Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers to common questions.

Everything you need to know about working with Lucente: from how we onboard new clients to what is included in each package.

Cannot find what you are looking for? Just ask us directly.

Getting Started

What size businesses does Lucente work with?

We focus on businesses with 5 to 100 staff. This is our sweet spot: organisations large enough to need real IT support, but where hiring a full in-house IT team does not make sense. We work across Perth and Western Australia.

How long does onboarding take?

Most onboarding takes 2-6 weeks depending on your size, number of sites, and current environment. We start with a discovery session to understand your setup, then work through a structured process that minimises disruption to your team. See our Getting Started page for the full step-by-step breakdown.

Do you require long-term contracts?

Our managed services are provided on 12-month agreements, which allows us to take a genuinely proactive approach to your IT, not just reactive firefighting. We can discuss your specific situation during an initial consultation.

What industries do you support?

We support clients across a wide range of industries including civil and construction, logistics and transport, retail, accounting and professional services, legal, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, education, and not-for-profit. Our managed IT and cybersecurity services are designed to work across most industries. If you are not sure whether we are a fit, just reach out.

Do we have to outsource all our IT to Lucente?

Not at all. Many of our clients have an existing IT person or small team. We can work alongside them, providing strategic guidance as a vCIO, helping with specific projects, managing cybersecurity, or handling licensing and procurement. We tailor our involvement to what your business actually needs.

What if we need help with something outside your listed services?

IT is a broad industry, and we do not pretend to do everything. But with 25 years of experience across industries and technology domains, we can advise on almost any technology or business system challenge. For areas outside our direct services, such as ERP implementations or specialist integrations, we use our partner network to connect you with the right people and help coordinate the engagement.

Services & Pricing

What is included in each package?

Both Protect and Protect+ include 24/7 device monitoring, proactive maintenance, OS and security patching, advanced threat protection, advanced email protection, multi-factor login security, and device health reports. Protect+ adds unlimited remote support (no overages), cloud backup, application patch management, IT and cybersecurity strategy advice, vendor coordination, business reviews, annual cyber awareness training, ACSC Essential Eight alignment, committed 24/7 after-hours support, and a foundational incident response plan for teams of 25 or more. See our Packages page for the full comparison.

What does "from $X per user per month" mean?

Our pricing is per user (not per device), billed monthly. The "from" price is our base rate. Your actual price depends on your headcount and any add-ons. Use the quote builder on our Packages page to get a tailored estimate.

Can I add or remove services as my business changes?

Yes. Our packages are designed to grow with you. You can add users, bolt on additional services (like extra backup, compliance tooling, or hardware procurement), or adjust your package at renewal.

Can Lucente help us move to the cloud?

Yes. Whether you are moving from on-premise servers to Microsoft 365, migrating to Azure, or simply want to modernise how your team works, we can scope and manage the migration. See our Cloud Services page for more detail.

Technical

Do you support Mac devices?

Yes. We support mixed Windows and Mac environments. Our monitoring, patch management, and endpoint protection tools work across both platforms.

What happens if something goes wrong outside business hours?

Both packages include after-hours support for Priority 1 (business-down) incidents. Protect+ clients receive committed 24/7 P1 response with defined SLAs. Protect clients receive best-effort P1 after-hours response. We will still respond, but response times are not guaranteed outside business hours. We will discuss your specific needs during onboarding.

Are you Microsoft certified?

Yes. We are a Microsoft Partner with specialisations in Microsoft 365. This means we meet Microsoft's standards for technical competency and customer success in Microsoft cloud services.

Security

What is the Essential Eight and do I need it?

The Essential Eight is a cybersecurity framework published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). It covers eight baseline strategies, including multi-factor authentication, patching, and backups, that significantly reduce the risk of a cyber incident. While not mandatory for most SMBs, it is widely regarded as the minimum standard for Australian businesses. Our Protect package covers the foundational controls; Protect+ goes further.

What is multi-factor login security (MFA)?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a second verification step when logging into your accounts, typically a code from an app on your phone. It is one of the single most effective controls against account compromise. We enable and manage MFA across Microsoft 365 and other critical systems as part of all our packages.

How do you handle data protection and privacy?

We hold your data in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act. Our tools and vendors are selected for their security posture, and we do not share your data with third parties outside of the scope of service delivery. A Data Processing Agreement is available on request.

Working with Lucente

Can you support a 50 to 100 person business?

Yes. The practical upper limit for our full managed IT model is around 100 users. Businesses at the upper end of that range often run a Co-Managed model alongside an internal IT coordinator rather than full outsourced IT.

At 50 to 100 staff, the managed IT scope is the same as for smaller businesses: Microsoft 365, identity, devices, backups, cybersecurity, and vendor coordination. There are simply more users, more devices, and more moving parts. That is the work we are built to handle.

If you are at the larger end of our range and not sure which model fits, that is exactly what a first conversation is for.

We are cloud-only with no on-premises servers. Can you still manage our environment?

Yes. Many of our customers run entirely in the cloud, most commonly on Microsoft 365 with cloud-hosted applications. There is no requirement for on-premises infrastructure.

We manage Microsoft 365 tenants, cloud identity (Microsoft Entra ID), cloud-based device management (Microsoft Intune), cloud-native backups, and integrations between cloud applications. For cloud-only businesses, the managed IT scope is focused on the cloud environment rather than a local network.

What if our key contact at Lucente leaves?

We run as a team, not as individuals. Your environment is documented throughout the engagement: every device, account, system, vendor, and configuration, kept current. Any member of our team can pick up where another left off.

We do not rely on tribal knowledge. Everything is in the documentation, not in someone's head. If your main Lucente contact changes, the handover is managed and the service continues without disruption.

Still have a question?

We are happy to answer anything that is not covered here. No obligation, no pressure.

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