Are Managed IT Services Best For My Business?

Whatever your business, size or industry, your company needs IT. As such, your IT needs support and upkeep from time to time. There are two models of IT services you can choose from:

• Break-fix services focus on reacting to problems after they have already occurred, which is why it is called the “break-fix” methodology.
• A Managed Services approach allows you to hand over your IT responsibility to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and take a proactive approach to maintenance and management of your IT systems.

It is completely understandable as a business owner that you are trying to minimise your costs and keep tight reins on your budget. One way you might try to do this is by avoiding the monthly expense of managed IT services and adopting a “break-fix” philosophy, calling on a professional only when IT crises arise.

However, in the long run, this approach rarely turns out to be cost-effective and can lead to large surprise expenses. This is because the nature of the work involved is often critical and requires immediate attention.

Your business is also likely to lose money from clients as your systems experience downtime and your employees cannot do their normal work.

Managed IT Services provide constant monitoring and upgrading of your systems, without waiting for something to crash first.

An MSP is incentivised to do a thorough job. If your business is having ICT issues, the MSP needs to do more work. Therefore, they focus on proactively maintaining your network to keep you up and running without ongoing issues.

The following is a comparison of what the two IT service models offer businesses.

Managed Services

With Managed Services, your IT network is actively monitored 24/7 and issues are addressed before they become a headache. Managed Services are proactive and preventative through consistent IT maintenance and support.

This is ideal for companies that want:

• Predictable, fixed monthly fees for IT service and support.
• Easy access to IT professionals who can provide help or answer technical questions via HelpDesk Support.
• To maintain a low risk of downtime, which inevitably impacts their business.
• Proactive and expert advice on how best to leverage IT to help any sized business run smoothly and efficiently.

Break-Fix

The break-fix IT service model works exactly how it sounds: something within your IT infrastructure breaks and you contact your IT service provider to have the issue resolved.

This is acceptable provided:

• Your organisation rarely faces IT or technology issues.
• Your budget can handle unpredictable and significant expenses typically associated with unexpected IT problems.
• Your business operations can withstand the costs of unplanned and possibly extended downtime.
• You have a dedicated IT department in-house.

Choosing the Right Managed IT Services Approach

Many businesses do not consider Managed IT Services because they think it will be too expensive, or that their business does not warrant such a service.

Think Technology Australia’s tiered approach to managed services is specifically tailored to the needs, size and budget of each individual business or organisation.

You can choose between three different levels of support to match your service requirements and budget. Each level clearly defines the work that will be performed under a service agreement. Think Technology Australia operates on fixed monthly fees with no lock-in contracts.

We have the capacity to support your hardware, including servers, desktop computers and other mobile devices, as well as your software, including programs, updates and security. We can also support your network infrastructure and your employees.

Before commencing any service agreement, a full audit of your network is undertaken to identify possible issues within your environment and to document your network. This helps ensure ongoing support can be provided efficiently. A copy of the network audit is provided to you for your business records.

We provide our expertise throughout the evolution of your IT network, from assessing your IT requirements and advising on how to best use your technology, through to providing ongoing maintenance and support to you and your staff.

We have a vested interest in providing a proactive service to avert IT problems and to be available immediately if help is needed.

Whether your IT costs are consistent, predictable monthly fees, or whether you pay nothing for a few months and then pay hundreds or thousands of dollars the next month, you will end up paying for your IT support. It is simply an expense of doing business.

The same question gets asked on Reddit, usually by someone who wants a straighter answer than a sales call gives them. We have answered them for Brisbane MSPs, Canberra MSPs and Wagga Wagga MSPs.

For more information on how we can help your business get the most out of your information technology, call us on 1300 920 866.