Essentials
A dependable help desk without the full security stack
Who this fits
Under 10 staff with no client data and a tight budget.
What Essentials is for
Essentials is the plan for small teams that need dependable day-to-day support on a tight budget. Your staff gets unlimited remote help desk, and your computers and accounts stay patched and looked after.
It is deliberately lean. Essentials does not include 24/7 managed detection and response, which puts it below the security baseline we recommend. If your business handles client, patient, or financial records, start with Professional instead.
You can add security services one at a time as the budget allows, and move up to Professional whenever you are ready.
What changes for you
A predictable monthly bill
One flat fee per person replaces invoices that spike whenever something breaks, and your bill follows your headcount.
One number to call
Your team stops guessing who to contact. Tickets, phone calls, and vendor problems all come to one place.
Room to grow into security
Add managed detection, email protection, and backup one at a time, without changing providers.
What's included
Grouped by what it does for the business, rather than by the tools behind it.
Support and response
- Unlimited remote help desk, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, Monday to Friday
- Support by ticket portal, phone, and email
- Every ticket prioritized, with response targets reported at each business review
Endpoints and accounts
- Endpoint monitoring, patching, remote control, and asset inventory
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace administration and license management
- Managed antivirus: Microsoft Defender configuration and monitoring
Vendors and documentation
- One point of contact for your phone system, internet provider, printers, and line-of-business software
- Network documentation and a client runbook
Planning
- An annual business review of tickets, assets, and upcoming renewals
Essentials sits below our recommended security baseline because it does not include 24/7 managed detection and response.
What Essentials does not include
Worth knowing before a call rather than after one.
- No 24/7 managed detection and response unless you add it.
- Email security, cloud backup, security training, and a password manager are add-ons, billed per user.
- Onsite support, after-hours work, and compliance support are billed hourly.
- Business reviews are annual rather than quarterly.
- Not a fit for businesses that keep client, patient, or financial records. Look at Professional.
Questions about Essentials
- Essentials has no 24/7 managed detection and response, so an attack overnight or on a weekend can run unnoticed. We offer Essentials for small teams with no client data, and we say plainly that it sits below our recommended baseline.
- Yes. Huntress managed detection, Barracuda email protection, cloud backup, security training, and a password manager can each be added per user.
- Plans cover people. Servers, firewalls, network gear, printers, and shared workstations are covered per device under the same help desk and response targets.
- No. Essentials can run month to month with 30 days' written notice. A 12-month agreement lowers the plan fee and waives the one-time onboarding fee.
Why do you recommend Professional over Essentials?
Can we add security without moving up a plan?
Are servers and network gear included?
Do we need a contract?
Is Essentials the right fit?
Thirty minutes with an ECS engineer, and an honest answer either way. If a different plan suits you better, we will say so.