The general thought many business owners have concerning IT support is that there is a single cost to fix technology related issues (cost of their vendor to fix the problem). They believe money will be saved by paying a few hundred dollars here and there when things go wrong on a time and materials basis instead of a monthly fee to prevent issues from occurring in the first place. This thinking has proved itself to be wrong in many cases. In fact, many business owners fail to realize…
It is more expensive for you to call us than it is for us to respond!
Let me explain. Let’s say your business has 15 employees and each costs the company around $20 an hour to employ. For every hour of downtime you experience your hard costs are $300. So if it took your IT vendor 1 hour to respond to your call and another hour to fix the problem your hard costs would be roughly $125 for the service call and $600 in lost productivity (plus an unknown number in soft costs considering lost sales, angry clients, etc). So this one issue alone cost you approximately $725. As you can see the cost of the support call at $125 was much cheaper than the cost of lost productivity at $600.
So what can business owners do to protect themselves against downtime and minimize risk? The answer is Flat Rate Managed IT Services.
So what are Managed IT Services?
Managed services are defined as monitoring, maintaining, troubleshooting and upgrading your IT infrastructure remotely, or on-site, for maximum reliability. It is a proactive service model which focuses on preventing problems before they occur to increase productivity and reduce operating expenses.
Are Managed IT Services Right for My Business?
Ah, the million dollar question! And the answer is…..It Depends. Numerous factors come into play such as the size of your business, budget, expenses, how critical technology is to your business, and the level of risk you are willing to accept. With that being said it generally makes sense for companies with 10 or more PC’s and a server to take a hard look at Managed IT Services.
Many business owners are hesitant about moving from a “pay as you go” plan to monthly subscription fee as paying a few hundred dollars to fix a PC problem here and there, can seem easier to swallow than being locked into a monthly “all you can eat” plan for thousands of dollars per month.
What are the Benefits of Managed Services?
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You’ll eliminate expensive repairs and recovery costs. Network monitoring and maintenance will save you money by preventing expensive network disasters from ever happening in the first place.
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You’ll avoid expensive trip fees while receiving faster support. Remote monitoring software enables IT firms to access and repair most network problems right from their offices. No more waiting around for an engineer to show up!
- Faster performance, fewer “glitches”, and practically zero downtime. Some parts of your systems will degrade in performance over time, causing them to slow down, hang up, and crash. Preventative maintenance and network monitoring will make sure your computers stay in tip-top shape for maximum speed, performance, and reliability.
- ALL of the benefits of an in-house IT department WITHOUT all of the costs. With most IT firms you will have access to a knowledgeable support staff that can be reached immediately should you have any kind of problem or question.
- You’ll receive substantial discounts on IT services that you are already buying. Most IT firms will nickel and dime you over every little thing they do. With Managed Services you pay one flat, affordable rate and get all of the technical support you need. No hidden charges, caveats, or disclaimers.
- You will never have to fear a big, expensive network repair bill. Instead, you can budget for network support just like rent or insurance.
- You’ll sleep easier knowing the “gremlins at the gate” are being watched and kept out of your network.
- You’ll safeguard your data. The data on the hard disk is always more important than the hardware that houses it. If you rely on your computer systems for daily operations, it’s time to get serious about protecting your critical, irreplaceable electronic information.
- You’ll finally put a stop to annoying spam, pop-ups, and spyware taking over your computer and your network.
- You’ll gain incredible peace of mind. As a business owner, you already have enough to worry about. We’ll make sure everything pertaining to your network security and reliability is handled so you don’t have to worry about it.
Making the switch from the traditional “Break-Fix” model of support to “Managed IT Services” can be confusing for many business owners. If you should have questions about the types of support available and which one makes the most sense for your business feel free to reach out to me anytime at stephen@jngstech.com.
Posted under Save Money
This post was written by Stephen Jennings on May 13, 2009
