Frequently Asked Questions

Managed IT Services: For businesses without an internal IT team.

Co-Managed IT Services: For businesses with an internal IT team.

Our Managed IT Services:

We act as the complete IT department for SMBs without an internal IT team. Our role is to ensure that technology supports your company’s goals and vision and never holds you back. Our top priorities are cybersecurity and employee productivity.

We start by modernizing, standardizing, and securing your IT environment. Then, we take care of ongoing management, monitoring, and security. We provide remote and on-site support for all your users.

We also help you get the most out of Microsoft 365, automate repetitive tasks, and integrate AI to boost user productivity.

Finally, we create a 3-year IT plan that includes a detailed budget and risk analysis, which we review annually.

Summary of services included:

• Modernization, standardization, and security of the IT environment and user experience
• Microsoft 365 optimization, task automation, and AI integration
• On-premise and cloud infrastructure management and monitoring
• Cybersecurity management and monitoring
• Remote and on-site user support
• New user onboarding and device setup
• Strategic IT planning (3-year roadmap, budget, and risk analysis)
• IT projects (analysis, execution, and project management)
• Procurement of hardware, software, and cloud services

Our Co-Managed IT Services:

Our co-managed IT services offer a collaborative extension to your internal IT team. We bring expertise in strategic IT consulting, IT operations, cybersecurity, 24/7 infrastructure management, automation, user support, and project execution and management.

We also share our tools, best practices, and everything we’ve learned from optimizing our operations over more than 20 years, helping your team work more efficiently daily. We can help you deploy self-service tools for users, automate service requests, integrate AI into your IT operations, and reduce resolution times by delivering relevant information directly to the technician handling the issue. In short, we share our “secret sauce” with your team.

This partnership strengthens your IT team’s capabilities by providing targeted support where it’s needed most.

22 years! S3 was founded by Marc, Vince, and myself in June 2003 after we all graduated in computer engineering together. Our vision was to become an outsourced IT department for SMBs which is still what we are today. We were, therefore, a Managed Service Provider before the term was used.

We are still the three sole owners of S3 and work hard at it every day.

Our typical client is an SMB based in the Greater Montreal, often with additional offices across Canada or the U.S. Many operate in a hybrid work model, and some are fully remote.

They all have in common that they take cybersecurity and employee productivity very seriously. They want IT to drive their business forward, not hold it back.

Our clients are in different industries:

• 60% are professional services firms
• 40% are in distribution or manufacturing

They all operate within the Microsoft ecosystem, using tools like Microsoft 365, Windows, and Azure. Most have a mix of cloud and on-premise infrastructure, while others are fully cloud-based.

We support two types of clients:

• Businesses without internal IT staff, where we act as their fully managed IT department
• Businesses with internal IT teams, where we work collaboratively with their IT team to extend their capabilities

Clients usually find us when they outgrow their IT provider or their IT team needs help.

At S3, we do things differently:

• Owner-operated – No private equity, just a team that’s fully invested in your success.

• Lightning-fast support – Whether it’s chat, phone, or email, you reach a real technician who knows your business.

• Cutting-edge cybersecurity – Managed by our in-house team to keep your business secure.

• Productivity-focused – We help you fully leverage Microsoft 365, automate repetitive tasks, and safely integrate AI.

• True partnership – We’re easy to work with, build long-term relationships, and make sure you feel confident your IT fully supports your business.

• Always improving – We constantly innovate and refine our tools and services to deliver the best experience possible.

With S3, you get a true partner who’s committed to helping your business.

We are currently SOC2 Type 2 certified.

Yes. We’ve had a dedicated in-house cybersecurity team since 2019. Our team is responsible for monitoring client environments, responding to alerts and threats, and proactively strengthening security posture.

In the event of a cyber incident, our team also acts as a rapid response unit, ready to investigate, contain, and resolve security threats efficiently. This ensures our clients are not only protected, but also supported when it matters most.

In our opinion ransomware is the #1 cyber threat to all our clients. We are focused on protecting our clients from these attacks. We follow ransomware news very closely and constantly adjust our standards based on the changing hacking tactics. Our security team’s main objective is ensuring that none of our clients are victims of a successful attack. Here are the steps we take to protect our clients

1. Bullet proof backups

The absolute first thing we do is deploy secure backups. Our backup standard is built on the assumption that the network will be breached, and the attacker will obtain full admin privileges. The backups must be able to withstand this. Our standards have been tested by multiple specialized security firms who were unable to access them.

2. Minimize your exposure

We minimise your exposure by making sure that only services that are absolutely necessary are exposed to the Internet. We will then limit these services exposure by only making them accessible to certain countries. We work with our clients to determine what this list is and will modify it as needs change.

3. Protect the infrastructure with advanced security tools

We deploy a set of advanced security tools that will not only protect you but will also alert our security team if something is not behaving normally.

4. Close the open buffet

Many networks are designed as a fortress or citadel. Once they are breached you can access everything, it’s basically an open buffet. We close this open buffet by segregating systems so that even if an attacker was able to get on a single system it’s very difficult to move to another. The more difficult it is the more chances are the attacker will make a mistake and set off an alarm allowing us time to respond to neutralise the attack.

5. Monitoring and response

We monitor alerts generated by our set of advanced security tools and investigate any abnormality. Our security will respond to any identified threat to neutralize the attack.

6. Train your users

We will train your users to adopt safer computing habits and to report abnormalities to our security team.

7. Adapt

We constantly adapt our approach as the threats and security tools evolve. We will also adapt based on the experiences of our peers. We meet with other companies like ours in different markets across North America to share best practices every quarter.

Emails are one way or another part of most cyber-attacks because they work. Attackers will use a well-crafted email to steal a user’s password by tricking them into entering it into a fake site or will impersonate the CEO to try get a fraudulent wire transfer authorized. Protecting your email is essential.

The first thing we do is stop email threats from getting to your users. We achieve this by deploying a leading cloud email security platform. It will stop all emails that contain malicious files as well as ensure that all links in the email are safe. Additionally, emails that are designed to impersonate someone from your company either by using the same name as a colleague or a similar domain (example: s3ttech.ca instead of s3tech.ca) will be blocked.

The second things we do is to educate your users on safer computing habits. We also expose them to the latest tactics used by attackers with phishing simulation emails to keep their reflexes sharp.
Finally, we deploy our set of advanced security tools on your users’ computers and devices which will alert us if anything goes wrong. This way if ever an email threat does make it through our defences to a user, our security team will immediately investigate and remediate the situation.

We have developed a backup security standard to keep backups safe from attackers who will look to compromise them in a ransomware attack. We built our standard with the assumption that the network will be breached and that the attackers will obtain admin rights. Therefore, we completely segregate the backups from the network and put in place their own authentication. Our offsite backups also have ransomware protection built-in which allows for recovery if ever they were to be deleted. Our backup standard withstood penetration testing by multiple specialized security firms. We adapt our backup security standards constantly as the attackers change their tactics.

Yes, you absolutely should. Unfortunately, even though we are very confident in our abilities to protect you against cyber attacks, nothing can be 100% secure. Insurance is an important part of your response plan.

The security standards that we deploy will make sure that you will be insurable, and we will help you answer all the questions the insurers will have, and they will have a lot. We can also help validate that the proposed coverage makes sense for your business.

Yes we do! Over the years we have built up our staff overseas which enables us to offer true 24/7/365 coverage for our clients. We now have over 15 people working in Europe and in Asia.

Users calling outside of helpdesk hours (7am to 7pm Monday to Friday) will be invited to leave a message for an emergency. They will get a call back within 15 to 30 minutes.

Our goal is to offer a personalized service to all users. We do this by assigning a team to each client which includes:

Account Manager: is the main point of contact. He is responsible for ensuring the proper delivery of all services.

Technical Advisor: works with the account manager to translate business needs into solutions which align with the client objectives. The TA has excellent technical knowledge and is a good communicator. The TA is the technical point of contact.

Remote Support Team: our support team is divided in smaller teams of 5 to 7 technicians each that remotely support all users by chat, phone or email. This way users always interact with the same group of people who know them and their environment.

Onsite Support Technician: the technician that goes onsite when needed or requested.

Our support is built to deliver a modern, fast, and personalized experience for all your users.

Each client is assigned a dedicated team of 5 to 7 technicians who respond directly to users. This means your team interacts with the same people who know your environment well.

Technicians are available Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and over 80% of calls and chats are answered within 2 minutes. Outside those hours, our 24/7 emergency service ensures users can speak to a technician in under 30 minutes.

We provide a dedicated support portal, integrated directly into Microsoft Teams, giving users the ability to:

• Chat instantly with a technician in real time

• Book an appointment at their convenience

• Access practical guides and personalized help resources

Users can also contact us by a customized support email using your domain (e.g., support@yourdomain.ca) or by phone via an extension integrated into your phone system.

We also offer on-site support as needed—either occasionally, regularly (from once a month to a few times a week), or even full-time depending on your evolving needs.

We continuously improve our service through user feedback collected after every support interaction using integrated surveys. A service manager personally follows up with any user who leaves a low rating to address the issue and ensure it doesn’t happen again. In addition, we conduct an annual user survey to measure progress and identify areas for improvement.

Finally, we review support tickets regularly to detect recurring issues and implement long-term solutions to eliminate them.

Yes. We provide support in both French and English — by chat, phone, and email. Many of our clients have offices across Canada and the U.S., and we ensure their users are supported in the language they are most comfortable with. We pride ourselves on the quality of our services in both languages. We are truly a bilingual company.

Yes! Many of our clients have offices across Canada, in the U.S., and even in Europe. We support all of our clients’ offices, no matter where they are located.

For onsite support outside of the Greater Montreal area, we rely on our trusted partner network. We already have partners in all major Canadian cities, many U.S. cities, and Europe. If you open an office in a location where we don’t yet have a partner, we will find one, that’s how we’ve built our network over the years, by supporting our clients wherever they grow!

No. All of our support is provided directly by our team. The only exception is onsite support outside of the Greater Montreal area. For that, we have built a network of partners who assist our clients’ offices across Canada, the US, and Europe.

Our onboarding process lasts 6 to 8 weeks. We recommend a one-month overlap with your outgoing provider, but even without it, we’ve always managed a smooth transition for our clients.

Our goal is to make the process as seamless and transparent as possible for your users. We begin by addressing urgent cybersecurity or infrastructure concerns (such as backups). We then fully document your IT environment, including suppliers and contacts for all your sites.

Every onboarding is led by Patrick, our dedicated Onboarding Manager, together with his onboarding team. To ensure everything stays on track, we usually hold three short (15-minute) calls per week with your main point of contact.

By week 4, we generally “go live”, taking over user support, cybersecurity, and infrastructure management. We also survey all users to identify issues and ensure their IT experience meets expectations.

In most cases, cooperation with the outgoing provider goes well. In the rare situations where it doesn’t, our team still ensures the transition remains smooth for your users. Over the years, we’ve developed a proven onboarding process that we continue to improve.

If you ever decide to leave S3, our Onboarding Manager and his team take charge of the transition to make it as smooth as possible. We work with your new provider (or internal team) to build a detailed plan, coordinate the removal of our tools and services, and ensure the process is transparent for your users.

We also provide all necessary access and documentation to guarantee continuity. Finally, we delete all client data from our systems after 90 days, so you can be confident that no information is retained beyond what is required.

Just as with onboarding, we want the offboarding experience to be as seamless as possible. It’s important to us to provide the best possible service to our clients at all times from beginning to end.

Our Co-Managed IT Services are a collaborative partnership between your IT team and our team. This model is designed to augment and support your in-house IT team. Combining our resources, expertise, and capabilities with your internal team’s intimate knowledge of your business creates a powerful synergy that enhances your IT’s efficiency, security, and reliability.

Unlike our managed IT services, where we take full responsibility for your IT, co-managed IT allows for a more flexible approach. You decide which IT functions you want to keep in-house and which ones you’d like us to handle. This can range from specific tasks like 24/7 monitoring, cybersecurity, backup, and disaster recovery solutions to more comprehensive support such as help desk services, strategic planning, and project management.

• The goal of co-managed IT services is to fill the gaps in your IT capabilities without the need to hire additional staff. This approach provides several benefits, including:
• Expertise on Demand: Access to a wide range of specialized skills and industry-leading technologies without the associated costs of hiring more staff or investing in expensive training programs.
• Scalability: The ability to easily scale IT support up or down based on your business needs, without the challenges of managing additional employees.
• Enhanced Security: Benefit from our robust cybersecurity measures and expertise to protect your business from evolving threats.
• Cost Efficiency: Optimize your IT spending by only paying for the services you need, when you need them, allowing for more predictable budgeting.
• 24/7 Support: Ensure your business and IT systems are always running smoothly with round-the-clock monitoring and support, minimizing downtime, and improving business continuity.

We work together to make your IT more robust, resilient, and aligned with your business goals.

The main difference between co-managed and managed IT services lies in the level of involvement and control your business retains over its IT operations.

Our Managed IT Services are a complete outsourcing solution where we manage all aspects of your IT infrastructure. This includes day-to-day management, cybersecurity, and strategic planning, allowing you to focus on core business functions without the complexities of IT management. It’s ideal for businesses without an in-house IT team or those looking to free up internal resources.

Our Co-Managed IT Services, in contrast, are a collaborative approach designed to complement your existing in-house IT team. We provide additional expertise, resources, and tools to fill gaps, handle specific projects, or offer specialized skills your team might lack. This model maintains your internal control over IT operations while offering the flexibility to scale support as needed.

Key Differences:

• Control: Co-managed services allow businesses to maintain greater control within their IT operations, whereas managed services are more hands-off, with our team taking full responsibility.
• Flexibility: Co-managed IT provides tailored support to meet specific needs, making it highly flexible, while managed IT offers a comprehensive, all-in-one solution.
• Target: Co-managed services are best for businesses with an existing IT team needing extra support, whereas fully managed services are suited for businesses looking to outsource their IT.

Absolutely! Our co-managed IT services model is built on flexibility and customization to meet your specific business needs. We understand that every one of our clients has unique requirements and capabilities, and our goal is to complement your in-house IT team.

All our co-managed partnerships start with infrastructure management. We monitor your systems 24/7, keep them patched and up to date, and respond immediately to any issues. This ensures your IT infrastructure is always stable. We also handle escalations that your team chooses to send our way.

From there, you can add the services you want—cybersecurity, project delivery, or user support—depending on the size and skills of your IT team.

Yes. Some clients only rely on us for infrastructure. Their internal team handles user support and projects, while we provide the monitoring, patching, and escalation coverage that keeps everything running smoothly.

In these cases, cybersecurity is usually managed either by the client’s IT team, us, or by a third-party provider.

It depends on your preferences. For some clients, we fully manage the cybersecurity stack—EDR, SIEM, patching, training, monitoring, and more.

For others, cybersecurity is handled internally by their IT team or outsourced to a third-party provider. We’re flexible and adapt to the model that works best for you.

Yes. Some clients ask us to take over user support (remote and/or on-site). Others prefer to keep it in-house for proximity with their staff. Both models work, we’re flexible and can adapt as your needs change.

That’s normal. It’s common for clients to start with infrastructure only and later add cybersecurity, projects, or user support. Sometimes the opposite happens: an IT team may take back user support in-house. Our agreements are flexible, and we adjust as your team and business evolve.

When it comes to making changes to the networks we manage, our approach is rigorous and structured to ensure security, reliability, and transparency. Here is our process:

Recurring Maintenance Windows: We establish recurring maintenance windows with each client in advance for all modifications. This allows us to plan for changes predictively, minimizing the impact on our clients’ daily operations.

Change Requests: We create a change request for each modification. This document describes the nature of the change, its potential impacts on the network, and a rollback plan if necessary. This step is crucial to ensure that all stakeholders fully understand the scope and implications of the proposed change.

Approval of Changes: No changes are implemented without prior approval. This approval process ensures that all changes are carefully reviewed and deemed necessary and safe before execution.

Change Log: We maintain a log of all changes made to the networks. This registry provides a complete history of changes, thereby improving transparency and cooperation.

No. All of our support is provided directly by our team. The only exception is onsite support outside of the Greater Montreal area. For that, we have built a network of partners who assist our clients’ offices across Canada, the US, and Europe.

At S3, we take on a wide variety of projects, everything from cloud migrations (Office 365 & Azure), cybersecurity enhancements, infrastructure upgrades, to managing office moves. We know how important your time and workflow are, which is why for each project, we assign a dedicated project manager to be your point of contact. They’ll navigate the project from start to finish, working within your schedule to ensure minimal disruption to your daily operations. Our team of about 20 experts is committed to providing a smooth and efficient experience, tailoring our approach to fit seamlessly into your work hours. It’s all about making the process as straightforward and stress-free for you as possible.

Yes! For every project, we allocate a dedicated project manager whose primary responsibility is to guarantee that we adhere to our timeline and budget. Working closely with the client on the planning of each task, our project manager ensures that disruptions are minimized, maintaining the smooth operation of your business throughout the project’s duration. Serving as your central point of contact, they manage all communications, ensuring that your needs and expectations are met.

Absolutely! We get how crucial it is for your business to keep running without any hitches. That’s why we’re all about bending our schedules to fit yours, ensuring we keep any disruptions to an absolute minimum. When you kick off a project with us, we’ll pair you up with one of our project managers. They’re here not just to keep things ticking along on time and on budget, but also to work hand-in-hand with you. Together, you’ll map out the perfect plan for each task, aiming to slot them in at the most convenient times for you. Our goal? To make sure your operations stay as smooth as possible, no matter what we’re working on behind the scenes.

At S3, our expertise spans a broad spectrum of IT projects. With a dedicated project team of approximately 20 skilled IT experts, we ensure personalized and efficient service for each client. Our portfolio includes:

• Office 365 Migrations
• Cybersecurity Enhancements
• Infrastructure Upgrades
• Office Relocations
• Software Implementations
• Networking Projects
• SharePoint Migrations
• Cloud Migrations to Azure
• Computer and Laptop Upgrades
• Network Redundancy Projects

As recognized experts in Microsoft, Dell, VMware, Cisco, and Fortinet technologies, we’re equipped to handle your IT projects