Minimum System Requirements

1. End-User Devices (Workstations & Laptops)

     Minimum Standards

• Vendor-supported hardware (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple)

• Less than 5 years old

• Solid State Drive (SSD) required

• Minimum 16GB RAM (8GB acceptable only by written exception)

• Operating System:

  • Windows 10/11 Pro (supported versions only)

  • macOS currently supported by Apple

• Devices must allow:

  • Centralized patching

  • Endpoint security agent

  • Remote management agent (RMM)

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Why this matters?
Old hardware + spinning disks = tickets you can’t win. This draws a hard line.

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2. Servers (Physical or Virtual)

    Minimum Standards

• Vendor-supported hardware and firmware

• Under active manufacturer support (or covered by MSP-approved third-party support)

• Virtualized where possible (Hyper-V, VMware, or Azure)

• No end-of-life operating systems

• Daily backups with:

  • Local + offsite or cloud copy

  • Regular test restores

• Admin access delegated to MSP

      Explicitly Unsupported

• Peer-to-peer “servers”

• Desktop OS used as a server

• Unsupported Linux distros unless pre-approved

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3. Network Infrastructure (Firewalls, Switches, Wi-Fi)

    Minimum Standards

• Business-class firewall (Fortinet, Meraki, WatchGuard, Ubiquiti, SonicWall, etc.)

• Firewall must support:

  • Active security subscriptions (IPS, threat detection)

  • VPN

  • Logging

• Managed switches (no unmanaged core switches)

• WPA2/WPA3 enterprise Wi-Fi

• Separate guest Wi-Fi network

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Explicitly Unsupported

• ISP-provided “all-in-one” routers for business use

• Consumer mesh Wi-Fi (Eero, Orbi, Google Nest, etc.)

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4. Identity, Authentication & Access Control

   Minimum Standards

• Centralized identity platform:

  • Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)

  • Or equivalent SSO platform

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enabled for:

  • Admin accounts

  • Email access

  • Remote access

• Principle of least privilege enforced

• No shared user accounts (except documented service accounts)

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Why this matters?
This single section saves you from 90% of ransomware blame.

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5. Email & Collaboration

   Minimum Standards

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium or higher (or approved equivalent)

• Email security:

  • Spam filtering

  • Phishing protection

• DKIM, SPF, and DMARC configured

• Shared mailboxes properly licensed and secured

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6. Endpoint Security

   Minimum Standards

• MSP-managed endpoint protection (EDR or NGAV)

• Centralized alerting and monitoring

• Tamper protection enabled

• No user ability to disable protection

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Explicitly Unsupported

• Free antivirus

• Multiple competing security products on the same device

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7. Backup & Disaster Recovery

   Minimum Standards

• Automated backups for:

  • Servers

  • Critical workstations (where applicable)

  • Microsoft 365 data

• Minimum backup retention:

  • 30 days standard

• Periodic test restores performed

• Client acknowledgment that no backup = no recovery guarantee

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8. Licensing & Compliance

   Minimum Standards

• All software must be properly licensed

• No pirated, cracked, or unsupported software

• Client responsible for application licensing costs

• MSP may decline support for non-compliant software

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9. Internet Connectivity

   Minimum Standards

• Business-class internet connection

• Static IP required where applicable

• Redundant internet recommended (but not mandatory unless noted in SOW)

• ISP modem/router must allow MSP access

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10. Documentation & Cooperation

   Minimum Standards

• MSP provided:

  • Admin credentials

  • Network diagrams (if available)

  • Vendor contacts

• Client agrees to:

  • Follow ticketing procedures

  • Notify MSP before making material changes

  • Designate a single point of contact