01
Per person
Useful when support follows employees across devices and locations.
Check before signing: Ask whether servers, shared devices, security controls, backup, and planning are included or billed separately.
Managed IT / Buyer guide
Compare the whole operating model.
Two proposals can both say “managed IT” and cover very different work. Use these questions to see who owns the service, what happens when something breaks, and what the quoted price actually includes.
Scope your accountBefore you choose
Six questions for every proposal.
Ask the same questions of every provider. A clear answer should be written into the scope, not left to a sales conversation.
- 01
Who owns the answer?
When a user, network, vendor, and security tool are all involved, who coordinates the incident and who can authorize a change?
Request in writing: A named account owner, escalation map, and the boundary between your team and the provider.
- 02
When is help actually available?
Separate staffed help desk hours, automated monitoring, on-call response, and on-site work. They are not the same promise.
Request in writing: Written hours by channel, severity definitions, response targets, and after-hours handoff.
- 03
What is protected—and tested?
Which identities, endpoints, servers, cloud services, and backups are in scope? How is a failed control found and corrected?
Request in writing: A coverage inventory, patch and alert responsibilities, restore-test method, and recovery targets.
- 04
How does co-managed work split?
If you have an internal IT lead, who owns tickets, standards, vendors, approvals, documentation, and exceptions?
Request in writing: A responsibility matrix that your internal lead can review before the work starts.
- 05
How will the first month work?
What happens before any access changes, and how are open issues, assets, vendors, and business-critical systems validated?
Request in writing: A transition sequence with decision owners, checks, and a safe rollback point.
- 06
What remains yours when you leave?
Can your next team receive the environment map, asset inventory, vendor ownership, and backup design without starting over?
Request in writing: A documented exit and access-removal process, with any fees disclosed in the agreement.
The evidence packet
Ask for the records behind the promise.
A good proposal should say what will be documented and what you can inspect after the service begins. Use these four requests with every provider. The exact records and cadence belong in your written scope.
01
Coverage and ownership map
Request: List covered people, devices, sites, systems, vendors, support channels, staffed hours, on-call boundaries, and the person who owns each escalation.
Why it matters: A named owner and a written boundary keep a ticket from falling between the provider, your team, and another vendor.
02
Access and change record
Request: Show how privileged access is approved, limited, logged, reviewed, and removed; name who may authorize a material change.
Why it matters: A service provider can reach critical systems. The buyer should know who can enter, what they can change, and how access ends.
03
Recovery evidence
Request: Name the protected systems, agreed recovery targets, restore-test method, result, exceptions, and the owner of a retest.
Why it matters: A successful backup job does not show that a business-critical service can be restored within the time the business needs.
04
Transition and exit record
Request: Request an asset and open-issues inventory, handoff sequence, validation checks, rollback owner, and an exit packet you can take to another team.
Why it matters: The first change and the last handoff deserve the same clarity as steady-state support.
This is a buyer checklist, not a claim that every record, test, response target, or control is included in a LUCA agreement. Confirm the deliverables before signing.
The buying model
Four ways an IT agreement can be priced.
These are common buying models, not LUCA plans or price quotes. Similar-looking totals can cover very different responsibilities. Ask what each model leaves with your team.
02
Per device
Useful when equipment varies more than headcount or an internal team keeps part of the work.
Check before signing: Count servers, network equipment, shared devices, and replacements; confirm what support for the person costs.
03
Capacity block
Useful when a defined number of hours or support requests suits a stable workload.
Check before signing: Read the limits, overage rate, unused-capacity rule, priority path, and who owns preventive work.
04
Time and materials
Useful for a defined project or occasional repair, not a substitute for an operating owner.
Check before signing: Identify who monitors, patches, tests recovery, and responds between billable incidents.
Total scope, not headline price
Make the quote comparable.
A per-user or per-device figure is only useful alongside its assumptions. Ask each provider to show these cost drivers and identify exclusions before you compare totals.
- Users, shared devices, sites, and critical systems
- Support hours, channels, severity targets, and on-site geography
- Security, backup, recovery, and compliance responsibilities
- Third-party licenses and equipment included or billed separately
- One-time transition work and separately scoped projects
This is a comparison guide, not a LUCA price, service-level guarantee, or offer of a free assessment. LUCA scope and fees are quoted after the environment and requirements are reviewed.
Take it to the meeting
Your proposal comparison sheet.
Use one copy per proposal. Write the provider's actual answer and the document or contract section that supports it. A blank answer is a follow-up question, not an automatic failure.
Provider:
Proposal date:
01 · Who owns the answer?
Evidence to request: A named account owner, escalation map, and the boundary between your team and the provider.
Answer / evidence reference:
02 · When is help actually available?
Evidence to request: Written hours by channel, severity definitions, response targets, and after-hours handoff.
Answer / evidence reference:
03 · What is protected—and tested?
Evidence to request: A coverage inventory, patch and alert responsibilities, restore-test method, and recovery targets.
Answer / evidence reference:
04 · How does co-managed work split?
Evidence to request: A responsibility matrix that your internal lead can review before the work starts.
Answer / evidence reference:
05 · How will the first month work?
Evidence to request: A transition sequence with decision owners, checks, and a safe rollback point.
Answer / evidence reference:
06 · What remains yours when you leave?
Evidence to request: A documented exit and access-removal process, with any fees disclosed in the agreement.
Answer / evidence reference:
Buyer worksheet · lucatechnology.com/technology/managed-services/compare · Scope, fees, service levels, and deliverables require a written agreement.
Bring the real environment to the conversation.
Start with your people, support model, biggest risk, and coverage need. We can use that context to define what should be in scope before discussing a quote.
Scope your account