Managed IT support questions
Service scope, support coverage, costs and client examples to help you decide whether PicNet is the right managed service provider for your organisation.
Is PicNet a managed service provider (MSP) in Sydney?
Yes. PicNet is an Australian-owned managed service provider (MSP) based in Crows Nest, Sydney, operating since 2001. PicNet provides ongoing IT support, infrastructure and cloud management, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery, and virtual CIO advice for Australian businesses. Services are delivered by an Australia-based engineering team.
How do I choose a managed IT provider for my business?
Compare providers against your environment, support hours, onsite needs and security requirements. Ask who handles escalations, what the monthly fee includes, how backups are tested, and how the provider will take over from your incumbent. PicNet publishes its service scope, priority framework, onboarding process and client case studies to help you assess the fit.
What does PicNet's managed IT service cover?
PicNet tailors managed IT services to each client's environment. The scope can include remote and onsite help desk support, Microsoft 365, Azure and AWS management, monitoring and patching, backup and disaster recovery, vendor coordination and virtual CIO advice. Managed services include regular governance and performance reporting; the contract defines the agreed scope and service levels.
Can PicNet work alongside our internal IT team or global service desk?
Yes. PicNet can provide co-managed IT support alongside an internal team or global service desk, as well as take responsibility for a complete managed service. For example, PicNet has provided local onsite support for Indivior while coordinating with its global IT team. Responsibilities and escalation paths are agreed for each engagement.
Does PicNet support businesses outside Sydney?
Yes. PicNet delivers cloud management and Level 2 and 3 IT support nationally from Sydney using secure remote access and service management tools. Interstate onsite attendance is available through scheduled travel, with local partners engaged for regional hardware, cabling and break-fix work where needed. PicNet has no interstate offices; onsite coverage is agreed for each engagement.
How much does PicNet managed IT support cost?
PicNet quotes managed IT services against an agreed scope. Most clients use a monthly retainer with a prepaid allocation of hours and additional work billed on time and materials; fixed monthly arrangements are also available. Request a scoped quote covering your users, locations, systems, support hours and onsite requirements, including how after-hours work, travel, licences and hardware will be charged.
Is PicNet's help desk based in Australia?
Yes. PicNet's help desk is staffed in Australia, with its engineering team based in Sydney. PicNet does not offshore support delivery. Clients work with engineers who learn their environment and coordinate with their existing vendors and internal teams.
What are PicNet's support response times?
PicNet's standard response targets are one hour for P1 critical incidents in business hours and two hours after hours through on-call support. Business-hours targets are two hours for P2, four hours for P3 and 24 hours for P4. These are response targets, not guaranteed resolution times. Final SLAs are agreed with each client at contract commencement; P2 to P4 work is handled during business hours.
Does PicNet offer after-hours or 24x7 IT support?
PicNet provides 24/7 infrastructure monitoring and after-hours on-call support for P1 critical incidents under the agreed service contract. Routine help desk work and P2 to P4 incidents are handled during business hours, 9am to 5pm Sydney time, Monday to Friday. Confirm the coverage your business needs when agreeing the SLA.
How does PicNet secure the environments it manages?
PicNet aligns client environments to the ASD Essential Eight at Maturity Level 2 as a baseline, and Maturity Level 3 where the environment is regulated. Critical vulnerabilities rated CVE 9 or above are patched within 48 hours, data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS 1.2 or later, and security event logs are retained in tamper-evident storage. Tooling includes Microsoft Intune, Entra ID, Defender for Endpoint and SentinelOne.
What happens to our data if something goes badly wrong?
PicNet runs image-based backups through Datto, taken hourly by default, held both on a local appliance and replicated to cloud, and kept immutable so ransomware cannot encrypt them. Recovery can be run by virtualising a failed server directly from backup. PicNet also conducts annual disaster recovery simulations with managed services clients, restoring critical systems to a test environment and documenting the recovery time actually achieved.
What tools does PicNet use to manage IT environments?
PicNet runs Jira Service Management for ITSM, covering request, incident, problem and change management with SLA tracking and a CMDB, and ConnectWise RMM for monitoring, patch management and remote diagnostics. Datto provides business continuity and disaster recovery, and PRTG handles multi-site network monitoring. Clients get the reporting from these tools rather than having to take service quality on trust.
Does PicNet provide strategic IT advice, or just fix problems?
Both. Managed services clients get monthly governance meetings, monthly performance reporting covering ticket volumes and resolution times, six-monthly strategic reviews of infrastructure direction, and a maintained risk register. Virtual CIO advisory is available for organisations without a senior technology leader in house, which is how several of PicNet's managed clients operate.
What size and type of organisations does PicNet support?
PicNet supports small and mid-sized Australian organisations, not-for-profits, professional services firms and the local offices of multinationals. It suits organisations seeking ongoing access to experienced engineers, cloud management and strategic IT advice. PicNet can manage the full IT function or supplement an existing team; support hours, onsite coverage and scope are agreed to fit the organisation.
Which organisations has PicNet provided managed IT support for?
PicNet has managed the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's IT service desk and infrastructure since 2020, including Azure management, remote support, monthly onsite visits and vCIO advice. PicNet has also provided onsite support for Indivior alongside its global IT team. These examples cover both full managed services and support that complements an existing team.
Can PicNet take over from our current IT provider?
Yes. PicNet follows a six-stage transition, collecting documentation, credentials, vendor contracts and asset registers, auditing the environment, then deploying monitoring and service management tools. Parallel operation with the incumbent typically lasts two to four weeks. After go-live, PicNet confirms credential transfer and monitoring coverage, then runs a 30-day review to close remaining gaps. The transition schedule is agreed with the client and outgoing provider.
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