Managed IT Services for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Firms

IT that gets your firm. Not just your computers.

Most IT support is reactive. Something breaks, you call, they fix it. We work the other way.

Aspen IT Group provides managed IT services to architecture, engineering, and construction firms in Knoxville and across East Tennessee. We watch for trouble before it stops your day.

If your firm runs Autodesk software and your IT company has never heard of it, you spend time explaining the software instead of getting the help you need.

Who we Support

We work with small and mid-sized firms across design and construction:

  • Architecture firms and design studios running Revit or ArchiCAD
  • Civil engineering firms running Civil 3D and AutoCAD
  • Structural and MEP engineering firms coordinating models with outside consultants
  • General contractors and construction firms running Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud
  • Specialty and trade contractors who need plans in the field and in the office
  • Land surveying firms

Based in Knoxville, serving firms across East Tennessee. Most of our work is done remotely, so we also support firms outside the immediate area.

If your firm runs Autodesk software and your IT company has never heard of it, you already know the problem.

Our 3 Core Services

Engineer working with CAD software on dual monitors in an office setting.

Backup and disaster recovery for project files

Your Revit models, CAD drawings, submittals, and project files get copied every day, and we check that the copies actually worked. A backup nobody tests is just a guess.

If something goes wrong, we get you back. No lost projects, no lost time.

We monitor system health, not your activity. We are watching the machine, not you.

A headset placed on a laptop in a modern, cluttered office setting with papers and plants.

Cybersecurity and monitoring

We keep tabs on how your workstations, servers, and field devices are running, so small problems get caught early.

For example, let’s say a machine starts running low on space or a hard drive begins to fail. We see the warning signs on our end and fix it before it turns into a dead workstation on a deadline.

Everything stays patched, secure, and online, so you stop worrying about what you cannot see. That includes the phishing, ransomware, and wire fraud attempts now aimed specifically at architecture, engineering, and construction firms. Construction is one of the most targeted industries in the country, and most small firms have no idea.

Detailed view of a black data storage unit highlighting modern technology and data management.

Managed helpdesk that knows your software

When something breaks, you send us a quick note through your help portal. It becomes a ticket, so your issue is logged and tracked, not lost in someone’s inbox.

For example, let’s say your printer won’t print. You submit it, we pick it up, and we walk it back to working. From anywhere. Every request gets seen, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Compare Plans

Service

Foundation

Canopy

Core IT management

Managed helpdesk, real person, set response times

✓

✓

Device monitoring, issues caught early

✓

✓

Patching and updates handled

✓

✓

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace set up and managed

✓

✓

Password manager for your whole team

✓

✓

New hire setup and departing employee shutoff

✓

✓

Phone access control for company email

✓

✓

Hardware tracking, vendor coordination

✓

✓

Network and Wi-Fi equipment monitored and maintained

—

✓

Support that knows Revit, CAD, and Civil 3D

✓

✓

Security

Multi-factor login, spam and phishing filtering, antivirus

✓

✓

Threat detection and response, watched 24/7

✓

✓

Priority response when your firm cannot work

—

✓

Security training and fake phishing tests

—

✓

Account monitoring for stolen logins

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✓

Gateway protection for your office network

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✓

Layered ransomware defense, incident plan

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✓

Backup and recovery

Daily backups, checked

✓

✓

Offsite, locked backup that ransomware cannot delete

✓

✓

Backup of your email and cloud files

—

✓

Tested restores, written recovery plan

—

✓

AI

AI monitoring and data leak prevention

—

✓

Written AI rules and company AI account setup

—

✓

Performance and field

Slow computer, network, and storage tuning

✓

✓

Revit and CAD file sharing set up right, with advice on file structure

✓

✓

Secure access to your files from anywhere

✓

✓

Compliance and strategy

Report on backups, security, and tickets

Quarterly

Monthly

Technical answers for insurance and client security questionnaires

—

✓

Help meeting and documenting common cyber-insurance requirements

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✓

Quarterly tech and budget planning

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✓

Remote desktop access to office workstations for CAD work is available as an add-on. Network equipment is purchased by your firm and belongs to you.

Which plan fits?

Start with Foundation if you want IT that works and someone who understands your design software. You get the helpdesk, the monitoring, the patching, and the parts of security nobody should go without: real threat detection watched around the clock, and backups stored offsite where ransomware cannot reach them. This is the right fit for most small firms.

Step up to Canopy when the stakes go up. That usually means one of four things. You handle contracts with security requirements attached. You need to answer insurance or client security questionnaires without guessing. Your team is starting to use AI and you want rules around it before something walks out the door. Or you want a recovery plan that has actually been tested, not just written.

Canopy adds the things that protect your people and your accounts, not just your machines. Security training, monitoring for stolen logins, backup of your email and cloud files, AI guardrails, your network equipment looked after, and a quarterly seat at the table for planning and budgeting. Canopy firms also go to the front of the line when something stops work.

Foundation protects your computers. Canopy protects your business.

Not sure which is right? That is what the first call is for. We will look at where you are and tell you straight. No pressure.

What we do not do

We would rather tell you this up front than have it come up later.

We are not your CAD support. We do not draft, model, or fix your drawings. That is your team’s work and they are better at it than we are. We handle everything underneath: the machines, the storage, the network, and the software installs, so your tools run right.

We do not control your client’s servers. If a state DOT or an owner hosts the project system your team works in, we cannot fix it when it goes down. What we can do is make the outage cost you less, and be the ones reporting the pattern back to them.

Hardware and software licenses are yours to buy. We spec it, order it, set it up, and track it. The invoice for the equipment comes from the manufacturer, and the equipment belongs to you.

We work remotely by default. Nearly everything we do is done remotely, which is why we can support firms outside East Tennessee. If you need someone on site, we will tell you honestly whether that should be us or a local hand, and travel is quoted separately.

Big projects are quoted separately. A server replacement, an office move, a network build, or reorganizing fifteen years of project files are projects, not monthly support. We scope them and give you a price before anything starts.

We will tell you when something is not worth buying. That includes our own services.

Problems we solve most often

The IT problems specific to design and construction, not the generic stuff. Pick the one that sounds like your week.

See everything we have written about AEC IT problems

Common Questions

The things firms ask us most, answered straight.

We get this question a lot, and it is a fair one. Most IT companies treat your design software like any other app. They have never opened Revit. They do not know why a model gets slow over the network or why a Civil 3D file takes forever to open from the server.

We do. We know how these programs behave, where they store files, and what they need from your network and your workstations to run right. Same goes for the project side: Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, and Bluebeam.

To be clear, we are not your CAD support. We do not draft, model, or fix your drawings. That is your team’s work. What we handle is everything underneath: the network, the servers, the storage, and the machines your software runs on. So your tools run fast, and you stop fighting your own computers.

We are based in Knoxville and work with architecture, engineering, and construction firms across East Tennessee. Most of what we do is handled remotely, including monitoring, patching, helpdesk, and backups, so we also support firms outside the area. If you need someone physically on site regularly, being close matters. If you do not, distance is rarely the deciding factor.

This is the nightmare, and we get it. A workstation dies at 4pm, the submission is due tomorrow, and everything stops.

When you reach out, your issue becomes a ticket right away, so it’s logged and tracked, not lost in someone’s inbox. We pick it up and work it based on how urgent it is. A dead machine on a deadline is not the same as a slow printer, and we treat it that way.

Every plan includes security monitoring around the clock, so a lot of problems get caught before they ever reach your deadline. On Canopy, your firm also goes to the front of the line when something stops work.

You get response times in writing, so you always know what to expect. Normal issues get a response within four business hours. If your firm cannot work, that is an emergency and it goes to the front of the line.

For example, let’s say a server goes down for the whole office. That’s an emergency, and it goes to the front of the line. A single slow laptop is real, but it’s not the same fire. We sort by what IT support issue that’s actually hurting your work, so the things that stop your firm from meeting deadlines get fixed first. Break-fix is reactive while managed IT is proactive meaning you have a faster response from us as our goal is to prevent issues from being major slowdowns.

If your current IT keeps the lights on and answers when you call, that’s a real start, and it matters.

Here’s the difference. Most IT is reactive. Something breaks, you call, they fix it, you wait. We work the other way. We watch your systems before they fail, we know your design software, and we plan ahead so fewer things break in the first place. So you spend less time waiting on IT and more time on the work.

We keep it simple. You pay a flat monthly rate based on the size of your firm and the plan you pick. No surprise bills, no charging by the hour for every little thing.

We don’t list a price on the site because the right number depends on your team size, your setup, and what you actually need. So the first step is a quick call where we learn about your firm. Then we give you a clear quote with no pressure. So you know exactly what you’re paying before you decide anything.

That’s worth a conversation. Our plans are built around managing your IT for you, watching it, securing it, and keeping it running, because that’s where small firms get the most value and the fewest surprises.

If you’re not sure that’s the right fit yet, tell us where you are on a call. We’ll be straight with you about whether we’re a match. So you don’t pay for more than you need.

We know switching feels risky. The fear is that something breaks in the handoff and work grinds to a halt.

We plan the move so that doesn’t happen. We learn your setup first, document what you have, and move things over carefully, mostly outside your work hours. You’ll know what’s happening at each step. So you get better IT without losing a day of work.

We use a one-year agreement, which is standard for managed IT. Here’s why it’s there. Setting up your systems the right way takes real work up front, and a year gives us the runway to do it well and show results, not just patch things and move on.

That said, we’re not interested in trapping anyone. We’ll walk you through the whole agreement before you sign, in plain English, no fine print surprises. And our goal is simple. Do good enough work that you want to renew, not because you’re stuck, but because it’s working. So you know exactly what you’re agreeing to before you say yes.

It depends on how your team works with model files. Cloud storage is excellent for documents, PDFs, submittals, and finished deliverables. It is risky for live Revit central models and linked CAD files, which can corrupt when a sync client touches them mid-save. Most firms end up with a mix. We will look at your actual project workflow before recommending either one.

Let’s talk

Tell us about your firm. We will tell you how we can help. No pressure, no jargon, no surprise bills.

Aspen IT Group provides managed IT services and IT support to architecture, engineering, and construction firms in Knoxville, TN and across East Tennessee.

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