Cogent IT

What Cogent IT does

Cogent IT is a privately held managed IT services provider headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, founded in March 2003 by Ed Guzman and Richard Prins. The company sells full-service, fixed-fee managed IT plans to small and midsize businesses in the greater Portland metro area, effectively acting as an outsourced IT department. Its service portfolio bundles CIO advisory (annual budgeting, strategic planning, security reviews), helpdesk support (7 AM–6 PM with after-hours emergency availability), asset and vendor management, proactive remote monitoring and management of infrastructure, project-based services (new office setup, EMR implementation, cloud migration), disaster recovery, and security/compliance consulting covering HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley, and PCI DSS.

The core technology layer is a remote monitoring and management toolset that performs centralized network health administration, automated maintenance, automated reporting, software patching, and 24/7 critical-failure alerting. These capabilities are described as 'cutting-edge' by the company itself but no proprietary AI, machine learning, automation framework, or platform architecture is disclosed; the tooling appears to be standard third-party RMM with internal process automation layered on top. No APIs, SDKs, integrations, patents, or certifications are listed in the source data.

The business model is straightforward managed services: recurring monthly fixed fees from subscription plans (Small Business and Complete Care tiers), supplemented by one-time project work. Distribution is direct sales to SMBs in a single regional market, with no channel partners, no resellers, and no disclosed marketing beyond the company website. The firm employs 1-10 people, has not raised outside capital, and operates as an independent Oregon corporation under Principal Ed Guzman following co-founder Richard Prins's retirement in 2014.

Name

Cogent IT

Legal name

Cogent IT, Inc.

Website

https://cogentit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cogent IT is a privately held managed IT services provider founded in 2003 and headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. It delivers fixed-fee outsourced IT department services — including helpdesk, virtual CIO, proactive monitoring, and compliance support — to small and midsize businesses in the greater Portland metro area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Managed IT Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Facilities Support Services (56121)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAEAMAL

Offshore Development Center (ODC) / Dedicated Team Services

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Outsourcing & Offshoring Services

SECONDARYBPAEAOAF

IT Asset Lifecycle Services (Procure-to-Retire)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Asset Management & Software Licensing Services

SECONDARYBPAAABAF

Technical & Product Support (Tier 0–2, Troubleshooting)

Business & Public Services/Administrative & Support Services (BPO, Call Centers, Back Office)/Omnichannel Customer Support (Email, Chat, Social, Messaging)

Keywords

• Managed IT services
• Network infrastructure management
• Helpdesk support services
• IT compliance auditing
• Disaster recovery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Beaverton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Managed IT Services (Fixed-Fee Plans): Recurring fixed monthly fees from full-service managed IT plans offering a 'complete IT department' at a fraction of the cost. Plans include CIO services, helpdesk, asset management, vendor management, proactive monitoring, disaster recovery, and security auditing. The fixed-fee model provides clients with predictable IT budgets.
2. Professional Services / Project Management: One-time project-based services for IT projects such as new office setup, EMR implementation, cloud migration, and related consulting and deployment engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Cogent IT provides outsourced managed IT services to small and midsize businesses in the greater Portland, Oregon metro area. Its core offering is a fixed-fee monthly plan that bundles a virtual CIO, helpdesk support, asset and vendor management, proactive 24/7 infrastructure monitoring, project management, disaster recovery, and security/compliance auditing into a single 'complete IT department' engagement. The company delivers services both remotely and on-site as part of recurring managed plans.

Product overview

Cogent IT provides managed IT services for small and midsize businesses in the greater Portland metro area since 2003. The company offers a complete IT department solution through fixed-fee pricing plans. The service portfolio includes CIO Services (executive-level IT leadership), Helpdesk Services (customer support), Asset Management and Vendor Management, Proactive IT Monitoring and Management, Project Management, Disaster Recovery Services, and Security Auditing and Compliance. These services work together as a unified managed services offering rather than as separate modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Managed IT Services (Small Business and Complete Care plans) Full-service outsourced IT department offering for small and midsize businesses in the greater Portland metro area, delivered under fixed monthly Small Business and Complete Care plans that bundle CIO services, helpdesk, asset management, proactive monitoring, and disaster recovery.
• CIO Services Executive-level IT leadership and advisory covering annual IT budgeting, performance reporting, IT assessment, business analysis, vendor management, industry regulation compliance (HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley, PCI DSS), security reviews, and disaster recovery preparation, provided to SMB clients in the Portland metro area.
• Helpdesk Services Customer support services operating 7 AM to 6 PM with after-hours emergency availability, covering workstation, server, application, account, email, mail/spam, voice, broadband internet, and hosted solutions support for small and midsize business clients.
• Asset Management, Vendor Management and Purchasing IT asset tracking and management for physical and virtual assets, including hardware and software asset management, domain registration tracking, warranty management, vendor management, asset specification and purchasing, and service renewals on behalf of SMB clients.
• Proactive IT Monitoring and Management Remote monitoring and management of client IT infrastructure using remote monitoring tools, providing 24/7 alerting for critical failures, centralized network health administration, automated maintenance, automated reporting, software update and patching, and backup management.
• Project Management Services Project guidance and execution for IT initiatives such as new office setup, EMR implementation, and cloud infrastructure migration, including schedule definition, budgeting, contingency planning, execution, and employee training.
• Disaster Recovery Services Disaster recovery and business continuity solutions including offsite daily and weekly backups and cloud-based disaster recovery, designed to protect SMB clients against data and equipment loss.
• Security Auditing and Compliance Regulatory compliance and security review services helping SMB clients meet government and industry regulations, including best-practice definition, security and compliance testing, documentation, and disaster recovery process development across frameworks such as HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley, and PCI DSS.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fixed-fee pricing eliminates unpredictable IT costs and enables predictable IT budgets for clients.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• ConnectWise: Provider of professional services automation, remote monitoring, and business management software specifically designed for MSPs. Enabling platform that Cogent IT-style MSPs use to run their service desk and RMM stack.

Direct peers

• BlackPoint IT Services: Managed IT services and cybersecurity firm serving SMB clients with proactive monitoring, helpdesk, and compliance services. Comparable business model and customer profile to Cogent IT.
• Kinetix Technology: Managed IT services and consulting firm serving SMBs with helpdesk, monitoring, cloud, and CIO advisory. Direct competitor in the outsourced-IT-department segment.
• Dataprise: National managed IT services provider offering fixed-fee managed services, helpdesk, monitoring, and vCIO to SMB and mid-market clients across the U.S. Directly comparable to Cogent IT in service mix, pricing model, and target segment.
• ITsavvy: IT solutions and managed services provider delivering helpdesk, monitoring, asset management, and project services to SMB and enterprise customers. Overlaps with Cogent IT on managed-IT delivery for smaller accounts.
• NexusTek: Managed IT, cloud, and security services firm targeting SMB and mid-market clients with proactive monitoring, helpdesk, and IT strategy. Comparable service portfolio and go-to-market motion to Cogent IT.
• Integris: Managed IT services provider focused on SMBs with a full-service outsourced-IT offering including helpdesk, monitoring, asset management, and CIO services. Direct SMB-market peer with similar bundling approach.
• Ntiva: Managed IT services and cybersecurity provider serving SMBs and mid-market organizations with helpdesk, proactive monitoring, and CIO advisory. Closely mirrors Cogent IT's outsourced-IT-department positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Insight Enterprises: Global IT solutions and services company offering managed services, hardware/software procurement, and consulting. Touches Cogent IT's SMB IT-services and asset-management categories but across a much broader portfolio and customer base.
• CDW: Large, diversified IT solutions and services provider serving SMB through enterprise with managed services, hardware procurement, and consulting. Overlaps with Cogent IT's asset/purchasing and managed-IT capabilities but at vastly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cogent IT