Pros and Cons of Break/Fix vs. Managed IT Services

You’ve probably heard of break/fix IT, but what about its alternative—managed IT services? For many years, break/fix has been the traditional method of maintaining an IT infrastructure. However, with the increasing demand for 24/7 uptime and rapid technological advances in today’s world, it is becoming more difficult to maintain your IT infrastructure through break/fix IT. Learning about the pros and cons of break/fix vs. managed IT services can help you decide what’s best for your business.

Break/fix is a situation where you don’t have proactive support. When something goes wrong, you call an IT professional, who then diagnoses the problem and fixes it. With this method, you’re at the mercy of a third party who may not be invested in quickly addressing your needs. If the problem is serious enough to cause downtime, you could lose money, customers, and your hard-earned reputation

If you’re spending too much money on break/fix IT, then it might be time to consider another option.

Enter managed IT services.

What Is Managed IT?

Managed IT takes a different approach in that it provides proactive support at a fixed rate. Through remote monitoring and management, issues are detected and prevented before they can become serious problems. You typically pay for this type of support as part of an overall fee that includes the monitoring and management of your entire infrastructure; you’re not charged by the hour. 

With managed IT services, you essentially don’t have to do anything–everything from cybersecurity to backup and disaster recovery is handled by your provider. 

Fusion Pro Con of Managed IT Services/Break Fix

 

 

Pros of Break/Fix

This is generally viewed as being cheaper than managed services, so many companies will opt for it to save money. You hire someone to fix your problems or make necessary changes on an as-needed basis.  For organizations that are very small or have extremely simple IT needs, there can often be a cost savings.

Break/fix allows you to call in someone who knows what they’re doing instead of trying to diagnose the problem yourself. It’s a good solution for some businesses.

Cons of Break/Fix

The main problem with break/fix is that it quickly becomes expensive. You have little to no control over how much time you’re billed for, how problems are resolved, and what’s being done to prevent future issues.

This kind of support is called on an as-needed basis, so they aren’t obligated to set you up with precautionary measures that’ll keep you from needing their services again.

Another downside to the break/fix model is its adversity to productivity. Every time your team runs into an issue, they troubleshoot, call IT support, and then wait until they can diagnose and solve the issue. Day to day operations can be clunky and inefficient.

Pros of Managed IT

With managed services, you don’t have to worry about paying hourly. You simply pay a monthly or annual fee that includes comprehensive proactive support, and that’s it. This is one of the most cost-effective options for organizations that need extensive IT support because it’s a flat rate, regardless of how much time your provider spends working on your organization or what kinds of problems they need to fix.

With managed IT, you’ll have access to a team of experts equipped to handle all kinds of IT problems instead of just a couple people in-house. You can talk to multiple professionals whenever necessary without any extra costs.

Your provider is incentivized to keep your business and will do everything in their power to make sure you’re satisfied with the services they provide.

Cons of Managed IT

A downside to managed services is that your provider needs to really understand your business and environment well in order to properly serve you as a customer. Few providers take the necessary time to learn what your needs and pain points are.  Those that don’t typically only provide a set of cookie cutter IT solutions that don’t quite fit your business.

Managed services providers are outsourced and typically offsite, but there might be times when you want someone to visit your workplace on short notice. Selecting a local provider helps to mitigate this issue, and in most cases managed IT providers are able to access and manage your network and systems remotely.

Partner with a Managed Services Provider

After considering thepros and cons of break/fix vs. managed IT services, many small and medium-sized businesses decide that managed services are the right way to go. Get in touch with Fusion Managed IT to learn more about our high quality managed IT services and how we can elevate your business. We look forward to hearing from you!

Author: James Michalak

 

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