Many business owners find it difficult to choose between managed IT services and break fix. Let us make the decision easy for you with this quick comparison.
IT issues like breakdown, downtime, backup and installation are inevitable among businesses. Being a savvy business owner, you must be looking for an efficient IT service delivery model for such issues.
Should you go for a managed IT service provider? Or you should call a break and fix professional only when IT issues occur?
In short, should you choose managed IT support or break and fix services? Which will be right for your business?
To determine the best IT support, you need to consider the pros and cons of both models.
Let us make the decision easy for you!
Here we have broken down the basics of both managed IT support and break fixes so that you can choose the right one.
What is a Break-Fix IT Support?
Break-fix is a “fee for service” model in which you are charged for the work done. Simply put, a professional performs the services and takes money for that.
This is comparable to how a homeowner calls an electrician to fix the faulty wires. Electrician comes and assesses the issues and then finds out the solution. He fixes it and asks you to pay the bill for the job done. This service model is known as “break-fix” in IT service. The service is opted for only when an issue occurs in your IT system.
What is Managed IT Support?
In managed IT support, you hand over your IT responsibility to a third party vendor who will provide maintenance and management of your systems. In simple words, you outsource some part of your IT department to a managed IT support vendor. Wikipedia defines it as “a practice of outsourcing on a proactive basis management responsibilities and functions and a strategic method for improving operations and cutting expenses.”
They are available for monthly or yearly contracts, meaning that they take care of your IT needs throughout the designated time.
In simple worlds, they are your IT department (on rent).
Which One is Right for Your Small Business?
It is clear that…
- You need break fix model only when there is an issue. They charge for the work done.
- Managed IT support requires you to sign a contract of services, meaning that they will be available for the designated period.
Many businesses think that break fix model is right as it only costs whenever it comes to fixing the issue. But it only works when…
- Your business rarely faces IT issue
- You have onsite IT team
- Your business can handle downtimes
Break fix professional will just bill you money every time you have an issue without suggesting you solution to keep your systems stable (since they capitalize on the problems to earn their bread and butter.)
Other downside is that they have variable costs or hourly billing and don’t provide guarantee for their work.
Remember, you can never predict when your IT system will go out of order or how badly it affects your operations and budget.
Managed IT support, like we said before, takes care of your IT infrastructure throughout the period mentioned in a contract. They are the professionals who monitor, manage, fix and provide support to the businesses. In fact, they monitor and diagnose the issue before it can thwart your operations. Break fix is suitable for home PCs.
Therefore, small businesses with minimum 50 employees should go for managed IT support to keep their operations up and running.