Questions, answered.
How we engage, what it costs, how fast we start, how we operate. Plainly stated.
10 QUESTIONS 3 SECTIONS
Engagement & pricing
4 QUESTIONS
What is the engagement minimum?
Audits and fixed-fee projects have no minimum beyond the scope. Managed plans carry a monthly minimum (from $750) and a 12-month term, billed monthly. Sentinel Advisory™ (vCISO) runs on a 12-month term, or a 6-month pilot at +10%. Website Care plans run month to month with 30 days' notice, or 12 months when bundled with a build. We do not lock clients into multi-year contracts.
Do you charge for scoping or initial calls?
No. The first 30-minute call and any follow-up scoping conversations are free. We commit a fixed-fee proposal before any signed agreement.
How fast can you start?
For audits and assessments: typically within 2 weeks of signed agreement. Managed retainers: onboarding within 30 days. Website builds: 4–8 weeks for full scope, faster on existing relationships.
Can you take over from our existing provider?
Yes — this is one of our most common entry points. We run a transition audit, document everything we inherit, and stand up clean operations within 30–60 days while keeping the lights on. On a managed plan, the takeover is part of onboarding.
Security specifics
4 QUESTIONS
Do you provide 24/7 incident response?
No. We don't run a 24/7 response desk. Clients on a managed plan, or a Website Care plan with Managed Security, get a first reply to a security incident within 1 business hour (business hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 ET). Other clients can engage emergency response on a time-and-materials basis.
What does a security audit cost?
The Sentinel Exposure Review™ is fixed-fee by headcount: $6,500 CAD for up to 20 staff, $11,500 for 21–75 and $18,500 for 76–150. Larger organizations are scoped after an initial conversation.
Are you compliant with PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, and PHIPA?
Our practices are aligned to PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, PHIPA, and CyberSecure Canada. We provide board-ready compliance documentation as part of charity and SMB engagements.
Can you work with our existing security tools?
Yes. We are vendor-agnostic by design. We work with your existing EDR, SIEM, firewall, and identity stack, or recommend a refresh based on what fits your operational profile and budget.
Operations & infrastructure
2 QUESTIONS
Do you work with M365 / Google Workspace / Proton Mail?
All three, with specific hardening playbooks for each. Identity, MFA (passkey-preferred), conditional access, DLP, and audit logging configured to a defensible baseline. For privacy-sensitive clients we lean Proton; for regulated Canadian organizations we lean M365 with CA-region data residency; for everyone else, the right choice is whichever your team already runs well.
What is your service-desk response time?
On Managed IT Complete and Managed IT Assured: a first reply to an urgent IT issue within 1 business hour, and to a standard request within 4 business hours. Security incidents: a first reply within 1 business hour on every managed plan. All in business hours (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 ET); there is no 24/7 response.
Ask us directly.
Email, call, or fill out the contact form. A senior engineer responds within one business day.