As your financial or agribusiness firm grows, so do the demands on your technology, marketing, and operational infrastructure. Staying competitive means more than keeping pace—it requires scalable solutions, specialized expertise, and a strategy that aligns with your long-term goals.
When it comes to getting the right kind of help, two engagement models often come into play: Managed Services and Project-Based Work. Both can drive measurable growth and operational efficiency, but the right fit depends on your business goals, resources, and the level of ongoing support your firm needs.
Managed services are designed to provide businesses with ongoing support across a range of needs, including technology, marketing, and infrastructure. Unlike project-based work, managed services offer a long-term partnership where a dedicated team helps maintain, optimize, and evolve a business’s operations over time. This model often includes a blend of strategy, execution, maintenance, and proactive improvements.
For businesses that want to streamline operations and stay competitive without the overhead of continually expanding in-house teams, managed services offer an efficient, scalable solution. A managed services provider can act as an extension of your team, offering not just maintenance, but tailored expertise aligned with your industry and goals.
At Gate 39, we approach managed services with a focus on delivering both stability and growth. Our clients benefit from ongoing access to specialists who understand their unique needs and provide consistent support and strategic insight that help them move forward with confidence.
Application support and break/fix items
Infrastructure and cloud services
Ongoing marketing services
You need consistent, ongoing support
You want a predictable monthly retainer
You lack in-house capacity or specialized expertise
You’re looking for proactive problem-solving, not just reactive fixes
Support your way: Whether it’s through a retainer, a 12-month maintenance agreement, or a flexible time-and-materials setup, our managed services can flex to meet your level of need.
To help visualize how managed services might apply to your business, here is an example scenario based on a real-world use case.
A prominent global financial organization partnered with Gate 39’s managed services team to elevate its online experience and streamline website operations. Through a long-term retainer, our team provided ongoing development, application support, and technology consulting to improve usability, performance, and security. Key outcomes included smoother user journeys, more efficient backend management, improved data tracking, and reduced infrastructure costs. The result was a stronger digital presence, greater operational efficiency, and a more responsive, client-focused online platform.
Unlike managed services, project-based work focuses on short-term deliverables with a clear end date. This model allows your business to partner with experts to complete a defined task and then wrap it up.
Website development and redesigns
Branding and visual identity creation
CRM setup and integration
Custom development of portals, mobile apps, and modules
You have a clearly defined deliverable and deadline
Your internal team can take over after launch
You need fast, focused results
You’re budgeting for a one-time investment
Project work is structured for efficiency. But when the project ends, so does the formal engagement—unless you decide to continue with managed services for future needs.
Here is a real-world example of how our project-based work can help businesses achieve focused goals with measurable results.
A large futures industry trade association needed to overhaul its legacy data-reporting system because members were unable to access key visualizations due to cybersecurity restrictions. Gate 39 redesigned the architecture: moved to a cloud-based infrastructure, automated manual data flows, streamlined the database, rebuilt the data displays, and integrated a secure industry-leading API. The result: improved reliability and performance, reduced labor hours, faster access to key market metrics, and a strong foundation for future capability expansion.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and that’s okay. The right model depends on your business’s current state, goals, and available resources.
Ask yourself the following questions:
If your team is already stretched thin, a managed services partner can keep critical efforts moving without burdening your staff.
If you just need to get from point A to point B (like launching a new website), a project-based approach might be the answer. If the work will be ongoing (like keeping that website updated), consider managed services.
Managed services often include strategic planning and performance optimization, not just one-off deliverables. If you want long-term improvement, this model may be more valuable.
Projects are typically executed in a sprint-style approach, whereas managed services move at a consistent, strategic pace month over month.
With Gate 39, you don’t have to choose just one approach. We can tailor a plan that blends both models to meet your business where it is and help it grow. Many clients often begin with a project, such as a new website or marketing initiative, and transition into a managed services relationship to support and evolve what we’ve built together.
What matters most is working with a partner who can adapt to your needs and grow with you—whether that’s through long-term support or delivering on high-impact projects.
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