SharePoint structure, folder taxonomy, permissions audit, and external-sharing controls reviewed on a documented schedule
Network & Infrastructure
The network is the one thing that takes everything else down when it fails. Flat networks, outdated firewall rulesets, unreviewed switch configs, and mesh that never got documented, these are the failure modes we find on almost every initial assessment. We audit, design, and operate the network so it can be defended in the audit room and the server room both.
- Network topology audit: current state documented, target state scoped, delta ranked by risk and cost
- Firewall ruleset review, every rule examined, shadows flagged, and a clean list of what to remove, tighten, or document
- Segmentation design: VLANs, zero-trust micro-segmentation, and identity-aware policy for environments with compliance obligations
- SD-WAN and mesh for multi-site operators, NetBird, Tailscale, or Twingate scored against your scenario
- Wi-Fi design, RF survey, and capacity planning for office, warehouse, and mixed-use environments
Servers, Windows & Linux
Servers age silently. The on-prem box in the supply room, the Azure VM that nobody touched after the migration, the Proxmox cluster that runs three things nobody documented. We inventory, patch, document, and operate the server layer so a hardware failure is a Tuesday afternoon, not an all-hands incident. Helix Stax runs Proxmox and K3s in production for our own operations, the same discipline we apply here.
- Full server inventory: every physical and virtual machine, its role, its patch level, its last backup, its owner
- Patch management and change control, applied on a documented schedule with a tested rollback plan per server
- Virtualization platform management: Proxmox, VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, health monitoring, storage utilization, and HA configuration
- Hybrid cloud operations: Azure and AWS instances managed alongside on-prem, with cost visibility and right-sizing reviewed quarterly
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Most backups are untested. The test happens when you need the restore, and the restore fails. We design, implement, and operate backup programs that follow the 3-2-1 rule (three copies, two media types, one off-site), test recoveries on a documented schedule, and produce a recovery runbook your team can follow without calling us first.
- Backup audit: every protected workload listed, RPO and RTO defined, current recovery time tested (not assumed)
- 3-2-1 backup architecture designed and implemented, on-site, off-site, and immutable copies where ransomware risk justifies it
- Quarterly recovery test with a written pass/fail result and a gap list, not a checkbox, an actual restore
- DR runbook maintained for each critical system: recovery sequence, responsible owner, vendor contacts, and the last successful test date
Device & Endpoint Management (RMM/MDM)
Every device on your network is an attack surface and an operational dependency. RMM agents give us visibility and remote remediation. MDM policies give you control over mobile devices and BYOD without locking employees out of their own phones. Together they close the gap between "we think we are patched" and "we know we are patched."
- RMM agent deployment across Windows and macOS, patch compliance, software inventory, health alerts, and remote support without a VPN
- MDM enrollment for iOS, Android, and Windows mobile, conditional access, encryption enforcement, remote wipe, and app policies
- Software deployment and update management, approved applications pushed centrally, unapproved software flagged
- Endpoint compliance reporting: patch level, encryption status, and MFA enrollment visible in one report reviewed in your monthly working session
How we engage
Three ways in. One consistent outcome.
Infrastructure oversight from Helix Stax runs at every engagement tier. The scope and cadence change; the accountability does not.
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vCIO Retainer
Quarterly infrastructure health review, one system audit per quarter, and a steady advisory hand on vendor decisions. The right tier when you need a knowledgeable partner without a full embedded seat. We coordinate and advise; your existing team or MSP executes.
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Helix Engagement
A defined-scope sprint, typically 90 to 180 days, where we come in as your IT squad to close the gaps named in the free call. Server consolidation, network redesign, M365 migration, endpoint management rollout. We own the project, coordinate the hands, and hand off a documented environment.
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Helix Operate
The full embedded seat. Weekly working sessions, 24/7 monitoring via managed partners, helpdesk coordination, quarterly CTGA scoring, board-ready reporting, and program ownership for the infrastructure roadmap. Built for $10M+ operators or smaller businesses with complex multi-site, compliance, or automation stacks.
What you walk out with
Concrete deliverables.
- A network topology document: current state, target state, and a gap list ranked by risk and cost
- A server inventory: every physical and virtual machine, its role, patch level, last backup, and owner
- A backup audit with tested recovery times, not assumed, actually tested, and the gaps written down
- A device compliance report: patch level, encryption status, and MFA enrollment across every managed endpoint
- A monthly Helix Score one-pager: the 100-900 score, pillar sub-scores, delta from prior month, and top three actions
- A vendor management dashboard: every contract, every renewal date, every seat count reviewed monthly
Honest scope
What we do not do.
We do not run a 24/7 help desk in-house. When your business needs L1 ticket support, we connect you to a vetted helpdesk partner, coordinate them inside your overall IT program, and hold them accountable to your SLAs, but the ticketing operation is theirs, not ours. We do not pull cable, terminate fiber, or install hardware on racks: your low-voltage contractor does the physical work and we coordinate the design and configuration. We do not resell hardware or collect referral fees from any vendor. We do not run a 24/7 SOC or threat-hunt in real time, when you need that, we help you select and integrate an MDR partner.
Industries we apply this to
Where this service shows up most.
- Government Contracting The flow-down email wants your CMMC posture by the next option year. The audit floor is closer than you think.
- Distribution A WMS that only talks to the ERP through a nightly export that breaks every other Friday.
- Legal Practice management, a document portal, and the spreadsheet your senior partner will not give up.
- Healthcare EHR, billing, scheduling, and patient comms in four systems that almost talk to each other.
You can have the number by Friday.
The free call is free, and the only thing you walk out with is your CTGA score and the three gaps that cost you the most. If we are not the right fit, you keep the score and we both move on.