When it comes to choosing an IT company there are typically two types of business models to choose from, a break fix or a proactive IT company.
Break-Fix IT support is a company or person that you call when you have a problem or have something that needs to be done. Simply put, if something breaks, you call this company to come in and work on that issue.
Proactive IT support is when you hire an IT company that actively monitors your equipment 24/7 and notice issues before they arise and cause significant downtime.
So what makes the most sense for your company? Many business owners look at the cost as the main factor when deciding. For break-fix solutions, clients are charged every time they place a call, submit a help desk ticket or have a tech visit their physical location. This will likely look like a low cost until 3 months after you’ve signed your contract, you have several issues arise and the cost is higher than you ever imagined, making it to where you don’t use the services for every IT issue that might arise.
On the other hand, when you work with a proactive IT company, typically you are billed monthly and everything is included in that monthly charge. Unlimited helpdesk tickets/calls and site visits are included in a single monthly fee. The reason this type of model makes the most sense for businesses is that your IT company is actively monitoring your infrastructure and can handle issues before they arise, which saves you money in the long run.
Trip charges = $50 / visit
Onsite visit = $90 / hour with a one hour minimum.
Remote phone support is billed at the $90 but only in 15min intervals
So let’s say that your current business has a total of 30 employees, or rather, 30 computers that need support. If your business needs IT support 22 days out of 31 days of the month, you would pay $2500 just in trip charges and the 1hr onsite charges before the techs even started working on any of the issues on those particular days.
Of course, this wouldn’t be happening every month, because most business owners see a bill like this and end up telling their employees not to call to have their issues repaired. This isn’t in the best interest of your own business, because when you have IT issues, your business doesn’t run as smoothly as possible.
When you decide to work with a proactive IT company, you essentially get an all-inclusive deal under one consistent monthly payment. Your monthly payment includes, monitoring, trip charges, helpdesk tickets and unlimited support for your infrastructure.
The best part? You won’t have any surprise invoices and you can focus on the core of your business needs.
While you have hundreds of options when considering what type of IT solutions provider to work with, it’s important to weigh the benefits and select an IT company that is in line with your business objectives as well as understands the vision for your business as your needs grow.