Transparent Cost Structure
CMTS operates under a cost-recovery model designed to offer scalable, compliant technology expertise without increasing overall research costs. Our transparent cost structure reflects measurable human capital, not bundled overhead or generalized IT charges.
Service Block Model
CMTS services are offered through standardized 52-hour service blocks, which represent a defined unit of technical and compliance labor. A 52-hour CMTS Service Block may be allocated across the following structured service lines based on institutional need.
Standardized Unit
1 Block
Measurable Effort
52 Hours
Transparent Cost
$3,900
CMTS qualifies as a specialized institutional service operation under 2 CFR §200.413, enabling allocable direct charging when services are integral to a specific award.
Each block represents measurable, allocable technical and compliance labor — not bundled overhead.
Why the Service Block Model Matters:
- Precisely allocate labor to specific awards or programs
- Maintain audit-ready cost attribution under 2 CFR §200.413
- Scale support up or down based on actual research need
- Eliminate bundled overhead or generalized IT charges
This model increases research productivity while protecting institutional compliance and cost integrity.
Service blocks are the minimum annual engagement for CMTS managed services unless otherwise approved (e.g., prorated or shared service models).
Service Blocks Enable Access to Four Key Service Lines
Website Management Tier Pricing
For website hosting and management services, CMTS offers tiered pricing based on site complexity, update frequency, and compliance needs.
| Tier | Annual Cost | Included Services | Primary Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $1,200 | Hosting and platform updates; uptime monitoring; SSL certificates and backups; compliance scanning; up to 4 content updates per year | Simple informational sites with low update frequency. |
| Tier 2 | $2,500 | Everything in Tier 1 plus ongoing content management; accessibility reviews; minor design or navigation adjustments; up to 12 content updates per year | Active departmental or program sites. |
| Tier 3 | $5,000+ | Everything in Tiers 1 and 2 plus support for complex functionality (databases, payment systems, forms, tables, custom code, and integrations); up to 26 content updates per year | Enterprise or mission-critical sites (research centers, large programs). |
Shared Workstation Management
Expanded Coverage for Multi-PI Research Environments
When multiple research programs share workstations or research systems, unmanaged infrastructure creates risk, inconsistent security posture, and uneven compliance coverage. The CMTS shared model offers enterprise-grade managed services across shared environments while allocating costs proportionally among participating programs.
In a standard individual engagement, workstation management typically averages four workstations per service block based on projected annual effort.
Within a shared environment, CMTS expands coverage to approximately five devices per block due to operational efficiencies created by centralized oversight and coordinated management.
This Expanded Device Coverage:
- Lowers the management cost per device
- Increases total system coverage within the same block structure
- Preserves sustainable staffing capacity
- Maintains full compliance integration
The result is greater value per block without reducing service integrity.
How the Shared Model Works
In a shared research environment — for example, where Research A, Research B, Research C, and Research D collectively manage active systems — CMTS evaluates total service demand and assigns the appropriate number of service blocks to support the environment.
Because systems are managed collectively, efficiencies in monitoring, patching, documentation, and compliance tracking allow CMTS to expand average device coverage per block compared to isolated individual engagements.
Costs are then allocated proportionally based on each research program’s share of managed systems. Programs pay only for the portion of effort required to support their systems within the shared structure.
This Ensures:
- Fair distribution of cost
- Alignment with actual workload
- Reduced per-device management cost
- Sustainable staffing capacity
- Integrated compliance oversight
What Is Covered
Shared workstation management includes:
- Secure onboarding and system inventory documentation
- Baseline configuration and compliance alignment
- Endpoint protection and vulnerability management
- Ongoing patching and health monitoring
- Security standards alignment
(NIST, FERPA, HIPAA) - Incident response coordination
- Change tracking and lifecycle planning guidance
Security and compliance oversight are embedded into every engagement — not treated as separate add-ons.
Why It Matters
The shared model allows departments and research centers to:
- Increase device coverage per service block
- Lower average management cost per system
- Distribute costs proportionally across participating labs
- Maintain audit-ready documentation
- Avoid staffing infrastructure independently
- Scale support as research activity grows
This structure preserves simplicity for researchers while maintaining financial transparency and institutional sustainability — and ensures programs pay for only the support they actually need.
