Replacing A Reactive MSP And Consolidating IT Across A Four-Entity Professional Services Holding Company
Four-entity professional services holding (accounting, law, M&A advisory, insurance). Approximately 100 users. Replaced incumbent MSP after a structured RFP across 30+ MSPs. Roughly $55,000 in identified hard savings within 12 months.
Client Overview
A Long Island professional services holding company composed of four operating entities: an accounting firm, a law firm, an M&A advisory practice, and an insurance and risk advisory firm. Approximately 100 users across multiple offices. Strict client confidentiality requirements. Multiple compliance frameworks in play across the four entities.
The Situation
The client was unhappy with their incumbent MSP. The MSP was reactive rather than proactive, technically thin, and provided little strategic guidance. The relationship was managed by a mid-level engineer rather than an executive advisor. As the client executed a first-of-its-kind multi-entity professional services strategy, leadership concluded the existing MSP could not support the firm’s growth or the cross-entity standardization the strategy required.
The client engaged a third-party consulting firm to run a formal RFP among Long Island and New York City MSPs. RFP issued to over thirty MSPs. More than twenty responded. First round narrowed to twelve. Second round narrowed to six. Final round of three finalists, including in-person presentations.
Hi-Tek was selected. Hi-Tek took over in December 2022 and stood up support in January 2023.
What Hi-Tek Did
Network Re-Design And Consolidation
- Built a scalable network designed for future M&A activity
- Implemented a layer-3 switch topology with core and edge switch stacks
- Deployed redundant firewalls and consolidated multiple ISP connections into a single network with failover
- Connected previously-separate floors with fiber uplinks
- Segmented voice, wireless, and data traffic
Microsoft 365 Tenant Consolidation
- Consolidated three separate Microsoft 365 tenants into one
- Renamed the unified tenant to align with the holding company’s brand
- Migrated all shared document paths and file links
- Removed redundant licensing across tenants and ex-employee accounts
- Standardized identity controls across the consolidated tenant
Server And Active Directory Consolidation
- Consolidated multiple Windows Active Directory domains into one
- Migrated user identities and group memberships
- Standardized server infrastructure across the holding company
Security Stack Implementation
- Deployed managed detection and response across all endpoints
- Implemented internal and external vulnerability scanning with documented remediation
- Deployed next-generation email security
- Multi-factor authentication on every server, every desktop, every Microsoft 365 mailbox
- Phishing simulation and security awareness training program
Backup Consolidation
- Replaced two prior-MSP backup appliances with a single, larger, more capable image-based backup system
- Eliminated redundant Microsoft 365 backup subscriptions
The Outcome
Roughly $55,000 in identified hard savings within the first 12 months, from eliminating duplicate licensing, exiting prior contracts, and consolidating backup infrastructure. A security posture documented to satisfy cyber insurance carrier requirements and regulatory expectations across all four entities.
A network and identity architecture built to integrate the next acquisition without redesign. Internal IT staff who reported feeling included in design, planning, and execution rather than worked around. Executive leadership able to make IT decisions with structured options and trade-offs presented. A second contract renewal signed within 24 months. A subsequent engagement to lead Azure cloud and virtual desktop migration.
Why This Case Matters
Multi-entity professional services holdings face a particular operational problem: each entity has its own client base, compliance posture, and historical IT, but the holding company expects standardization, predictability, and consolidated reporting. The MSP that serves one entity well is often not the MSP that can run all four entities together.
This case is the template Hi-Tek uses for multi-entity engagements: structured RFP response, fast onboarding with explicit trust-building, network and identity architecture built for the next acquisition, security stack rolled out as a standard rather than an upsell, and Microsoft 365 tenant consolidation as the foundation for cross-entity governance.
Related Capabilities
Professional Services IT
Accounting, advisory, consulting, law firms. Client confidentiality, AICPA AI policy, busy-season uptime.
PE-Backed Companies
Portfolio standardization, M&A integration playbook, sponsor-grade reporting, exit-ready posture.
Microsoft 365 Service
Tenant administration, identity, modern workplace, Copilot governance.
Cyber Security
EDR, 24/7 SOC, MFA, conditional access, the carrier-aligned stack.
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