Table of Contents
Minimum Standards
At KTG, we require minimum standards to be met because they ensure your systems are secure, reliable, and able to support the services you depend on. These standards are not arbitrary—they protect both your business operations and our ability to deliver consistent, high-quality support.
If at any point you do not meet these minimum standards, it places both your organization and our services at risk. That’s why it is in the best interest of both you and us to remediate any deficiencies as quickly as possible.
Together, we will create a clear plan with you to address these gaps, prioritize the most critical issues, and move toward compliance. By collaborating on this plan, we help you strengthen your IT environment while ensuring we can continue to provide you with the best possible service.
Hardware
At KTG, we require that an inventory of hardware be maintained so that assets, warranties, and age can be tracked effectively. This ensures that both you and we have visibility into the lifecycle of your equipment and can plan proactively for replacements.
Hardware Lifecycle
Windows systems will be replaced every 4–5 years.
Apple systems will be replaced every 5–6 years.
Linux systems will be replaced every 4–5 years.
On a regular basis, we will recommend hardware refreshes. If machines are beyond their recommended age, we will provide only limited support to those devices.
Business Specifications
Processor: Intel 10th Gen or higher, or equivalent.
RAM:
16GB for machines 3–4 years of age.
32GB for machines 1–2 years old and all new machines.
Storage: Minimum 250GB SSD.
Business-Critical Devices
For any device identified as business critical, we require a hot spare to be kept up to date and available onsite.
If you are unsure which devices qualify, you should consult your KTG account manager.
Network Hardware
We require Ubiquiti Unifi equipment for full network management and monitoring.
Other network hardware will be supported, but only in a limited capacity.
On a regular basis, we will recommend the necessary Ubiquiti Unifi equipment to support your networking needs.
Servers
If you maintain on-premises servers that run applications, services, file shares, or directories, we require that they be on current hardware.
Minimum specifications for servers will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on your business requirements.
Software
At KTG, we require certain minimum standards to ensure that your IT environment is secure, reliable, and manageable. These standards allow us to deliver consistent, high-quality service while protecting both your business and our ability to support you effectively.
Software Licensing
We require that all software licenses be centrally managed in Google Admin or Microsoft 365 Admin Centers.
We do not accept license management through third-party resellers.
License management for your primary applications (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) must be accessible to us so that we can properly support you.
Operating Systems
We require that all machines run current operating systems:
Windows 11 or higher
MacOS within the latest 3 versions
Linux distributions within the latest 4 versions (24.04 or greater)
Email Provider
We require that your organization use Google Workspace or Microsoft Exchange as your email provider.
Our preference is Microsoft Exchange, as it aligns best with our support model.
Security
At KTG, we require that you utilize our breach prevention platform. This platform provides:
Dark Web Monitoring to identify compromised credentials.
Simulated Phishing Campaigns to test and strengthen user awareness.
Annual Security Training to ensure your team is prepared against evolving threats.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & Conditional Access
We require that MFA and Conditional Access policies be implemented with the following standards:
Authenticator apps are required; text and email-based codes are not best practice.
Password complexity will be encouraged to reduce risk.
Conditional Access policies will ensure MFA is required for cloud applications where applicable, and block access to cloud applications when necessary.
Email Security
We require that advanced email filtering policies are in place to protect against phishing, malware, and other malicious content.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
We will not provide or support file access on machines that are not remotely managed through MDM. This ensures that all devices accessing your data are secure, compliant, and manageable.
Continuity
At KTG, we require that you use our cloud backup services to ensure business continuity and data protection. These backups cover:
Email
Drives and shared drives
Other cloud-based information
By utilizing our cloud backup services, we can guarantee that your critical data is protected, recoverable, and resilient against disruptions. This not only safeguards your business operations but also enables us to provide you with reliable support when unexpected events occur.
