Frequently Asked Questions

What IT services does Progressive Computer Systems offer? Progressive Computer Systems is a comprehensive Managed Service Provider (MSP) offering IT management, cybersecurity, compliance services, and expert consulting. We assist businesses with every aspect of their IT needs—whether it's server setup, desktop support, resolving unreliable wireless connections, or navigating complex compliance requirements. Our team is here to guide and support you through all facets of your technology infrastructure.

We serve a large range of industries including but not limited to, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical, Dentistry, Dermatology, Religious Organizations, Education/Private Schools, Law Firms, Non-Profit, Professional Services and Small-Mid Size Businesses.

Hiring an in-house IT person can be significantly more expensive than working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP). In addition to salary, benefits, and overhead costs, you’ll also need to account for training, ongoing professional development, and the potential for gaps in coverage when that person is unavailable. With an MSP, you gain access to a full team of experts for a predictable monthly fee, eliminating the need for costly individual salaries and offering more comprehensive, round-the-clock support. Overall, an MSP can provide more value at a lower cost, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses.

If you're looking for IT support, we serve businesses from Greensboro to Raleigh. The key factor here is response time—we want to make sure we can have a technician at your office quickly if an onsite visit is needed. For cybersecurity and compliance services, we’re able to support you no matter where you are in the world!

We would love to meet with you. To learn more about our services, we welcome you to call or email us. Heck - we have even had people show up at our office! Our door is always open. For calls (910-929-3080 Ext 261#) For email (helen@pc-net.com)

We may be a bit biased, but outsourcing your entire IT needs or operating in a co-managed support partnership offers incredible benefits. Here’s just a few… Expertise: By partnering with us, you gain access to a team of technology professionals. Our engineers tackle 20 times the technical challenges that an in-house engineer at a single company might face. This exposure not only accelerates their growth but also enables us to resolve issues for your organization faster. Chances are, we've already troubleshot, isolated, and resolved any issues you might encounter. Risk Mitigation: In today's world, technology isn't just a luxury—it's a necessity. Relying on a single in-house resource or even just a couple for tech support can be risky. If an employee leaves for another opportunity, moves away, or encounters something unforeseen, you could be left with the responsibility of managing your tech on your own. Working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) ensures you always have access to a team of professionals who are familiar with your environment. Sure, engineers can leave an MSP too, but their support is backed by a larger team ready to step in and fill the gap immediately. Cost Savings: Employees can be costly—between salaries, benefits, and time off. Many businesses find that partnering with an MSP for full support or a co-managed solution results in significant cost savings. Strategy: Since IT is our core business, we make it a priority. From attending industry conferences to building invaluable partnerships with specialists, we ensure that continuing education is a key part of our DNA. We foster a collaborative environment for our team to engage in R&D, ensuring that our tools and solutions remain at the forefront of the industry.

This is a great question we get often, but the answer isn't always straightforward since every business is unique. While there are core services we provide to all clients, such as endpoint protection, system monitoring, and management, we customize the service stack based on the specific needs of each organization to offer the best possible support.

Progressive Computer Systems operates 24/7/365. That means if a critical business issue arises on a Saturday, we’ll be there working to resolve it. Technical issues don’t sleep or take vacations, and neither do we. While we maintain traditional office hours (Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM), we’re always available to address urgent issues whenever they occur, day or night.

Every business requires certain aspects of technology, but in our experience, the key difference between small and enterprise businesses often lies in the level of support—whether it’s full support or a co-managed partnership. We’ve seen organizations grow to the point where they need a dedicated on-site engineer for daily trouble tickets, while the MSP manages the core network and strategy. However, every business is unique, and this approach isn't always necessary. To determine the best partnership structure, it's important to meet with all key stakeholders to fully understand your business’ needs. From there, we can formulate a solution that works for everyone.

It all starts with a support ticket. From there, one of our expert engineers will assess the issue and assign it to the right specialist. Our first priority is to resolve the problem remotely, as it's the quickest way to get you back up and running. If the issue persists or requires on-site support, we’ll dispatch a technician to your office to fix it once and for all. And rest assured, you'll always work directly with one of our dedicated, local employees.

When you work with Progressive Computer Systems, you'll be assigned a dedicated POD—a specific team of engineers who will collaborate closely with your team. But what about the other engineers at PCS? Don’t worry, they’re available to assist with your technology as needed. We take relationships seriously and strive to ensure you have the best experience possible. That’s why we’ve found that having a dedicated team helps build stronger, longer-lasting connections with our clients. The timeline for rolling out services can vary depending on the company, service, and size, but our typical onboarding process takes around 30 days. If you're currently with another provider, there will often be an overlap of service as we transition your support to PCS. If immediate assistance is needed, we can discuss how Progressive can provide support right away.

We recognize that each business has unique needs, which is why we see value in onsite, cloud, and hybrid server environments. When assessing your business's needs, we take a holistic approach to how server infrastructure is used and make recommendations based on that analysis. Depending on your specific requirements, any of these options can be the best fit. Cloud servers offer several advantages over onsite servers, including greater flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. With cloud servers, you pay only for the resources you use, making costs more predictable and allowing you to scale up or down as your business needs change. There’s also no need for large upfront investments in hardware or ongoing maintenance costs, which are common with onsite servers. However, some businesses—like those with large manufacturing equipment tied into their network—may still require onsite servers. Additionally, companies that don’t require remote access may find onsite servers to be a better fit for their operations. At the end of the day, we don’t have a preference and will not push you in any particular direction. We tailor the server infrastructure to your business needs and plans.

When it comes to cybersecurity, you can never be too cautious. We advocate for a multi-layered approach to security, as having multiple levels of protection is crucial in today's landscape. We achieve this through endpoint protection, threat hunting tools, filtering services, comprehensive monitoring, and ongoing awareness training. However, we understand that cybersecurity isn’t one-size-fits-all. That's why we tailor our solutions to each business, ensuring their unique needs are met—especially for industries requiring specific compliance, such as HIPAA for medical practices.

At Progressive Computer Systems, we ensure the security of your business’s network through a multi-layered defense strategy. We deploy firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and continuously monitor your network to detect and block unauthorized access. We also secure all devices on your network with endpoint protection, including antivirus and anti-malware tools, to prevent threats from spreading. By enforcing strong access controls like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based permissions, we limit access to sensitive data. We also handle regular patch management and software updates to address vulnerabilities and keep your systems secure. In addition, we provide encryption for sensitive data and offer security awareness training to your employees to prevent human error. By combining these practices, we create a comprehensive security framework that keeps your business protected from both internal and external threats.

Our approach for password and user management focuses on security and efficiency. This includes implementing strong password policies, using multi-factor authentication (MFA), and ensuring that access controls are in place to limit and monitor user permissions. Where possible, we employ centralized password management systems to securely store and manage credentials, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Additionally, we regularly review user access, update passwords as needed, and promptly deprovision accounts for former employees to maintain a secure environment

We’ve spent over a decade developing our proprietary HIPAA program, fully understanding the challenges smaller practices face when it comes to achieving compliance. It’s not just difficult—it can be overwhelming. Staying on top of requirements, implementing processes, protocols, and protections is a lot to manage. With our HIPAA program, businesses work closely with our compliance team throughout the year to efficiently complete the annual program. Then, when January 1st comes, we begin the process again. The key to HIPAA compliance isn’t just implementing the necessary elements—it’s about continuously updating and verifying them to ensure you're always ready to demonstrate compliance. We shift your cybersecurity approach from simply checking the boxes on an annual questionnaire to genuinely feeling confident in your systems and protections.

At Progressive Computer Systems, we help companies navigate compliance and insurance requirements by ensuring their IT infrastructure meets industry standards and regulatory guidelines. We work closely with businesses to understand the specific compliance requirements they must adhere to, such as HIPAA for healthcare or PCI-DSS for payment card data. Our team assists with the implementation of necessary controls, policies, and security measures to ensure compliance, including data encryption, access controls, and regular audits. Additionally, we help companies prepare for insurance audits by maintaining secure systems, proper documentation, and best practices that demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements. By partnering with us, businesses can ensure they meet both compliance and insurance obligations while reducing risk and avoiding penalties.