If you run a registered investment adviser, a wealth management practice, a broker-dealer, a CPA firm or a family office in Charlotte, the question is not whether you need managed IT. It is what to require of the provider before you sign. Network Essentials has served Charlotte businesses since 2002 and works with all five kinds of firm today. Below are the ten requirements we would put in any financial firm’s request for proposal, and a plain answer on where we stand on each. Use the list on us and on anyone else you are considering.
The ten things a financial firm should require of an IT provider
1. Experience with your actual regulator
The rules differ by firm type, and a provider should know which ones are yours. SEC-registered and state-registered advisers, broker-dealers and funds fall under Regulation S-P, amended in 2024: a written incident response program and notice to affected individuals no later than 30 days after you determine a breach occurred. The compliance dates, December 3, 2025 for larger firms and June 3, 2026 for smaller ones, have passed. Broker-dealers add FINRA’s cybersecurity expectations. CPA firms and other non-bank financial institutions fall under the FTC Safeguards Rule: a written information security program (WISP), and since May 13, 2024, FTC notice within 30 days of a breach affecting 500 or more consumers.
We work with each of these today. Our guides cover the detail: cybersecurity for RIA firms, SEC compliance IT support, and what a CPA firm’s WISP must contain.
2. Monitoring, detection and response that run without a person deciding to start them
Most intrusions today use a real password, not malware, so the signal is behaviour: a sign-in from a new country, a new mailbox forwarding rule, a first-time connection between two servers. Our clients get 24/7 monitoring, managed detection and response on every endpoint, a 24/7/365 managed security operations center with authority to isolate a machine or disable an account, multi-factor authentication on every account, least-privilege access, and email security. Our help desk is staffed Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm, and outside those hours clients reach an on-call engineer for urgent issues. See managed SOC services and why 29 minutes versus 6 days decides the outcome.
3. A written incident response plan and a recovery you have actually tested
Both regulators above want the plan in writing. Ours names who calls the bank, who calls the insurer, who preserves evidence, who files the report, and who notifies clients and the regulator, with the timelines built in. Backups are immutable and restore-tested, and the restore date is the proof. A plan that has never been rehearsed is a document, not a control.
4. Evidence you can hand to an insurer or an examiner
Cyber insurers now ask for it on every renewal, and examiners ask for it on request: the asset inventory, which users have multi-factor authentication, the patch cadence (routine patches weekly, critical patches immediately), backup test records, and vendor due-diligence documentation for custodians and auditors. We keep that evidence current as part of the service, so the request is a file, not a project.
5. Clear ownership of Microsoft 365 security
We are a Microsoft shop. Entra ID is our identity standard for every client, with conditional access, alerts on new mailbox rules and risky sign-ins, and email archiving and retention set up for books-and-records requirements. If your firm is Microsoft-based, one team owns the tenant’s security end to end.
6. US-based support and a real on-site option
Our office is at 11121 Carmel Commons Blvd in south Charlotte. Call (704) 206-8900 and you get a person in Charlotte. Nearly everything resolves remotely; when it does not, an engineer can be at your Charlotte, Ballantyne, SouthPark, Matthews, Fort Mill or Indian Land office the same day when the issue warrants it. We serve the Charlotte metro rather than a dozen states.
7. A named security advisor, not just a help desk
Network Essentials is CISSP-led: security architecture decisions on every client environment are made or reviewed by a CISSP. Firms that need a standing advisor for exam preparation, policy and vendor risk can add vCISO services.
8. References from firms like yours
Ask us for references from firms with a similar regulatory profile and headcount. We will not print client names on a web page, and we would be wary of any provider that does.
9. Contract language that covers the hard parts
Before you sign with anyone, including us, get four things in writing: how quickly you are told about a security incident, which subcontractors touch your data, how your data is handled and returned, and what offboarding looks like if you leave. We answer all four in writing before you sign.
10. Transparent pricing
Our engagements are a flat monthly fee that includes the security tools and backup. Engagements start at $2,000 per month. What moves a firm up from there is security and compliance scope, not headcount alone. If you are shopping for the lowest hourly rate, we are not the right fit, and we would rather say so now.
Agreements are month-to-month from day one, with no annual contract. You can cancel with 30 days’ written notice, for any reason, with no termination fee. During those 30 days we work with your new provider and hand over your documentation. There is a one-time onboarding fee. If you choose Microsoft’s annual-commitment discount on licenses, that commitment is with Microsoft and is separate from our agreement.
Who this is built for
Good fit: RIAs and wealth managers, broker-dealers, CPA and tax firms, and family offices in the Charlotte area with roughly 10 to 300 employees, where downtime has a dollar figure and someone will eventually ask you to prove your controls in writing.
Not a fit: one-to-five person shops and firms looking for break/fix by the hour. Both are legitimate needs. Neither is what we built.
For the CPA-specific picture, see IT security and managed IT for CPA firms in Charlotte. Firms with an internal IT person can start with co-managed IT.
Frequently asked questions
Which financial firms does Network Essentials support in Charlotte?
Registered investment advisers, wealth managers, broker-dealers, CPA and tax firms, and family offices. Each has a different regulator, and the service is set up around the rules that apply to you.
Does Regulation S-P apply to my RIA?
If your firm is SEC-registered, yes. The 2024 amendments require a written incident response program and notice to affected individuals within 30 days of determining a breach occurred. The compliance dates in December 2025 and June 2026 have passed. State-registered advisers follow their state’s rules, which are often modelled on the same requirements.
Is your help desk available 24/7?
Monitoring, detection and response run 24/7. The help desk is staffed Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm, and clients reach an on-call engineer after hours for urgent issues. We do not market a staffed overnight desk, because we do not run one.
What does managed IT cost for a financial firm in Charlotte?
A flat monthly fee that includes security tools and backup, starting at $2,000 per month. The scope of security and compliance work, not headcount alone, sets the level. Ask for a written quote after a short discovery call.
Start with a 30-minute fit call
Bring the list above. We will answer every item, tell you what we would want in the contract, and say plainly if we are not the right fit. Call (704) 206-8900 or request a free IT audit.
