How Much Should You Pay For Managed IT Services?
While cost isn’t the only factor that should influence your business decisions, it is still a factor. You can’t make an informed decision about your IT support unless you know what you’re paying for, and how much it’ll cost.
In order to make the best decision for your business, its needs, and its budget, learn everything you can about managed IT services delivery – starting with the models of support available to you.
The 6 Primary Models of Managed IT Services You Can Choose From
When it comes to price, there isn’t a single model of support you can compare directly. Like in other industries, plans are tiered and varied, so we have to look at six main types:
1: The Monitoring Only Model
The monitoring only model provides network monitoring and alerting services. The managed service provider offers this model to companies of all sizes.
With the midsize or enterprise companies that don’t have a managed IT services company, and instead, have in-house, IT technicians they too can also be alerted. With this model, there are several service levels offered.
2: The “Per Device” Model
The per-device model is based on a flat fee for each type of device that gets supported in your company’s IT environment. For instance, a basic per-device pricing model might designate a flat price:
- per desktop
- per server
- per network printer
- per managed network
The pricing is straightforward to quote, and the monthly service fee gets adjusted when you add more devices into this model.
3: The “Per User” Model
The per-user model closely resembles the per-device model. Instead of being billed per device, you’re invoiced per user, per month; which covers support for all methods used by each user.
The support typically covers commonly used equipment:
- Office equipment: PC, laptop, tablet, and connectivity
- Home equipment: home PC, laptop, tablet, and smartphone
- Communication equipment: hotels and kiosks when traveling
4: The Tiered Model
The tiered model is designed to provide bundled packages.
With each package, “X” amount of services are included. And being that this is a tiered model, it also means there are three or more bundled package levels, with three or more pricing levels.
They usually get labeled as “Gold, Silver, and Bronze” or “Basic, Standard, and Premium.” The premise with this model is simple – when you pay more, additional services become available, not offered with any lower-level bundled package.
5: The All You Can Eat Model
The all-you-can-eat model gives you flexibility.
With this model, it’s easier to budget your IT support expenses. You’re able to gauge what’s taken place over the past year, and then make calculated IT cost forecasts for the coming year.
Typically you’ll have access to:
- Remote support / on-site support
- Lab or bench time / 24/7 year-round support
- Services available during specific hours of the day / particular days of the month
The all-you-can-eat model gives the client the ability to genuinely budget their IT support costs over a year’s time and experience no hidden or surprise fees.
6: The A La Carte Model
The a la carte model is unique.
With this model, you’re getting individual services. Maybe there’s a specific problem that has come up and needs addressing. That’s when you pay for the services you need.
You can also create a customized managed IT services company bundled package for yourself, tailored to your company’s specific needs or requirements.
How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost?
Actual pricing ranges vary from one market to another – whether you’re in a major metropolitan area, or a smaller community will affect the price. But to give you a brief overview of what pricing ranges look like; here’s the breakdown:
- Flat Based range: Monthly, quarterly, or annual fee depending on needs
- Per-User range: $125–$300 per month
- Per-Device range: $5–$100 per month
With the Monitoring Only, Per Device, Per User, Tiered, All You Can Eat, and A La Carte pricing models and the pricing ranges, it gives you a clear picture of how much you should be paying a managed IT services company.
But What About Hourly IT Support?
Maybe you think that you don’t need any form of IT services listed above. Maybe you only have an occasional or even just a rare IT problem, and you’d prefer to fix it on an as-needed basis.
You can think of this as “hourly” IT support – it may only cost you specifically for the time needed to fix your problems, but is it worth it?
Not really – there are a number of downsides to this kind of IT support:
You Are At A Disadvantage
Given that a technician charges by the hour for this work, they are encouraged to focus on billable hours. It doesn’t benefit him if your IT is working the way it should. You could find yourself repeatedly calling them to help with a problem that never quite gets resolved.
You Won’t Be Monitored
Without anyone keeping an eye on your systems around the cloud, 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.
You Have To Put Up With 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.
You Can’t Know The Exact Cost
It’s impossible to predict how much to budget for IT services that happen hour by hour, issue by issue. You can’t know what will happen or how expensive it might be.
What Does Hourly IT Support Cost?
If you really want to avoid one of the six main models, be sure you’re ready to shell out for one of the following estimated price ranges of hourly IT support:
- One tech: $100 – $125/hour plus travel time
- Two techs: $225 – $250/hour plus travel time
- IT Specialist: $250/hour plus travel time
Which IT Services 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.
It’s much more likely that you could benefit from a managed approach to IT support – and Radius Executive IT Solutions can deliver. Our team will make sure that your technology works properly, without you having to do anything about it. Problems are prevented, daily management is outsourced, and you enjoy the benefits offered by well-maintained IT – as simple as that.
Click here to get started or call us at (978) 528-0110.
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