Managed IT & Support
Cybersecurity
Cloud, Backup & Network
Get one team that fixes Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint problems, manages your licenses and security settings, and shows up when a Chicago office needs hands on the problem.
Get a Free IT AssessmentMicrosoft 365 runs the daily work of most Chicago offices. Email, calendars, Teams calls, shared files and logins all sit inside one subscription. When something breaks, nobody cares which part failed. They just cannot work. Microsoft 365 support means a team you can call when that happens, and a team that keeps watching the settings so it happens less often.
Most problems are not dramatic. A mailbox fills up. A shared calendar stops syncing. A new hire cannot sign in on day one. Someone shares a folder with the wrong people. A Teams meeting drops during a client call. Each one is small, but they add up to hours of lost time every month, and they usually land on whoever in the office is “good with computers.”
Good support also covers what you do not see. That includes tenant settings, multi-factor sign-in, mail filtering, retention rules, device access and license counts. Microsoft changes features and defaults often, and the safe setup from three years ago may not be safe today. A steady support partner reviews those settings, explains changes in plain English and keeps your subscription matched to the people who actually use it.
Many Chicago businesses are lean. A law office in the Loop, a design studio in West Loop or a medical practice in Lincoln Park may have thirty people and no full-time IT person. Microsoft 365 still needs an administrator. Somebody has to add users, reset passwords, manage shared mailboxes and keep an eye on security alerts. When that job falls to an office manager, it competes with everything else.
Chicago winters add their own pressure. Snow days and travel delays push more people to work from home, and remote staff lean harder on Teams, OneDrive and secure sign-in. Support that already knows your setup can get a stranded employee working in minutes instead of leaving them stuck. Most offices find a flat monthly support fee is easier to plan around than paying by the hour each time something goes wrong.
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.
Outlook problems are the most common support request. That includes full mailboxes, missing messages, shared inboxes, calendar permissions and phones that stop syncing. Support handles these quickly, and also sets up the rules that prevent repeat problems, such as sensible mailbox sizes and clear sharing permissions.
Spam and phishing filtering get tuned to your business so fewer bad messages reach your staff. If you use a shared mailbox for orders, scheduling or customer requests, it is built so the right people see it and the wrong people do not. Departing employees have their mail forwarded or archived properly.
Teams is now the daily meeting room for many offices. Support covers audio and camera problems, meeting links that fail, guest access for clients, channel structure and the settings that decide who can create teams or share files with outsiders.
A messy Teams setup grows fast. Dozens of unused channels and unclear ownership make files hard to find. We help you set simple naming, sensible permissions and a clean-up routine so Teams stays useful as your staff grows, changes roles or works from home during a Chicago snowstorm.
Most business email attacks start with a stolen password. Support turns on multi-factor sign-in, blocks old and risky login methods, reviews admin accounts and checks for odd sign-in activity. These steps are not exciting, but they stop a large share of real-world account takeovers.
Access rules also cover devices. You decide which laptops and phones can open company mail and files, and what happens when one is lost. When an employee leaves, their access is shut off the same day, and their data stays with the company where it belongs.
Shared drives often turn into a maze. Support helps you decide what belongs in SharePoint, what stays in OneDrive and who gets access to each folder. We fix sync errors, restore deleted files within the recovery window and explain why a file will not open for a coworker.
When your folders already feel out of control, a planned structure beats another round of ad hoc fixes. We help design libraries around how your departments actually work, with permissions that match your org chart instead of a free-for-all that nobody dares to touch.
Microsoft sells several plans, and the wrong one costs you either money or protection. Support reviews who needs which plan, removes unused seats and adds the right security features where they matter, such as for staff who handle financial or client records.
Daily admin work gets handled for you: new user setup, password resets, name changes, group memberships and clean exits. If you are planning a larger move, such as bringing in another office or switching from an older system, we can scope that too and give you a clear written estimate.
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.
Your team may sit in a Loop high-rise, a West Loop loft or an office out near O’Hare, and Microsoft 365 support works the same from all of them. Most help is remote, with on-site visits when hardware or the network needs hands.
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.
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.
You can manage Microsoft 365 yourself, hire someone to look after it, or call a general repair shop when it breaks. Each choice has a different cost and a different level of protection.
| Topic | Ping Chicago | Office Manager Doing IT | Pay-Per-Call IT Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical monthly cost | Flat fee per user | Salary share plus lost time | Unpredictable hourly bills |
| Response to a problem | Quick, by phone, chat or email | Whenever they are free | Depends on the shop’s calendar |
| Security settings | Reviewed & kept current | Often left at defaults | Only touched if you ask |
| Multi-factor sign-in | Set up & enforced for everyone | Optional, often skipped | Rarely suggested |
| License review | Regular, with seats trimmed | Rarely checked | Not part of the job |
| New hire setup | Same checklist every time | Done from memory | Billed as a separate job |
| Coverage when someone is out | A whole team knows your setup | Nobody else knows the setup | Whoever answers the phone |
Your staff spend less time fighting their tools, and you spend less time wondering what is configured behind the scenes.
Mailbox, Teams and sign-in problems get answered quickly instead of sitting in an inbox.
Multi-factor sign-in and mail filtering are set up and kept current.
You pay for the plans and seats your team really uses.
New hires get accounts, mailboxes and files ready on day one.
Microsoft 365 support often leads to a bigger project, and these pages cover the next steps.
Move from an older mail system or file server into Microsoft 365 with a planned, low-disruption cutover.
SharePoint ConsultingDesign document libraries, permissions and workflows that match how your team actually works.
Email Migration ServicesMove mailboxes, calendars and contacts without lost messages or a long outage.
Managed Security ServicesAdd ongoing monitoring and protection on top of your Microsoft 365 account settings.
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 a per-user price and a clear list of what is covered, so there are no surprises later.
It covers help with Outlook, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint, plus user setup, password resets, license management and security settings. Good support also reviews your tenant regularly so settings stay safe as Microsoft changes features. The exact list depends on your plan, which should be written out clearly.
Most managed support is priced per user each month, and prices typically depend on how many people you have and how much security work is included. A flat per-user fee is easier to budget than hourly billing. Ask for a written quote that lists exactly what is covered.
Yes. Many offices keep one internal person for daily needs and add outside help for Microsoft 365 administration, security reviews and backup coverage. That way your staff has someone to call when your internal person is out or busy, and nothing important depends on one individual.
Most Microsoft 365 issues are solved remotely because the problems live in the cloud, not in your building. On-site visits make sense for hardware, cabling, printers and network trouble. You get both from the same team, scheduled around your office hours.
The platform has solid protection, but the default settings are not always enough for a business. Multi-factor sign-in, mail filtering, device rules and admin limits need to be turned on and maintained. Support makes sure those steps are done and checked, not assumed.
Microsoft protects its service, but it does not promise to keep every deleted or overwritten file forever. A separate backup gives you a way to recover mail and files after a mistake or attack. Many businesses add it for peace of mind, and we can quote it with your support.
With a standard checklist, a new account with mailbox, Teams access and file permissions can be ready within a few hours of your request. Give us a day or two of notice and the laptop and sign-in steps can be ready before their first morning.
Yes. We review how folders, teams and permissions are laid out today, then propose a simpler structure and a plan to move files without breaking links your staff rely on. Most clean-ups can be done in stages so your team keeps working.
This is common. A license review compares the seats you pay for with the accounts that actually sign in. Unused or duplicate seats can often be removed, and some people can move to a cheaper plan. Many offices find a few easy savings.
Contract terms vary by provider, so ask before you agree. A fair agreement explains scope, response times and how to end it if service is poor. After a free assessment, you receive a written quote, and you can review the terms before making any decision.
Need something slightly different? These services cover the same ground from another angle.
A free assessment shows what is working, what is exposed and what it would cost to fix.