Which Solution is Right for Your Business?
With most businesses, small and large, relying heavily on technology to keep their customer base growing and their operations running smoothly, it has never been more important to ensure that your business is prepared for potential cyber threats.
From websites and online advertising to the secure storage of business data and customer information, business owners are able to leverage available technology to reach more customers and streamline business operations for increased productivity and revenue. However, as IT systems have become such an integral part of the day-to-day operations of businesses of all sizes, when an IT issue occurs, it can have a significant impact on your bottom line.
Protecting your business against cyber threats with reliable IT support is an essential part of ensuring that your business runs smoothly. The two most common ways to manage business IT systems are with a managed service provider or through the use of a break-fix model.
What Is A Managed Service Provider?
A managed service provider (MSP) offers a cost-effective solution to outsourcing the management of your IT systems. With a managed service provider, your It environment will be regularly monitored and maintained by a team of IT specialists for a flat monthly fee.
With a managed service provider, you will benefit from a proactive approach to IT security, with regular analyses of your IT systems to identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited in a cyber attack. This helps to fortify your business against cyber threats and prevents potential attacks before they can impact your business.
Some managed service providers, such as Tech Cover, will also provide 24/7 IT support to keep your IT systems running smoothly at all times, as well as additional services, including data backup and disaster recovery, data storage and cloud security, and regular IT maintenance.
What Is A Break-Fix Model?
A break/fix IT security model runs on the idea that while everything is working, there is no need for the regular monitoring and maintenance of your IT systems. While this can be appealing, particularly to small businesses looking to keep IT costs down, it can also be more costly in the long run.
While a break-fix model allows you to avoid paying a monthly fee to an IT company, this means that you will have to pay the inflated emergency call-out fee for break-fix IT services whenever an issue occurs. Additionally, break-fix can be more costly to your business in terms of lost productivity and revenue as it is likely to take more time to fix any IT issue when compared to a constantly monitored and managed IT system that has been fortified against cyber attacks with backup data and disaster protocols in place. This is because, without regular management, the costs of repairing an IT system after a cyber attack can add up quickly, making the cost of a break-fix approach unpredictable.
Managed Service Provider vs. Break-Fix IT Support
Without a background in information technology and data security, it can be difficult to determine which type of IT support is best suited to your business. While both managed service providers and break-fix IT support each have their own benefits, the IT industry as a whole has been trending towards providing managed services over the traditional break-fix model. In fact, according to a recent information security study carried out by 451 Research, 59% of IT services have transitioned from a break-fix model to a managed service contract model.
So, why are so many businesses choosing to partner with a managed service provider over employing the standard break-fix model?
Proactive Maintenance
A managed service provider offers proactive maintenance of your IT systems. This can include consistent monitoring of your system software with automatic patching and updates, as well as tracking hardware specifications to identify and replace old or damaged systems before they can cause an issue.
Conversely, with a break-fix model, no external IT technicians will interact with your IT systems until a problem has already occurred. This can result in more significant IT issues and increased downtime that could have been avoided through regular monitoring and maintenance.
Cost-Effectiveness
Both managed services and break-fix IT supports have their own arguments for cost-effectiveness. However, while break-fix services will save you the cost of monthly fees when compared with a managed service provider when an IT issue does occur, you will be facing an unpredictable cost of emergency call-out fees, lost productivity, and potential damage to your brand reputation.
While you will be paying a flat monthly rate when you partner with a managed service provider, it is a low, predictable cost that covers 24/7 IT support whenever you need it as long as the ongoing management of your IT systems and implementation of IT security that can help to prevent cyber threats before they can impact your business, rather than waiting for a cyberattack to happen before taking any action.
Continuous Support
A managed service provider not only offers IT security services and system monitoring, they can also provide ongoing IT support for your team. This ensures that you know exactly who to call when an IT issue occurs, ensuring maximum productivity while you are free to focus on the day-to-day operation and growth of your business.
Additionally, your MSP may be able to provide IT security tips to help your team avoid common security risks such as email scams and unsafe downloads. This can save your business hours of downtime and lost revenue, as according to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breaches Investigations Report, 82% of data breaches involved human error.
However, with a break-fix IT company, no IT support is provided beyond the minimum service of resolving the IT issue that they were called out for.
Advanced Security
A managed service provider contract includes advanced network and data security services to fortify your business against cyberattacks, preventing many IT issues from ever impacting your business. This includes regular analyses of your network security to identify and address potential weaknesses, making it harder for cyber criminals to successfully infiltrate your systems.
Comparatively, with no IT security services prior to an issue occurring, your system will be more vulnerable to cyber threats when using a break-fix IT model. This can typically result in more IT issues occurring when compared to a business that has partnered with a trusted managed service provider.
Scalability
Another benefit of choosing a managed service provider for your business IT support is that their services can easily be scaled up or down to meet the needs of your business as it grows and changes.
Conversely, as break-fix IT companies are not paid until an issue occurs, they won’t always have enough staff available to respond to every call immediately, particularly for businesses with greater or growing IT needs.
Managed Service Provider vs. Break-Fix: Which is Right for Your Business?
The Managed Service Provider model offers a comprehensive and proactive approach to IT support, with benefits such as proactive maintenance, cost-effectiveness, advanced security, and scalability. While break-fix is a limited and reactive approach, that may not be cost-effective in the long run. The choice between the two will depend on your business’s specific needs and goals. Contact Tech Cover today on 1300 832 326 to discuss how our managed services can benefit your business.
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