As a business owner you have a couple of choices when it comes to maintaining your IT systems, you can:
Employ an IT professional in-house
Outsource your IT services to a Managed Services Provider (MSP’s) for a monthly fee
Engage an IT professional to fix your IT problems when required (break/fix model)
At Digit IT we offer break-fix and IT Managed Services models however, like most MSP’s we are gradually moving away from offering break/fix services for the following reasons:
Less Stress - Digit IT cannot prevent a disaster from occurring, but we can mitigate risk via proactive, real-time systems monitoring, regular software and hardware updates and issue detection. In short, life is less stressful for us and our clients when we automate system maintenance and fix problems before they become a major issue.
Proactive IT Planning – Proactive IT planning is one of the biggest advantages businesses will appreciate when they engage an MSP. Our clients value having full clarity over their IT assets and been able to make informed decisions based on our monthly IT system reports and quarterly business reviews. From our perspective, we love feeling valued for our expertise and working in partnership with our clients to optimise their IT performance.
Manage budget fluctuations - Managing budget fluctuations is the main reason businesses choose IT Managed Services – they want their IT operating expenses to be consolidated into a regular, fixed monthly cost. From our perspective this is also an advantage as we have predictability in terms of our earnings and can budget for expenses.
Which IT service model should you choose?
Every business is different — and your IT strategy should reflect your specific needs.
Here are the pros and cons of break/fix services versus managed services so you can consider these options in relation to your specific needs.
Break Fix Model
Pros of break/fix services
You get what you pay for: businesses only pay for services rendered. This is particularly advantageous for smaller businesses who don’t want to work a monthly MSP into their budget.
You have control: some businesses prefer to maintain a level of control over their software and hardware that they’d have to relinquish upon contracting an MSP; they get to decide when and why to call for help.
Cons of break/fix services
Unpredictable cost: IT issues that arise and force businesses to seek support are usually unexpected, which means the business is forced to pay an out-of-pocket fee they didn’t budget.
Delayed resolution: Response times from break/fix service providers will depend on the severity of your issue, how long it would take to resolve the problem, and their backlog of jobs.
Managed Services
Pros of managed services
Fixed fees: you’re able to keep track of your monthly budget and not have to worry about forking out an unexpected cost when something goes wrong with your software or hardware; an agreed-upon fee is struck when you contract an MSP.
More affordable than in-house IT: you’ll get all the benefits of having an in-house IT support team without having to pay the full-time wage.
Stability and reliability: MSPs provide 24/7 maintenance and monitoring of your IT systems, which means as soon as something goes wrong, you can rest easy knowing someone will respond quickly.
Preventing the same mistake: unlike using the one-time break/fix services, MSPs are locked into a partnership with you long-term, and it’s in both of your best interests that the same IT issues don’t keep coming up. When your MSP fixes a problem, they’ll take further steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Less stress: let’s face it, running a business is hard enough without having to worry if your systems and servers are fully functional. Knowing you have IT experts monitoring your IT systems 24/7 will take a weight off your shoulders.
Cons of managed services
Initial set-up costs: many MSPs charge up-front expenses that may cost more than a one-off break/fix service. This is down to the fact that MSPs need to first integrate their off-premises hardware, software, servers, and network monitoring to align with your equipment.
Loss of control: you have to put a lot of trust in your chosen MSP – they’ll have complete access to your system. Deciding whether to trade that feeling of autonomous control for full IT oversight can be a challenge.
Get a Quote
Ultimately, the decision about whether to go with break-fix or managed IT is up to you – and it’s something to consider based on price, commitment and how important IT is to the success of your business.
At Digit IT we provide tailored IT Managed Services agreements, so our clients only pay for the services they need. Some clients also engage us to oversee a single IT function including, for example, their network monitoring or cybersecurity.
Please contact us on 07 4637 9033 if you have any questions about Managed Services or you’d like to discuss the services we provide.