Managed IT Support
Your outsourced IT department, or extra hands for your in-house team: helpdesk, 24/7 monitoring, servers, backup and disaster recovery, Wi-Fi and cabling, on Windows and Apple.
More on Managed IT SupportManaged IT Support · Ipswich, Suffolk and London
IT Support That Keeps Watch.
We look after the computers, Microsoft 365, cyber security and phones of growing businesses, charities and clubs. We watch your systems around the clock, fix problems while they’re still small, and explain everything in plain English.
Rather talk it through? Call 01473 350444
- Since 2009Founded in Suffolk by Colin Hammond
- Clients Since 2010Including Millwall Football Club
We Look After
- Millwall Football Club
- JMS Group
- Jacob Bailey
- Munchy Seeds
- Melanoma Focus
- Bay Tree VA
- Jack Garn
- M7 Real Estate
- Houchell Mortgages
- XL Independent Financial Advisers
Our Approach
Watchful, Patient and Precise, Like Our Namesake
A heron can stand in the shallows for hours, perfectly still, watching. Then it moves at exactly the right moment. That’s a fair description of good IT support.
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Watchful: We Spot Problems Early
We monitor your computers, servers, backups and security 24/7. When a disk starts to fail, a backup doesn’t run or someone tries a password that isn’t theirs, we see it and deal with it while it’s still a small job.
- Backups
- Security Updates
- Disk Health
- Sign-In Alerts
- Firewalls
- Microsoft 365
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Patient: We Explain Things Properly
Nobody gets buried in acronyms or made to feel silly for asking. Our clients describe us as “consistently patient” and “incredibly helpful and patient”, and we intend to keep it that way.
From Jane Cattermole, Bay Tree VA, and David Houchell, Houchell Mortgages.
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Precise: We Recommend What Fits
The right technology at a fair price, chosen for how your business actually works rather than the most expensive thing on the list. Then we set it up properly and make sure it works. Always.
What We Look After
Everything Your Office Runs On, in One Pair of Hands
Computers, cloud, security, phones and the kit itself. One team, one number to call, and nobody passing your problem on to someone else. Use us as your whole IT department, or as extra hands for the IT person you already have.
Cyber Security and Training
Managed firewalls, email scanning, two-step sign-in and vulnerability checks, plus training that makes your team harder to fool. We’ll help you achieve Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
More on Cyber SecurityMicrosoft 365 and the Cloud
Email, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive set up properly, backed up and secured, with licences that match the people you actually have. Copilot too, used safely.
More on Microsoft 365IT Strategy and Health Checks
An honest audit of what you have, a plan tied to where the business is going, and a budget for what to replace and when, so spending is planned rather than sprung on you.
More on IT StrategyIT Equipment and Licences
Laptops, Macs, servers, screens, printers and software sourced at a fair price, set up and delivered ready to work. Leasing available, and old kit disposed of under the WEEE rules.
More on IT ProcurementBusiness Phones
Internet-based phone systems that work in the office, at home and on mobiles, set up to work with your IT and ready for the old phone network closing on 31 January 2027.
More on TelephonyOur Clients
The Best Proof Is How Long Clients Stay
IT support is a relationship, and you can judge one by how long it lasts. Here are some of the organisations we look after, and the year each one started working with us.
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Munchy SeedsArtisan seed company, and now its founder’s wine business in New Zealand
Since December 200916 years
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Jacob BaileyInternational creative agency with offices in London, Suffolk and the US
Since June 201016 years
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Millwall Football ClubOne of the club’s Official Suppliers: IT for the stadium, training ground and academy
Since July 201016 years
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Cambridge Arts VenueLive music and arts centre with 45 staff and up to 2,000 guests
Since 201016 years
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Bay Tree VAAward-winning virtual assistant team working remotely, nationwide
Since June 201214 years
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Ipswich Dental PracticePatient records kept secure, and no interruptions during treatment
Since 201511 years
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JMS GroupCivil and structural engineers with offices across the UK and in Greece
Since 20179 years
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Chelmsford Law FirmCorporate law firm moved to secure home working in a hurry
Since 20206 years
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Jack GarnSuffolk freight company with a growing fleet of lorries
Since November 20205 years
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Airborne Forces CharityColchester-based charity supporting the Airborne community
Since August 20224 years
Start dates from Heron IT’s own case studies. A line runs to today for every client we still look after.
IT That Holds Up on the Big Day
Your big day might be month-end, a launch or an inspection. Ours have included match days and sold-out events. Same principle every time: check everything beforehand, and be there when it counts.
Match Days Since 2010
At Millwall Football Club we look after ticketing, tills, the press office, hospitality Wi-Fi, the training ground and the academy, with equipment checked before every match.
Events for Up to 2,000 Guests
At a Cambridge music and arts venue we keep the Wi-Fi, box-office tills and event kit running, indoors and out in the park.
Ten Years Inside a Football Club
Before founding Heron IT, Colin Hammond ran the IT at Ipswich Town Football Club for ten years. Match day nerves come as standard.
“Heron IT sources IT equipment at a great price and I value Sarah’s knowledge and advice. Deliveries are usually within 24 hours, whether to our offices at The Den or directly to a team member working remotely.”
“They make a difficult business process simple, something we lay people can understand… I had been worried that our old IT set up would not cope with our growth… those worries have disappeared.”
“Throughout they have been consistently patient, attentive to finding solutions and a calming balm when you’re at your wits end that something isn’t working as it should!”
“Having a secure IT support team in place is so incredibly important to us… Having access to the right systems configured properly to support our working model, brings efficiencies and adds genuine value.”
From Suffolk to New Zealand
Our Longest Client Is Also Our Furthest Away
We started looking after Munchy Seeds in December 2009. When founder Crispin Clay sold the business and moved to New Zealand to make wine, he asked us to keep looking after his IT on the other side of the world.
We still support Munchy Seeds under its new owner, too. And when Crispin launched Clay on Clay, his first Pinot Noir, we were his first customer.
That’s the kind of relationship we’re in this for.
Free IT Health Check
How Healthy Is Your IT? Find Out in Two Minutes.
Eight questions any business owner can answer without asking their IT person. You’ll see where you stand and what we’d look at first. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to send it.
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Answer the Questions to See Your Score
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What We’d Look at First
Your answers go into the enquiry form below so you can send them with your message. They aren’t stored or sent until you press send.
Worth Knowing
Two Changes Catching Businesses Out
Windows 10
Paid Security Updates Just Doubled in Price
Windows 10 stopped getting free security updates on 14 October 2025. Businesses still running it pay Microsoft for Extended Security Updates, and year two, which began on 14 October 2026, costs twice as much per PC as year one. A Windows 10 PC without them can’t pass Cyber Essentials.
Also out of support: Office 2021 since 13 October 2026, and Windows Server 2016 from 12 January 2027.
Plan Your UpgradesPhone Lines
The Old Phone Network Closes on 31 January 2027
Every UK landline is moving from the old analogue network to digital. In late September around 350,000 business premises were still on the old lines, and alarms, card machines, lift lines and door entry systems can stop working with them.
ISDN lines close too: they run over the same copper network.
Move Your PhonesSources: Microsoft: Windows 10 Extended Security Updates, IASME: Cyber Essentials, Openreach, 24 September 2026.
Cyber Security and AI
We Train Your People, Not Just Your Computers
Last year 46% of small UK businesses and 65% of medium-sized ones found a cyber breach or attack, and almost nine in ten of those had phishing emails. So alongside the firewalls and monitoring, we run short, practical sessions for your team: how to spot a scam, how to look after data, and how to use AI tools like Microsoft Copilot without putting client information at risk.
- Interactive cyber security and data protection seminars at your office
- Awareness training your team can work through at their desks
- Vulnerability checks, then support to achieve Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus
- Clear guidance on which AI tools are safe for business data
Figures: UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026, published 30 April 2026.
Switching to Heron IT
Changing IT Provider Is Easier Than You Think
Most businesses put off switching because it sounds disruptive. It doesn’t need to be. Every relationship starts the same way: with a conversation about how your business works and what you want from it.
A Conversation First
We start by listening: how your business runs, what you’ve promised your customers and what’s getting in the way.
An Honest Health Check
We look at your computers, accounts, backups, security and licences, and tell you plainly what’s fine and what isn’t.
A Plan and a Budget
Clear recommendations, priced up, with a timeline for replacing kit, so spending is planned rather than sprung on you.
A Careful Handover
We work with your current provider or your in-house IT person, take over the documentation and set up monitoring, fixing anything urgent first.
Ongoing Care and Reviews
Day-to-day help, 24/7 monitoring and regular reviews, so your IT keeps pace with the business as it grows.
“For over a decade, Jacob Bailey worked with several IT partners, feeling at every turn that they really didn’t understand, or value our business. We then started working with Heron IT. Right from the very beginning Heron IT took the time to get to know our business.”
Who You’ll Talk To
A Small Team Who’ll Know Your Business
We’re based in Great Blakenham, just outside Ipswich, and look after clients across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and London. Colin Hammond started Heron IT in June 2009 after ten years as Head of IT at Ipswich Town Football Club, and built it on three things: honesty, integrity and keeping clients happy.
Because we’re a close team, you’ll deal with the same few people who know your systems, not a different voice every time you call.
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Colin Hammond
Founder and Managing Director
Started Heron IT in 2009 after ten years as Head of IT at Ipswich Town Football Club.
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Dan Larson
Director and Technical Lead
With Heron IT since 2015. Turns complex problems into clear, reliable fixes, and never misses a game at Portman Road.
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Robi Korb
Senior IT Technician
Microsoft 365, identity, infrastructure and security, with a knack for automating the boring bits.
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Sarah Black
Procurement Consultant
Finding clients the right technology at the right price since 2014, with honest advice on what’s worth buying.
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Aisha Zeeshan
Purchasing Assistant
Tracks every order from supplier to your desk, and sorts out the rare one that goes astray.
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Sarah-Jane Vincent
Finance Officer
Keeps billing clear and simple, and the business running smoothly behind the scenes.
Britain’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies, Three Years Running
Heron IT has been listed in eChannelNEWS’ Britain’s 50 Best Managed IT Companies in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The assessment covers the whole business: vision, strategy, leadership, management, finance, operations, support and services.
See the 2025 ListQuestions
Questions We’re Often Asked
Anything else, just ask. Call 01473 350444 or email enquiries@heronit.co.uk.
How Much Does IT Support Cost?
It depends on how many people and devices you have and how much you’d like us to look after. You can pay as you go, or we’ll agree a monthly plan built around what you need. Either way, you’ll have a clear written price once we’ve looked at your setup.
Can You Work Alongside Our In-House IT Person?
Yes, and we often do. At Millwall Football Club we work with the club’s IT manager, and at Jacob Bailey we support their own IT technician. We can take on whole projects, cover holidays and busy spells, or simply be the experts your IT person can call on.
Do You Support Macs as Well as Windows?
Yes. We look after Apple Macs, iPhones and iPads as well as Windows computers and servers, including device management, so every machine is set up and secured the same way.
Which Areas Do You Cover?
We’re based in Great Blakenham, just outside Ipswich, and look after organisations across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and London. Most support happens remotely, so distance rarely matters: one of our clients is in New Zealand. When you need someone on site, we come to you.
How Do We Switch From Our Current IT Provider?
Tell us who looks after your IT now and when your agreement ends. We’ll review your setup, agree a handover date and work with your current provider so passwords, documentation and licences come across cleanly, with nothing dropped in between.
Can You Help Us Get Cyber Essentials?
Yes. We check your computers for weaknesses, fix what needs fixing and guide you through Cyber Essentials, the government-backed scheme that protects against the most common attacks. Since April 2026 it fails any business that hasn’t switched on two-step sign-in for its cloud services, so that’s usually where we start.
Certify the whole business and, if your turnover is under £20 million, you also get free cyber insurance. We’ve helped clients achieve Cyber Essentials Plus too, which adds hands-on testing of your systems.
Do You Supply Laptops, Phones and Other Equipment?
Yes. We source laptops, Macs, servers, screens, printers, software and licences at a fair price, set them up and deliver them ready to use, to your office or straight to someone working from home. Leasing is available, and we’ll dispose of old equipment under the WEEE regulations.
Can You Help Us Use AI Tools Like Copilot Safely?
Yes. We help you choose business-grade tools that keep your data inside your own Microsoft 365, set them up with the right permissions and show your team how to use them well. Colin runs sessions on exactly this for client teams.
Free IT Review
Start With a Conversation
Tell us a little about your business and what’s bothering you about your IT. We’ll be in touch to arrange a free review of your setup, with no obligation.
- Ipswich01473 350444
- London020 3026 2441
- Emailenquiries@heronit.co.uk
- OfficeUnit 2 Pegasus, Orion Avenue, Great Blakenham, Ipswich, Suffolk IP6 0LW
Already a Client? Get Help Now
Call 01473 350444, or log a ticket on our helpdesk portal and we’ll pick it up from there.