Your MSP can service run-of-the-mill tickets through your help desk. However, the bigger differences often appear beyond the help desk.
Expanding enterprises might also require cybersecurity monitoring, cloud services expertise, technology roadmapping, internal IT team augmentation, or compliance adherence. Proximity is another consideration if a business wants an MSP familiar with its area or that can offer in-person support.
If you are a San Francisco Bay Area business seeking a single relationship to provide you managed IT and cybersecurity services, especially if you handle regulated data or have compliance requirements, Xantrion is your best bet out of the options covered here.
Ntiva, IT GOAT and Framework IT offer national service models that may be preferable if you’re looking for nationwide resources, ongoing support or a more prescriptive path to improving IT.
Inside this comparison
- Quick provider comparison
- Xantrion
- Ntiva
- IT GOAT
- Framework IT
- What to compare before choosing an MSP
- Final thoughts
Quick provider comparison
| Provider | Best suited to | Service model | Standout consideration |
| Xantrion | Bay Area businesses seeking consolidated IT and cybersecurity services | Fully managed or co-managed services | Local (Bay Area) presence and compliance-centric experience |
| Ntiva | Businesses wanting national resources with consistent support teams | National Managed IT services | Pod service delivery model |
| IT GOAT | Businesses prioritising continuous remote support | Completely managed or part managed | Remote help desk and infrastructure surveillance available round the clock |
| Framework IT | Companies that desire an organized approach to bettering their IT | Managed IT Services and strategic consulting | Structured technology planning led by process |
1. Xantrion: Best overall for Bay Area Businesses with complex IT needs
Xantrion combines something particularly relevant to this comparison: Bay Area roots with managed IT, cybersecurity and strategic technology guidance.
The company delivers IT services throughout San Francisco, Oakland and other Bay Area cities. They offer fully managed IT as well as supplemental IT services. This allows businesses two different ways to utilize the provider.
If a business would like to outsource management of its IT environment, it can enlist Xantrion managed IT services. Businesses with existing IT departments can take advantage of supplemental services in order to boost expertise, resources or provide 24/7 coverage.
That agility makes Xantrion a practical starting point for midsized organisations that have evolved past a simple outsourced help desk.
Its services cover areas including:
- Day-to-day IT: help desk support, monitoring and infrastructure management
- Cybersecurity: managed security plus network and security incident detection and response
- Cloud: migration, optimisation, security and managed cloud environments
- Strategy: IT planning, budgeting and technology guidance
- Leadership: a dedicated virtual CIO within its managed service
Xantrion claims its roots in the Bay Area date back to the dotcom boom. Its San Francisco managed service offering specifically mentions financial services and life sciences industries. The general service offering couples IT infrastructure management with a cybersecurity program.
That approach can work well when IT decisions impact security, cyber insurance, stakeholder due diligence or regulatory requirements. Instead of segregating cybersecurity as a separate project following IT infrastructure decisions, both elements can be addressed under the same provider umbrella.
Independent customer feedback can be another helpful source of information. Xantrion’s reviews on Clutch cover managed IT and cybersecurity services performed for financial-services, legal and manufacturing businesses. Some of the common praises from these reviews are being proactive, on-time and organized.
Best for: Bay Area companies seeking a single vendor to deliver ongoing IT services, security and strategic advice, especially when regulatory compliance or sensitive data is another factor in your technology equation.
2. Ntiva: Best for national resources with a consistent support structure
Ntiva takes a national approach to managed IT.
The service delivers managed assistance along with cybersecurity and strategic IT advisory. A notable attribute is its use of service pods. These pods bundle together technicians, field engineers, account management and other assets around a group of customers.
That model resolves one of the biggest complaints about bigger MSPs. Scale can bring more resources while a dedicated service team can retain familiarity with your environment.
Managed IT services from Ntiva provides support, monitoring, cyber protection and strategic planning. Signature Support Plans also come with a dedicated IT advisor to assist with planning, budgeting and long term technology purchases.
Third party input provides further insight. Reviews of Clutch’s Ntiva page discuss managed IT projects and repeat similar sentiments regarding communication, helpfulness and technical expertise.
The difference for a Bay Area buyer is that Ntiva is a national supplier, not targeting this offering specifically to the SF area.
Best suited to: organisations with remote workers or multiple sites who want to leverage the resources of a national MSP but maintain a unified service framework.
3. IT GOAT: Best for businesses focused on always-on IT operations
IT GOAT places strong emphasis on support availability and day-to-day IT operations.
Included services are help desk, network operations center, security operations center and virtual chief information officer services. Managed and co-managed IT services are also available.
For businesses where employee downtime is the immediate concern, that operational focus may be attractive. IT GOAT claims to have a 24/7 help desk and 24/7 network monitoring. They also provide security operations and strategic IT services.
Its service structure includes:
- help desk support
- network and infrastructure monitoring
- security operations
- cloud and disaster recovery services
- virtual CIO guidance
IT GOAT claims to serve customers nationwide, and puts its headquarters in Dallas. This stands in contrast to an MSP centered around a Bay Area presence.
If you’re looking at this provider as an option for your business, be sure you understand the difference between national service area vs. a provider that has an office in your market area.
Ideal for: businesses that rank ongoing remote support and extensive coverage high on their MSP wishlist.
4. Framework IT: Best for a process-led approach to IT improvement
Framework IT takes a progressive approach to managed services and focuses on continually enhancing a customer’s technology environment.
Its nationwide offering includes managed IT support, cybersecurity, IT strategy and project management. The company also offers vCIO consulting and technology roadmaps designed to align IT decisions with overall business objectives.
The distinguishing feature is the emphasis on planning and structured improvement.
That might intrigue smaller and midsized businesses that have inherited patchwork systems or processes and want their MSP to manage the underlying technology environment, too, in addition to the day-to-day support tickets.
How much that matters depends on what the business needs from an MSP. If they’re just looking for tickets to be resolved, they may care less about roadmaps and continuous optimisation.
Best for: organizations looking for managed services with formal technology planning and enhancement.
What to compare before choosing an MSP
The Service List is just the start. An MSP may have the capabilities you are looking for but still be a bad fit operationally.
Before signing an agreement, compare:
- Support coverage: When and how can employees obtain assistance?
- Security ownership: Who owns which pieces of security? MSP or customer?
- Co-managed options: Can the provider work effectively alongside an existing IT team?
- Local support: If local support is important to you, how much do you really have in the Bay Area?
- Strategic planning: Who handles budgeting, roadmaps and longer-term technology decisions?
- Compliance support: Has the provider worked with requirements impacting the organisation before?
Security should be given special consideration. An MSP could be given privileged access to critical systems. Guidance from CISA for MSP customers suggests contract terms define security measures and controls to be employed including those for monitoring and logging, secure remote access, multifactor authentication, etc.
That is to say that one should scrutinize how well an MSP protects its access as much as how good their support services are.
Final thoughts
These four providers approach managed IT from different directions.
Ntiva is a hybrid model of national resources with localised pod structure. IT GOAT focuses on ongoing support and IT services. Framework IT focuses on structured technology planning and improvement.
Xantrion offers a different benefit for the audiences mentioned above. In addition to legacy Bay Area service coverage, they offer managed and co-managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud services and strategic guidance. They have also worked with organizations across regulated and security-sensitive industries, giving businesses that need to consider technology, security and compliance together a useful frame of reference.
If you are a midsized Bay Area business seeking an IT partner, not just a standalone support desk, Xantrion is the first provider to consider from this group.
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