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IT · IT Infrastructure

Are outsourced IT services for startups available?

Josh Sackman President at AppliedVR

November 11th, 2015

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on how to manage IT needs while still at a ~10 person level. We don't need a dedicated IT person, and are trying to stay lean, but need workspaces set up for new employees, need IT support for setting up and managing cloud services and servers, help desk, recommendations for infrastructure, etc. Do services exist that give startups IT support at a reasonable price?

Bogdan Cirlig Co-Founder and CTO at AlphaFlow YC W16 (I am hiring!)

November 11th, 2015

Your CTO should handle that at this level. If you run in Heroku or other cloud you have virtually zero management needs (AWS is *not* a hands off solution). Also Google Apps for Biz will handle all email and calendar and everything. This way you get a laptop setup in 5 min and it's virtually maintenance free. Ask me how, I've done this few times.

Leonid James Business Development Manager at Eastern Peak Software

November 12th, 2015

Hi Josh, please check your email. 
I have sent you the letter with our offer .
We would be happy to assist you. We are headquartered in Israel.
Kind regards,
Leonid

Patrick Binning Director of Career Development at RE/MAX All-Pro and RE/MAX Great American North, REALTOR® RE/MAX All Pro

November 11th, 2015

Hi Josh, I might have some insight on such an endeavor, I guess one question I would have is do you need someone onsite? Best way to reach me is connect on LinkedIn

Mitchell Posada

November 11th, 2015

If helpful, I stumbled upon this DevOps as a service not long ago -- www.cloud66.com

Rob Francis

November 11th, 2015

Upwork (formerly oDesk), could be a good resource.  I've used mainly for engineering help, but could find helpdesk/contract help too.

Aleksey Klempner

November 11th, 2015

You can do it in many different ways. The key is finding the right resource, professional, responsive, reliable and trustworthy. You can use freelance sites like odesk, upwork, etc. but it requires management and sometimes you have to start over. 

I personally developed a model where startups I invest in get access to the experienced tech resources (my team). This way startups just need to worry about business side of things until they have enough funds to build a dedicated team.  

I think this is the best model as you get access to the team that vested in your project and can scale up and down depending on the need.

Jatinder Singh

November 11th, 2015

Hello Josh, We provide similar services to Startups. We are based out of Minneapolis and currently helping three other startups remain lean by providing bug fixes, maintenance, functionality enhancements, QA, load testing etc. Please reach me at jatinder at hatchPlan.io. I am currently in India and will be back in US on Sunday. You can also leave me a message at Seven Five Seven 561 One Seven One Four. My company website is hatchPlan.io. Best, -J. Sent from my iPhone

David Sr Cloud-First AI Deep Learning Video Security Executive

November 13th, 2015

Similar to Leonid a friend of mine is the CEO of an outsource cloud IT company... But I think you need someone on site.

This is a great opportunity to get out and participate in local meetups and other chamber events to meet local IT providers.

Just one idea out of many I'm sure you'll get here.

- Dave

Edited to add I just found:
https://angel.co/office-iq/jobs


Nick Chandi Founder - PayPie cash flow forecasting and funding

November 17th, 2015

You may also want to look at Virtual Desktops if you are looking for the flexibility to work from anywhere. Nothing gets installed on your PC or Laptop so IT costs become virtually zero.

If you are looking for the support for in-house servers and other things, it's always better to engage a local qualified IT firm.

Nick

Liza Taylor Communication Specialist at Keyideas Infotech

November 18th, 2015

Hi Josh Sackman,
There are many IT companies who assist Startups everywhere around the world. I am sure that you would find the best IT companies that can provide you the best service with world-class quality service. In a world of open-source technology, it seems almost impossible to not find one. You can also find freelance programmers and coders. You can reach out to them via facebook or LinkedIn. We are in a Gig-economy. 
Good Luck Josh