“Managed Services  vs.  Break-Fix?”

What is Break/Fix IT?

Break/Fix IT is a model of service that reacts when problems occur. Charges will include materials and an hourly labor rate. If you’re lucky, the materials needed for the repair are inexpensive and easy to acquire. If the material needed is something like a server, then the cost can be a big hit on cash flow and time.

One of the costs of Break/Fix IT is the decreased productivity or downtime that results from the problem. This can be huge if a whole department or the entire company is affected. Even if one or two users are impacted, the lost time can add up to many thousands of dollars very quickly as issues linger on and on.

When it comes down to deciding whether break-fix or managed services is right for you, the key question you should ask yourself is how long can you afford to be down? With the break-fix approach, it could be hours or days before you’re back up and data is recovered. A big advantage of managed services is that an MSP can spot and resolve small issues before they cause larger ones that could negatively affect your systems, productivity, and your clients.

What are Managed IT Services?

Managed Services have a proactive approach to Information and Technology. They offer services for a fixed monthly fee and focus on preventing problems from occurring in the first place. They utilize technology tools that monitor and maintain networks and systems including security and data backup.

Managed services are also a philosophical change in the way that a business deals with its technology. Instead of following the old-school tradition of break-fix (literally meaning wait until the server, desktops or other critical networking devices fail, then scramble to fix them), a business operating with a managed service focuses on the prevention of these issues before they disrupt employees, management and/or clients.

If you fall behind in keeping up with things such as backups, patches, and security, the odds greatly increase that you’ll face an IT outage or another problem down the road that will negatively impact your business. For instance, if your Email server, customer relationship management system, financial application or network goes down, you will likely face substantial productivity and revenue losses as a result.

Managed IT Operations Program gives you:

Peace of Mind — Backups, security, servers. Let us handle your network while you focus on your core business.

Increased Productivity — Remote monitoring allows us to proactively head off any network issues, resulting in substantial cost savings and less downtime.

End User Support — We’re there when you need us, providing the level of attention your business requires.

Fixed-Fee Plan — For less than the cost of a single new hire, you’ll have access to our Service Desk and our experienced team of engineers and technicians.

Fast, On-Site Response – Reliable, on-site support is provided by experienced technicians.

Already have an IT department? No problem. We play well with others. Let us enhance your team with additional resources and efficiency while saving you money.

What are some typical Managed IT services?
IT infrastructure; network, server, PC, mobile device management.  Cloud and virtual server management. Helpdesk support management for your staff.  Management and monitoring of IT security services, backup, and disaster recovery services.

Why is Managed IT better for my organization?
You will immediately lower your IT operational and labor costs. Tasks will be assigned to the appropriate pay grade and you only pay for the time/resources you use.  Your IT staff will now be able to focus on your internal IT projects. Trained IT professionals using expensive IT management software will resolve your issues quickly.

How to find a Managed IT services company?
Look for a company with a wide-range of services.  If you have trouble managing IT projects and issues now, you don’t want to replace that with managing a number of Managed IT Service Providers for each type of IT service. Check references, look for longevity, look for an emphasis on services and not just promoting “partner” hardware and software.

What benefits should we see from Managed IT?
You should get access to more IT knowledge and experience.  You should free up IT staff time by no longer managing patching, upgrades and server issues.  You should get better IT security services.

The challenge of finding, retaining and training skilled IT security staff coupled with the high cost of purchasing and maintaining security software and hardware technology in-house puts IT security protection out of reach for many organizations.  Get the benefit of having someone that brings years of experience operating in diverse
IT environments to your business without having to pay for a full-time senior IT executive.