i90

i90: managed IT support for North East England businesses

i90 is a Managed Service Provider based in Iveston, County Durham, serving small and medium-sized businesses across North East England. Its proposition centres on direct access to the engineer who resolves each problem, rather than call centres, tiered queues or offshore helpdesks. The company states that all of its support is UK-based and that every enquiry reaches the same person.

The firm presents itself as a Microsoft Partner and states that it is Cyber Essentials Plus certified, ICO registered and UK GDPR compliant. Its coverage extends across County Durham, Newcastle and the wider North East, with dedicated pages for Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Gateshead, Washington, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Corbridge and Prudhoe.

Services: from full managed support to individual pieces

i90 structures its offer so that clients can take the complete managed service or only the part they need at a given moment. Most clients reportedly begin with managed support and add further services as they grow. The catalogue comprises six areas:

• Managed IT Support: a dedicated IT function under one monthly fee, with proactive monitoring and a direct line to the engineer who fixes issues. The company cites an average response under 15 minutes and says most problems are resolved before the client notices them.
• Microsoft 365: setup, migration and licensing for email, files and Teams, with licences matched to actual use.
• Cloud Backup: an encrypted offsite copy for deleted files or folders, checked daily to detect when a backup stops running.
• Hybrid Backup & Recovery: an on-site copy for rapid restoration plus an offsite copy intended to allow same-day recovery even if the whole premises is lost.
• Endpoint Protection: centrally managed and continuously monitored protection on every device.
• IT Consultancy: strategic planning tied to business goals, aimed at investing in the right technology the first time.

Response times and support model

It illustrates the model with a representative session in which a message is received, an engineer assigned six minutes later, the cause identified at 16 minutes and the issue resolved and confirmed at 31 minutes. It contrasts this with an illustrative tiered helpdesk model, which it explicitly describes as generic and not referring to any specific provider.

Support is delivered by engineers who, according to i90, already know the client's setup. Communication is presented in plain English, covering what happened, what was done and what it means for the business. Contracts are rolling monthly, with the scope set out in writing and the option to cancel at any time.

Onboarding and free IT review

i90 describes a three-step start. The first is a free, no-obligation conversation about the current setup and pain points. The second is an audit and plan: a review of the existing infrastructure, identification of risks and quick wins, and a proposal sized to the business. The written findings are handed to the client regardless of whether they proceed. The third step is takeover, when monitoring goes live, backups begin running and the team receives a direct line to the engineers.

The company also offers a free assessment intended to show what IT should cost and what it currently costs, covering risks, licence waste and options. It states that it replies the same day, usually faster.

Sectors and client profile

Beyond geographic coverage, i90 lists sector experience in financial services, engineering and trades, builders and property maintenance, wellbeing and community interest companies, property and professional services, and training, leisure and charities. Among the clients it names are an ecommerce company in Newcastle, a digital agency in the North East, a manufacturing company in Durham, a metals company in Newcastle upon Tyne and an estate agent in Durham.

The site displays five-star ratings attributed to Google and Trustpilot, along with individual reviews from those clients. One review, attributed to a property company in Durham, describes a login problem resolved within 15 minutes. These assessments reflect the information available at the time of writing this profile.

Leadership

The company identifies James Powell as director and IT specialist, noting that he has run his own IT company since 2012 and is based in County Durham. The site frames this page as a way for prospective clients to know in advance who will answer the phone.