What are managed IT services?

Managed IT services comprise of outsourced IT support and management of your business’s IT systems and infrastructure. At Opus Technology, we deliver proactive managed IT support that gives businesses access to our highly skilled Service Desk engineers. Our managed IT support service is for businesses with internal IT teams but require additional support or for businesses that choose to outsource their entire IT support to Opus.

What does a managed service provider (MSP) actually do?

A managed service provider (MSP) like Opus Technology monitors, manages, and supports your IT and Telecoms functions, helping to prevent issues. Their Service Desk ensures support queries can be responded to quickly and ensures your business systems are secure. MSPs also provide consultancy to keep your technology aligned with your business goals.

How much do managed IT services cost?

Managed IT service costs vary based on the size of your business, the specific managed services included, and the complexity of your IT infrastructure. Opus Technology offers flexible pricing models on a monthly contracted basis designed to deliver the maximum value for a fixed monthly cost.

How fast do you respond to issues?

Opus Technology has a large UK based Service Desk that provides rapid response times, with many issues being addressed within minutes. If the reported issue is more complex, it will be immediately escalated to our third line team. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guarantee swift, prioritised support based on the urgency of the problem.

What happens if we already have an internal IT team?

If you already have an internal IT team, Opus Technology’s managed IT services can be used as additional resource to help reduce their workload. Many clients with internal teams use Opus engineers to add specialist expertise to fill skills gaps or manage specific areas like cybersecurity, cloud, or IT compliance.

Managed Vulnerability Management and Scanning

ISO 27001 Certified

ISO 9001 Certified

ISO 14001 Certified

Service Mark Accredited

Established in 1992

What is Managed Vulnerability Scanning?

Managed vulnerability scanning is an ongoing service that identifies, prioritises and tracks security weaknesses across your IT environment. Scans run on a regular schedule, be it monthly, weekly or daily, specialists review the results and the outcomes are formatted in an easy to understand way, and you receive a prioritised plan showing the criticality and whether your risk is going down.

Opus provides scanning across your agreed scope, with clear dashboards and reporting to help your team understand vulnerabilities, prioritise action and track progress over time, that can be provided in an easy to understand summary for leadership.

Why do vulnerability scans need to run continuously?

A vulnerability assessment only shows what was visible on the day it ran. New vulnerabilities are disclosed every day, systems change and software is updated throughout the year.

Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that exploiting a vulnerability was the way in for 20% of breaches, up 34% on the previous year. A clean report in March says very little about your exposure in June.

Continuous scanning finds newly introduced and newly disclosed weaknesses between formal reviews, while there is still time to act on them.

How does managed vulnerability scanning work?

Identify vulnerabilities

Daily, weekly or monthly internal and external scanning surfaces weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.

Prioritise security risks

Findings are ranked by severity, exposure and business risk, so effort goes where it matters most.

Reduce your exposure

Clear vulnerability information and prioritisation helps your team understand which issues require attention first and make informed remediation decisions.

Report on progress

Executive summaries and technical reports give the board and IT the same view of progress.

Continuously reassess risk

The cycle repeats regularly, so new vulnerabilities and exposure are identified as they appear.

Verify remediation

Regular scanning and reporting helps you track vulnerability findings over time and understand how your security exposure is changing.

What is included in managed vulnerability scanning from Opus?

Service	What it covers
Internal and external vulnerability scanning	Daily, monthly or weekly scans across the agreed scope, subject to technical prerequisites
External attack surface and exposure reporting	Visibility of internet-facing systems and services that could be targeted
Risk-based prioritisation	Findings ranked by severity, exposure and business context
Remediation guidance	Clear technical actions for your IT team
Managed review of trends and repeat issues	Recurring weaknesses identified and root causes flagged
Remediation tracking	Progress tracked over time, showing risk reduction
Executive summaries and technical reports	A board-level summary alongside detailed technical findings
Routes to Cyber Essentials Plus and penetration testing	Certification readiness and deeper testing when you need them

Can Opus fix the vulnerabilities identified?

Every customer receives prioritised remediation guidance as standard via the dedicated portal.

Customers who use Opus managed IT support can add hands-on vulnerability remediation, so the team that finds the issue also fixes it. For other customers, remediation work is scoped to your environment and support arrangements.

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What is the difference between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing?

	Vulnerability scanning	Penetration testing
How it works	Automated tools check for known weaknesses at scale	Specialists use manual techniques to explore how weaknesses could be exploited
How often	Weekly, as an ongoing service	One-off or scheduled throughout the year
What it tells you	What is exposed and how serious it is	What an attacker could actually achieve
Best for	Ongoing visibility and cyber hygiene	Assurance for specific systems, changes or customer requirements

What penetration testing options does Opus provide?

One-off penetration test. A clearly scoped assessment of a specific application, infrastructure change or customer requirement, followed by findings and remediation guidance.

Annual penetration testing service. An agreed bank of specialist testing days each year, paid monthly and scheduled against your priority systems and changes. The number of days, scope, retesting and scheduling are agreed in each proposal.

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How does vulnerability management support Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials Plus includes a hands-on technical assessment of the Cyber Essentials controls, carried out at a point in time and renewed annually.

Weekly vulnerability scanning supports your readiness before that assessment and good cyber hygiene between certifications. It complements the formal assessment and does not replace it.

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Is Managed Vulnerability Scanning right for your business?

Managed vulnerability scanning is particularly valuable for organisations that need greater visibility of cyber risk without adding more tools, workload or specialist resource internally. Opus delivers the service with specialist scanning and testing capability from our partner Rootshell Security. Opus remains your point of contact and turns findings into action.

Strengthen your internal IT team

Gain better visibility of vulnerabilities without adding headcount or increasing the workload on your existing team.

Prepare for audits or cyber insurance renewals

Provide evidence of ongoing vulnerability management and a structured approach to reducing cyber risk.

Access scanning and penetration testing as a managed service

Benefit from specialist expertise without having to manage security tools, testing and findings internally.

Make cyber risk easier to act on

Turn long lists of vulnerabilities into clear, prioritised actions based on severity, exposure and business risk.

Show evidence of risk reduction

Demonstrate security progress and changing risk levels in a format that leadership can understand.

Keep pace with a changing attack surface

Continuously identify new vulnerabilities as cloud environments, systems and internet-facing services change.

Why choose Opus for managed vulnerability scanning?

Finding and fixing in one place. Customers who use Opus managed IT support can have the same team find and remediate vulnerabilities.

Reporting the board can use. Executive summaries show whether risk is reducing, alongside the technical detail your IT team needs.

A route to certification and deeper testing. Vulnerability management connects directly to Cyber Essentials Plus readiness and penetration testing.

We hold the standards we help you meet. Opus is certified to ISO 27001, the international standard for information security.

Other related services

Managed IT Support

Proactive support, with hands-on vulnerability remediation available as an add-on.

Compliance as a service

Ongoing management of policies and evidence for ISO 27001 and more.

Cyber Essentials and CE+

Government-backed certification, supported by weekly vulnerability scanning.

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CASE STUDY

We helped modernise Westminster Wealth Management’s IT infrastructure to cut monthly costs by £3,000 and boost productivity by 15%.

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Frequently asked questions about Vulnerability Scanning

What is a managed vulnerability scanning solution?

Managed vulnerability scanning is an ongoing service that finds, prioritises and tracks security weaknesses across your IT environment. Opus runs weekly scanning, validates the findings and gives you prioritised remediation guidance and reporting that shows whether risk is reducing.

How often should a business run vulnerability scans?

Regularly enough to catch new weaknesses before attackers do. New vulnerabilities are disclosed every day and your environment changes constantly, so a single annual scan leaves long gaps. Opus scans weekly.

What is the difference between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing?

Vulnerability scanning uses automated tools to find known weaknesses at scale and runs continuously. Penetration testing uses specialist-led techniques to explore how those weaknesses could actually be exploited, within an agreed scope. Most organisations benefit from both.

Can penetration testing be paid monthly?

Yes. Opus offers penetration testing as a one-off scoped test or as an annual service with an agreed bank of testing days, paid monthly. The number of days, scope and retesting are agreed in each proposal.

Does weekly vulnerability scanning replace Cyber Essentials Plus?

No. Weekly scanning supports readiness and ongoing improvement, but Cyber Essentials Plus remains a separate, formal certification assessment carried out at a point in time.

Will Opus fix the vulnerabilities found by scanning?

Opus provides prioritisation and remediation guidance as standard. Hands-on remediation is available as an add-on for Opus managed IT support customers, and can be scoped for other customers.

What happens when a critical vulnerability is found?

Critical findings are flagged and prioritised, with clear remediation guidance so your team can act quickly.

How do I show my board that cyber risk is reducing?

Track findings over time and report on what has been fixed, not just what has been found. Opus executive summaries and remediation tracking show the trend in plain English, alongside the technical detail your IT team needs.

Does managed vulnerability scanning help with cyber insurance?

It gives you evidence of ongoing security management, which insurers and auditors often ask about. Requirements vary by insurer, so check your policy.

What is an external attack surface?

Your external attack surface is every system and service your organisation exposes to the internet. Opus reports on it so you can see what an attacker could target and reduce it.