Managed Services Or Hourly IT Support?
You may want to save money by using hourly IT support when you need to—but is it more cost-effective? Get the facts before you decide.
You’ve probably heard plenty about Managed Technology Services. What they do, why they’re the best form of IT support, etc.
But you may not have a good understanding of their cost-effect.
Let’s be honest: on paper, the hourly IT support you’re paying for right now probably looks better than paying a larger monthly fee for managed services.
But is that the best way to look at it?
The Difference Between Managed & Hourly IT Support
One of the key differentiators to consider when finding a potential IT support provider is whether they offer hourly support or a flat-rate monthly contract.
The former often appears more cost-effective than the latter—depending on the month, you may only need a few hours of support, right?
As compelling as this line of thinking may be, it’s not founded in reality. Just consider how monthly managed services have grown in popularity over the past decade compared to conventional hourly support.
The Truth About Hourly IT Support
Call it whatever you like, but hourly support is identical in all but name to “Break/Fix services”. This is an insider term for the traditional style of outsourced Tech Support, which works by fixing your computers once they’re broken.
In a nutshell, when something goes wrong—data loss, hardware failure, virus, etc.—you then get in touch with your hourly IT support provider and have them fix it. The hourly strategy no longer works for businesses today. If you still use this method of IT service, you risk downtime that can slow you down.
On the other hand, services arranged via a monthly contract are also known as “Managed Services”. This is the modern model for IT support, offering a range of vital solutions to your business for one monthly rate. With fully managed support, you know that you are supported and protected 24/7.
From active monitoring and patch management to responsive on-site and Help Desk support services, fully managed support takes care of everything you need.
5 Big Problems With Hourly IT Support
Impermanent Solutions
When an IT company charges by the hour, they’re encouraged to focus on billable hours. It doesn’t benefit them if your tech works the way it should. You could find yourself repeatedly calling them to help with a problem that never quite gets resolved.
Rapid Escalation
A minor computer problem can quickly turn into a disaster. This is especially true today with the increase in cybercrime like ransomware. What starts out with just one malicious email can spread throughout your entire network, locking down your data and your operations.
Further Delays
It could take days to fix your problem—in the meantime, your employees won’t have access to the data they need to continue working. You’re simply “bleeding money” by the minute.
Cost Of Downtime
Your support provider starts charging you after you’ve already lost work time—that time spent on repairs or updates can add up fast.
Inaccurate Budgeting
It’s impossible to predict how much to budget for Tech Support. You can’t know what will happen or how expensive it might be.
What Is Proactive IT Support?
On the other hand, services arranged via a monthly contract are also known as “Managed Services”.
This is the modern model for IT support, offering a range of vital solutions to your firm for one monthly rate. With fully managed support, you know that you are supported and protected 24/7.
From active monitoring and patch management to responsive on-site and Help Desk support services, fully managed support takes care of everything you need.
With proactive IT support services, the burden of technology is removed from your shoulders. That means you don’t have to worry if an issue will pop up and derail your productivity.
Having us as your IT team means you benefit from knowing that challenges are not only acknowledged and resolved quickly but are also proactively accounted for to minimize potential disruption.
With IT playing a major role in how you operate, taking a gamble on support is a major risk. Following a reactive approach, it may be too late when you reach out for assistance with an issue.
Downtime stops operations dead, which is exactly what a proactive service model is designed to alleviate. Proactive support ensures issues are resolved quickly and with care to minimize disruptions.
That’s why managed Tech Support are more popular than ever. The global managed services market is expected to double over the course of 2017-2023, from USD 155.91 billion to USD 296.38.
Top Advantages of Managed Services
- You can focus on running your business and not on IT worries. Our team will minimize or eliminate downtime that could affect your bottom line.
- You’ll benefit from a flat-rate payment model, allowing you to budget your tech more effectively.
- You’ll be able to plan for growth far more easily and with greater peace of mind.
- Managed support is more cost-effective than break/fix solutions, especially when considering reduced downtime.
4 Reasons To Invest In Managed IT Support
Freedom Of Focus
You can finally focus on running your business and not on IT worries. Your third-party support provider will minimize or eliminate downtime that could hit your bottom line.
Simple Support
Your tech support can be provided remotely without a technician visiting your office. There will be instances that require in-person care, such as hardware replacement. However, most of what affects your day-to-day operations can be worked on remotely.
Easy Budgeting
You’ll benefit from a flat-rate payment model, allowing you to budget your tech more effectively. You’ll be able to plan for growth far more easily and with greater peace of mind.
Cost-Effect
Tech maintenance from a third party is more cost-effective than relying on break/fix solutions, especially considering the lost revenue from downtime.
Why Are So Many Businesses Using Managed Tech Support?
The fact is that, no matter how satisfied you are with our hourly service model, your experience will only improve when you upgrade to a managed model.
Instead of calling us when something breaks, you can rest assured knowing the Orion Networks team is taking proactive care of your technology.
This means we’re monitoring around the clock for issues, keeping technology up-to-date with the latest patches, and keeping endpoints secure against hackers.
The way Orion Networks approaches the monitoring, management, and maintenance of your environment is proactive by nature, minimizing the risk of downtime and/or constant technology issues.
Are Managed Tech Support Right For You?
Finding the right model for your IT support is one of the most important decisions you can make for your business. You must find the best arrangement that fits your budget.
Don’t just upgrade to managed services because it’s the most popular service model right now; instead, consider what you have to gain, and understand how it serves to benefit your business.
If you have questions about managed services models and the options we offer, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We can show you how these plans work and what they will do for your business.
Which Tech Support Model Should You Choose?
Only you can know for sure. If you have a perfect IT infrastructure that rarely, if ever, has problems, then hourly IT support may be the more cost-effective choice. But that’s probably not very likely.
You know you’ve found the right Tech Support when you stop worrying about your technology altogether. It should work as easily as snapping your fingers; when you need it, it just works, with no delays or complications.
It’s much more likely that you could benefit from a managed approach to IT support—and Orion Networks can deliver. Our team will make sure that your technology works properly, without you having to do anything about it.
With our help, your problems will be prevented—as simple as that. Get in touch with our team to discover more.
