Managed IT & Support
Cybersecurity
Cloud, Backup & Network
You get a written plan for how your Chicago business keeps serving customers when systems fail, power drops or a building closes. We map what matters, set recovery targets and test the plan with you.
Get a Free IT AssessmentBusiness continuity is the plan for keeping your company running when something goes wrong. That could be a ransomware attack, a burst pipe in a Loop high-rise, a failed server or a January storm that keeps half your team home. The plan answers simple questions. Who does what? Which systems come back first? How do you reach customers while the office is down?
Most small and mid-sized businesses in Chicago have pieces of this but not the whole. You may have backups, but no one has checked how long a restore would take. You may have a phone tree, but it lives in one manager’s head. Consulting pulls those pieces into one document that is short, specific and tested.
The work starts with a business impact review. We sit with you and your department leads, list the processes that bring in money or keep you legal, and rank them. Then we match each one to the systems, people and vendors it depends on. The result is a clear picture of what an hour of downtime really costs you and where the weak links are.
Chicago offices face a mix of risks that most national templates ignore. Winter storms and extreme cold can shut down commutes and strain power. Older buildings in River North, the West Loop and Fulton Market can have aging wiring and shared risers. Summer storms bring flash flooding to basements where servers and wiring closets still sit. A plan built for your location accounts for all of this.
A written plan also pays off outside of disasters. Clients, insurers and larger partners increasingly ask how you would handle an outage, and a documented answer helps you win and keep work. Your team also stays calmer in a real incident because the first hour is already scripted. You are not guessing under pressure. You are following steps you rehearsed.
Everything below is part of one monthly plan. Pick a topic to see what is handled for you and how it works in a Chicago office.
We interview owners and department heads to list every process that earns money, serves clients or meets a legal duty. Each one gets a rating for how long you could be without it before real damage starts.
That ranking drives every later decision. You avoid overspending on systems that can wait a day and underspending on the ones that cannot wait an hour. You also see the true cost of downtime in plain dollars.
A plan is only as good as the data behind it. We review what is backed up, where copies live and how long a full restore would take. Many offices find files, line-of-business apps or cloud mailboxes that nobody covers.
We then set how often each data set needs protection and how much loss you can tolerate. Those numbers guide the backup design and keep the plan honest about what recovery really looks like.
Here we write the technical side. Which servers or cloud workloads restart first, in what order, and who is responsible for each step. We document logins, vendor contacts and the exact sequence so nothing depends on memory.
Where the targets call for it, we design failover so key apps keep running while the main site is down. For others, a clean restore procedure is enough. You pay only for the speed you need.
Many owners assume Microsoft or Google keeps every copy of their mail and files forever. Those vendors protect their platform, not your accidental deletions, bad sync or hijacked accounts. We check what you rely on in the cloud and where the gaps are.
Then we add the protection and recovery steps that fit, so a deleted mailbox or a compromised account does not become a week-long problem for your team.
We run a tabletop exercise with your team. We describe a realistic incident, such as a ransomware note on Monday morning, and walk through each decision. The gaps that show up get fixed in the document.
Then we schedule restore tests and a yearly review. People change, systems change and offices move. A plan that is checked regularly stays accurate, and your staff stay familiar with their roles.
Plenty of companies can fix a laptop. These are the three reasons clients mention most when they explain why they picked Ping Chicago.
Your technicians know how Loop high-rises handle building access, why basement server closets flood in summer storms and how long it really takes to reach Oak Brook at 4 p.m. That local knowledge turns into faster, calmer fixes.
Your network, devices and backups are watched around the clock. Most issues are caught and fixed before anyone in your office notices, and the rest are explained to you in plain English.
You get a written per-user quote after a free assessment, with every included service listed. No hourly surprises, no emergency rates and no fine print about what counts as extra.
Risks differ from one part of the city to the next. We plan around your building, your commute and your neighbors, not a generic template.
Most Loop offices share a building’s internet riser, wiring closets and security desk. Managed IT here means working with property management on access and cabling, keeping remote access stable for commuters and scheduling after-hours work around building rules.
Creative agencies need fast Wi-Fi for large files and constant video calls, while medical offices near Northwestern Memorial need HIPAA-ready systems. Both get the same help desk, with security matched to the data they store.
Teams here grow fast, so new hires need laptops, accounts and access on their first day. Managed IT keeps onboarding repeatable and the network ready for the next floor or the next office.
Dental and medical practices, therapists and small firms run on a few critical systems: scheduling, imaging and billing. Managed IT keeps them patched, backed up and running before the first appointment of the day.
Point-of-sale systems, guest Wi-Fi and a handful of laptops can still take a shop offline. Managed IT separates guest and business networks and keeps payment systems updated and monitored.
Event, hospitality and professional offices near McCormick Place deal with seasonal rushes. Managed IT scales support around busy weeks and keeps shared and public spaces secure.
Practices and offices in Evanston and Skokie get the same remote help desk as downtown clients, with on-site visits scheduled for hardware, cabling and network work.
Logistics and distribution businesses near O’Hare run warehouses, scanners and shipping systems around the clock. Managed IT monitors those networks 24/7 and plans updates outside shift changes.
Many companies in Oak Brook, Naperville and Schaumburg run a suburban headquarters with a city branch. Managed IT connects both sites securely and supports staff at either location.
Many businesses start with a backup tool and call it a plan. Here is how the options compare when something actually breaks.
| Topic | Ping Chicago | Do-It-Yourself Plan | Backup Software Only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Whole business: people, process & systems | Whatever the owner has time for | Data copies only |
| Recovery targets | Set per system from real downtime cost | Rough guesses, rarely written down | Not defined |
| Testing | Tabletop drills & restore tests | Often skipped | Occasional restore check at best |
| Staff roles | Named and rehearsed | Unclear or in one person’s head | Not covered |
| Vendor & carrier contacts | Documented and verified | Scattered across email | Not included |
| Upkeep | Annual review & updates | Goes stale quickly | Software updates only |
| Cost | Fixed project fee, then optional review | Free in cash, costly in hours | Low monthly fee, gaps remain |
The goal is a plan that works on a bad day, not a binder that sits on a shelf.
Step-by-step actions for your team, vendors and leadership during an outage.
Agreed times for how fast each key system must come back.
Tabletop exercises and restore tests that prove the plan holds up.
Gaps in power, internet, backups and staffing found before they cost you.
Each industry has different deadlines, data and rules, so the plan looks different too.
Protect client files and court deadlines with plans that keep documents and email reachable during an outage.
Healthcare PracticesKeep scheduling, records and imaging available so patient care continues if a system goes down.
Financial ServicesPlan for fast recovery of trading, client and reporting systems with clear records for auditors.
ManufacturingKeep production systems, scanners and ordering running, with recovery steps your floor staff can follow.
Our old provider took a day to answer. Now a typical ticket is closed in about 12 minutes, and password resets happen while I’m still on the phone. Our staff stopped complaining about IT within the first month, which never happened before.
We were nervous about changing providers with deadlines ahead. The whole move took three weeks, email and files kept working throughout, and every login and device was documented. Not one person missed a day of work because of it.
We used to get surprise invoices every time something broke. Now it’s one predictable monthly bill, and problems get flagged before we notice them. Planning our IT budget takes five minutes instead of an argument with the owner.
After a free assessment, you get a written quote with the scope, timeline and fixed fee. No surprises.
It is outside help building a plan to keep your company running during disruptions. A consultant reviews your critical processes, sets recovery targets, writes the response steps and tests them with your team. The result is a practical document, not just advice.
Disaster recovery focuses on restoring technology after an outage. Business continuity is wider. It covers people, communication, facilities, vendors and customers too. Disaster recovery is one part of the continuity plan, and both should be written to match each other.
Most small and mid-sized Chicago businesses finish in about four to eight weeks. Interviews and the impact review come first, then the written plan, then a tabletop test. Larger or regulated organizations can take longer because of added review steps.
Most projects for small and mid-sized offices are priced as a fixed fee based on headcount, locations and systems. Costs typically range from a few thousand dollars to the low five figures. You get a written quote after a free assessment.
Yes. Backups protect your data, but a plan covers everything around it. Who declares an incident, how staff are told, which system returns first and how clients hear from you. Without that, a good backup can still lead to a slow, confused recovery.
A good plan covers cyberattacks, hardware failure, power and internet outages, building closures, severe weather and the loss of a key person or vendor. We focus on the effect on your business, so one set of steps works across many causes.
Only a little. Day to day, work stays the same. Your team learns a few simple steps for an incident, such as where to check for updates and who to call. A short tabletop session usually covers it.
At least once a year, with restore tests more often for critical systems. Test again after a move, a major software change or a significant staffing change. Regular checks keep the plan accurate and your team confident.
Often, yes. Many cyber insurers and larger clients ask for a documented recovery plan and proof of testing. Your written plan and test reports give you clear answers. We do not give legal advice, but we can supply the records they request.
Yes. We plan for offices across Chicago and nearby suburbs, from the West Loop and Fulton Market to Evanston, Skokie and the O’Hare area. Interviews can be done on site or remotely, and drills run the way your team really works.
Need something slightly different? These services cover the same ground from another angle.
A free assessment shows what would break first, how long recovery would take and what a plan would cost.