For your business to succeed, it needs to run like clockwork. If there are any inherent problems within your operations, such as issues within your IT infrastructure, then downtime could take place, and productivity will cease.
Needless to say, you then run the danger of losing your customers if you aren’t able to meet their needs, and you will face a considerable downturn in your profits. You might also risk your reputation, especially if your systems have failed because of a data breach or other cybersecurity incident.
Because these risks face virtually every business, it’s important for every company to carefully consider how their IT is being managed. Having the protection you need against the threats of ransomware, data breaches, and other costly security threats is non-negotiable in today’s always-on world, so it’s important not to make decisions about your IT management lightly.
This is especially critical because not all IT providers offer the same level of quality with their services. Some still use outdated break/fix solutions which provide nothing but temporary fixes for your IT problems and higher costs. This is why many modern businesses are now outsourcing their IT requirements to a Managed Service Provider to oversee their IT needs.
Let’s take a closer look at both approaches so your business can make the right decision regarding IT management:
The Break/Fix Model
For some business owners, the break/fix approach can appear more cost-effective than paying for continual IT service. Rather than paying an ongoing fee to an IT company, they wait for something to go wrong before calling a professional to come fix it. They then pay the call out and repair fees when work has been completed—a bill that can often be overinflated.
The biggest problem with this approach is that if you wait for an IT issue to occur, you risk long periods of downtime until repairs have taken place. This has obvious repercussions for your business, as productivity will cease and costs will go up. What’s more, if you wait for an IT issue to visibly arise and cause disruption in your business, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to address backend problems before they cause issues and skyrocketing costs.
Of course, we are assuming that repairs can be made to your IT systems. If permanent damage has been caused because of a technical fault or if you have suffered a data breach because of a cyber attack, then the issues could be irreparable. In both cases, you will have lost valuable customer data, and your business might struggle to bounce back after the disaster that has taken place.
And while the break-fix method appears cost-effective, just think about the call-out fees and repair costs if your equipment fails again and again and again. The technician might know this, and might only provide temporary fixes in the hope that you will call them out again. In the long-term, this clearly isn’t a cost-effective solution for IT at all, and break/fix support really just lends itself to more frequent IT problems that come with generic, short-term solutions.
The Managed IT Services Model
On the other hand, a reliable Managed Service Provider (MSP) can fill the gaps that break/fix IT leaves open. MSPs work on a month-to-month fee, meaning they are much more motivated to provide long-term solutions that make your systems more efficient, because otherwise, they could lose your business.
Because of this, they take a proactive approach by monitoring your systems 24/7. If any faults are detected, or if any cybersecurity flaws become apparent, your MSP can immediately address and patch them to reduce the risk of downtime in your business. Over time, root causes of downtime are also eliminated, allowing your systems to work more efficiently and avoid the costs associated with system outages.
It’s also important to keep in mind that cybercriminals are always finding new and innovative ways to attack your systems. Without this proactive approach, they are much more likely to find a hard-to-detect vulnerability and exploit it, causing serious damage to your systems. With sophisticated threats like ransomware costing businesses an average of $713,000 per incident, it’s critical that you have continual monitoring and maintenance for your IT rather than a break/fix approach.
What’s more, your MSP will work with you according to your specific business model in an effort to develop long-term strategies for your IT. They will ensure you have the right infrastructure in place aligned with your business goals and will scale it in line with the needs of your growing business.
Takeaway
It’s clear that the break/fit model is not cost-effective or wise for businesses who want to keep their data safe. Managed Service Providers, however, offer a solution to the break/fix model by providing round-the-clock monitoring and layered security strategies to protect your business against the latest threats.
They are also much more cost-effective, not only because they save you money in downtime and data breach costs, but also because they cost as low as one salaried employee. That means for the cost of one full-time employee, you get access to an entire team of IT professionals and their resources, as well as solutions customized to your business needs.
As your business prioritizes its IT management and seeks more robust support, security, and strategy, it’s best to turn your back on outdated break/fix services and outsource your IT management to a reliable MSP. You’ll thank them later, especially when you’ve avoided major disasters like data breaches or an unscalable IT infrastructure.