IT support for manufacturers, from the front office to the plant floor

Look for a provider that already understands how a plant runs: ERP and MRP systems, shipping and label printing, warehouse Wi-Fi, production equipment on the network, and customer security requirements. Then check four things: how fast a real person starts on your issue, whether security and backup are built into the plan, whether costs are predictable, and whether someone owns each problem until it’s solved. Ask for references from other manufacturers, and ask to see the onboarding plan before you sign.

See the questions to ask in our guide

A managed IT provider acts as your outsourced IT department for a predictable monthly fee. For a manufacturer, that typically covers support for office and plant users, monitoring and maintenance of servers, computers and networks, cybersecurity, backup, Microsoft 365, and coordination with your ERP and equipment vendors. It also covers planning, so server replacements, network upgrades and budgets are mapped out ahead of time instead of showing up as emergencies.

Managed IT services

For most manufacturers with 10 to 150 computer users, outsourcing gives you more coverage with less risk. One person can’t be an expert in networks, servers, security, ERP and compliance at once, can’t cover two shifts, and takes vacations and sick days. When they leave, what they know leaves with them. If you already have a good IT person, co-managed IT lets us back them up instead of replacing them.

How co-managed IT works

Yes. Co-managed IT gives your internal IT person or team a full bench behind them: help with escalations, security tools and monitoring, backup, big projects, vacation coverage and after-hours support when you need it. They stay your front line and keep their day-to-day knowledge of the plant. It’s a common fit for larger manufacturers, and it keeps one person from being a single point of failure.

Managed IT services

Fairoaks IT provides managed IT and cybersecurity for manufacturers throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC metro area, from offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC. We’ve been independent and owner-led since 1991, we won the Soteria Award for Most Trusted MSP in North America, and CEO Adam Crossley, who worked at Sikorsky on the Navy Seahawk program before entering IT, leads our manufacturing work.

Manufacturing IT in Massachusetts and Rhode IslandManufacturing IT in the Charlotte, NC area

Ask questions that show how they’ll actually perform. How fast does a real person start on an issue? Who owns a problem that sits between you and your ERP vendor? Have you connected production equipment like CNC machines to a network? When did you last test-restore a client’s backup? What isn’t included in the monthly fee? How do you onboard without disrupting production and shipping? Can I talk to one of your manufacturing clients?

Get the full list, with what good answers sound like

Yes. We help integrate equipment like CNC machines into your network: getting them connected, putting them on their own secure network segment, making sure programs get from engineering to the floor reliably, and keeping remote access for your equipment vendors under control. We work alongside your equipment vendors when a machine needs their expertise, so you have one team coordinating instead of three pointing fingers.

How we connect equipment

In most plants, yes. Production equipment often runs older software that can’t be updated as easily as office computers, so putting it on its own network segment limits what an attacker or a virus can reach. If someone in the office clicks a bad link, the line keeps running. Segmentation also makes it easier to control which vendors can reach which machines. It’s one of the first things we look at in an assessment.

What happens in an assessment

Design it for the building, not the office. Steel racking, high ceilings, machinery and long aisles all block or bounce wireless signals, so a warehouse needs business-grade access points placed where scanners and tablets are actually used, not where it’s convenient to run a cable. A walk-through, or a wireless survey for larger buildings, shows the dead spots before you buy anything. We design, install and manage Wi-Fi for offices, plants and warehouses.

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Usually it’s the network or the setup, not the device. Scanners drop off when Wi-Fi is weak, label printers fail when drivers, addresses or the connection to your ERP or shipping software change, and nobody owns the problem because it sits between three vendors. We take ownership: we keep the network and connections stable, document how each printer and scanner is set up, and coordinate with your software vendor when the problem is on their side.

ERP and software questions

Plan for it before it happens. That means backups stored where ransomware can’t reach them and tested regularly, a recovery plan that says how fast critical systems like your ERP come back, a backup internet connection where downtime is expensive, and a simple written playbook for how the floor keeps working during an outage, such as printing pick lists and labels ahead. Our guide includes an outage playbook you can adapt.

Get the outage playbook in our guide

It depends on the problem and your plan. Fairoaks IT provides live support during business hours, with after-hours support available, and our average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes. For multi-shift plants, we plan ahead: monitoring that flags problems overnight, clear instructions for shift leads, and an agreed process for urgent issues outside business hours. We’ll walk through what makes sense for your shifts during the assessment.

How our support works

Fairoaks IT supports the systems manufacturers run on, including Epicor, JobBOSS, Global Shop Solutions, NetSuite, SAP Business One and Microsoft Dynamics. We keep the servers, networks, computers and integrations behind them working, handle user access and security, and deal directly with your ERP vendor when an issue crosses into their side. If you run something else, ask us; most of the work is the same.

See the full software list

Your IT provider should. ERP vendors support their application, not your server, your network or the computers on the floor, so problems in between tend to bounce back and forth while orders wait. Fairoaks IT takes ownership of those problems. We open the case with the vendor, give them the technical details they ask for, and stay on it until it’s resolved. One point of contact for every technology issue is part of our Client Bill of Rights.

What you can count on

It depends, and anyone who gives you a one-word answer without looking at your setup is guessing. Cloud or hosted ERP can simplify remote access and take aging hardware off your plate. An on-site server can still make sense for production systems that need to keep running even if the internet goes down, or for software versions that run best locally. The deciding factors are your ERP version, your internet reliability, how many sites you run and what your current server would cost to replace. We lay out both options side by side.

Cloud computing

Riskier than it looks, because it usually works fine until the day it doesn’t. Older servers and operating systems stop getting security updates, replacement parts get harder to find, and a single failure can stop order entry, production scheduling and shipping at once. The fix doesn’t have to be dramatic: confirm your backups can actually restore the ERP, find out what’s out of support, and plan the replacement on your schedule instead of the server’s.

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Different ones. Engineers working in CAD need workstation-class machines with dedicated graphics. Schedulers and office staff need reliable business computers. Shop floor stations need durable, locked-down computers that do one job well, and warehouse users need scanners and tablets that hold up to drops and dust. Matching equipment to the role saves money, and planning replacements on a schedule keeps old machines from failing mid-shift.

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Often not. Many manufacturers pay for Microsoft 365 licenses that include security and file-sharing features they’ve never turned on. A quick review usually finds multi-factor authentication not enforced for everyone, files scattered across personal OneDrive folders, outside sharing left open, and no backup separate from Microsoft. Fixing those four things is one of the highest-value IT projects a manufacturer can take on.

Cloud computing and Microsoft 365

Because downtime is expensive and there are a lot of ways in. Plants run on tight schedules, so a manufacturer facing stopped production is more likely to pay. Manufacturers also hold valuable designs and customer data, connect older production equipment to their networks, and work with many suppliers and customers by email. IBM’s 2026 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index found manufacturing was the most targeted industry for the fifth year in a row, with 27.7% of incidents. The defense is layered: multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, network segmentation, tested backups and trained staff.

Managed security services

Only if you work on Defense Department contracts or subcontracts, and even then the requirements are in flux. As of October 2026, CMMC Phase 1 self-assessments remain in effect for applicable contracts, while the Phase 2 requirement for third-party certification, originally scheduled for November 10, 2026, was suspended in July 2026 pending a Defense Department review. The underlying obligations haven’t gone away: if you handle controlled unclassified information, DFARS 252.204-7012 still requires you to protect it under NIST SP 800-171. We help manufacturers get ready for NIST 800-171 and CMMC, scoped as a project or compliance add-on.

NIST and CMMC compliance

NIST SP 800-171 is a set of 110 security requirements for protecting controlled unclassified information, or CUI, outside the federal government. It applies when your contracts, usually defense contracts or subcontracts, include DFARS 252.204-7012 and you store, process or send CUI, such as certain drawings, specifications or technical data. Many manufacturers fall under it through a prime contractor without realizing it. The first step is finding out where CUI actually lives in your company, which is often fewer places than you’d fear.

NIST and CMMC compliance

Treat it as a sales document, because it is. Customers increasingly ask suppliers about multi-factor authentication, backups, endpoint protection, incident response and sometimes NIST 800-171 before they award or renew business. Answer honestly, gather proof for every yes, and keep a master copy of your answers so the next questionnaire takes an hour instead of a week. If the honest answer is no, a short plan with dates beats a guess. We help clients fill these out and close the gaps they reveal.

Get the questionnaire prep sheet in our guide

Most carriers now ask about the same core controls: multi-factor authentication on email and remote access, endpoint detection and response on every computer and server, backups that are offline or can’t be altered and are tested, security awareness training, and timely patching. Some also ask how you verify payment changes and how production systems are separated from the office network. Make sure every yes on the application is true, because carriers look closely at those answers when a claim is filed. Your insurance agent has the final word on what your policy requires.

Get the insurance prep sheet in our guide

Verify every change to payment instructions by phone, using a number you already have on file. Business email compromise often arrives from a real supplier’s hacked mailbox asking you to update banking details before the next invoice, so the email itself looks legitimate. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded about $3 billion in business email compromise losses, and most of that money moved by wire transfer or ACH. Add multi-factor authentication on every mailbox, filtering for lookalike domains and a written payment verification policy.

Get the payment verification template in our guide

Yes, with the right tools and rules. AI is useful for writing work instructions, summarizing specs and drafting quotes and emails. But free and personal AI accounts may keep what your team types in, and customer drawings, pricing and anything controlled under ITAR or defense contracts shouldn’t go into tools that aren’t approved for that data. A short AI use policy should name approved tools on company accounts, list what never goes in, and say who to ask first. If you’re on Microsoft 365, you may already have a business-grade option.

Get the AI policy starter in our guide

It depends on how many people and devices you support, how many buildings and shifts you run, your security and compliance requirements, and how much is covered in the monthly fee versus billed separately. Most managed IT providers price per user or per device each month, with onboarding and projects quoted separately. When you compare quotes, compare what’s included, not just the total, and weigh it against what an hour of stopped production costs you. Our IT Buyer’s Guide explains the pricing models and the contract terms to watch for.

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A good plan lists both clearly. Monthly plans typically include support for your users, monitoring and maintenance, security tools, backup and Microsoft 365 management. Hardware, software licenses and larger projects, like a server replacement, a network refresh, a plant expansion or compliance readiness work, are usually quoted separately. Ask every provider for their exclusions in writing. At Fairoaks IT, we explain all costs up front, so there are no hidden fees or surprise invoices.

What you can count on

Many managed IT agreements run for multiple years, which locks in your rate and gives your provider reason to invest in your environment. What matters is what happens if things aren’t working, so ask every provider two questions: what happens if you don’t deliver, and how are price increases handled? Get both answers in writing. At Fairoaks IT, ours are spelled out in our agreement, and we’ll walk you through every page before you sign.

What you can count on

With a plan built around your schedule. A good transition starts by documenting every system, password, license and vendor, including ERP, shipping and production floor connections, then a coordinated handoff from your current provider. Changes happen around shift changes, month-end and your busiest shipping days, not during them. Urgent risks like backups and multi-factor authentication get fixed first, and bigger projects wait until things are stable. Fairoaks IT assigns a point of contact and holds weekly check-ins until onboarding is complete.

How working with us starts

We look at your technology the way a good quality engineer looks at a process: all of it, with a written report at the end. That includes network closets, Wi-Fi coverage in the plant and warehouse, servers, your ERP setup, Microsoft 365, backups, security tools, printers and scanners, and any customer, insurance or compliance requirements. You get a plain-English summary of what’s working, what’s at risk and what to fix first. No scare tactics, just facts. It starts with a discovery call.

Schedule a discovery call

If you have around 10 or more people on computers every day, or production and shipping that stop when technology does, managed IT usually makes sense. Revenue and headcount can be misleading in manufacturing. A plant with 120 employees may have only 30 at a keyboard, but those 30 run the ERP, scheduling, quality and shipping the whole company depends on. A short discovery call is the fastest way to know.

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