We get a lot of the same questions from Columbus business owners thinking about switching to managed IT or figuring out whether Bright Edge is the right fit. Here are straight answers to the ones that come up most.
Most Columbus businesses pay between $100 and $175 per user per month for a fully managed plan. Where you land in that range depends on the size of your environment, what software you run, and how much support your team typically needs. We do not do tiered per-ticket pricing or send surprise invoices — you get a flat monthly number that covers everything in your plan.
At Bright Edge, a managed plan covers 24/7 network monitoring, helpdesk and remote support, cybersecurity tools (firewall management, endpoint protection, ransomware defense), continuous data backup, patch management, and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration. On-site visits and quarterly IT reviews are included. Some firms charge extra for after-hours calls or on-site time — we do not.
Ask: Will I work with the same person each time, or a different rep every call? What is the average response time for support tickets? Do you have experience in my industry? Is pricing truly flat-rate? Can I talk to a current client? We have been doing this in Columbus since 2006 and are happy to connect you with clients who have been with us for years.
Break-fix is reactive — something breaks, you call someone, you pay by the hour. Managed IT is proactive — your provider monitors your systems and deals with problems before they turn into outages. For most small businesses, managed IT ends up costing less over time because you are not paying emergency rates and losing productivity every time something breaks.
Yes. We are based in Westerville and cover the full Columbus metro — Westerville, Dublin, Gahanna, New Albany, Hilliard, Worthington, Lewis Center, Powell, and everything in between. Most issues get resolved remotely, but when something needs a physical visit, we come to you and do not outsource that to a third party.
Our goal is same-day response on everything. Most remote issues get resolved within a few hours. Critical problems — systems down, security incidents — get escalated immediately. Clients on our fully managed plan have priority status and move to the front of the queue.
Yes. We work with healthcare practices and other regulated businesses throughout Central Ohio. We understand what HIPAA requires on the technology side — encrypted storage, secure remote access, access controls, audit logs — and we build and maintain environments that meet those standards. Learn more about our HIPAA IT services.
Absolutely. Co-managed IT is something we do regularly. Your internal person handles what they handle well and we fill in the gaps — advanced security tooling, after-hours monitoring, projects that need extra bandwidth. We are not trying to replace anyone.
The easiest first step is a free assessment of your current setup. We take a look at what you have, identify anything that concerns us, and give you a straight answer about what we would recommend. No commitment required. Reach out here and we will set something up.