If you have been charged with keeping your SMB’s data center up and running, you may have heard the term “break-fix” floating around.
Break-fix is a reactionary IT services concept, which puts off paying for IT support until something actually breaks. In IT terminology, this could mean a server crashing, a virus infecting your users, or the loss of data due to a system failure. Many companies think that this is a way to save money day to day – but too many find out the hard way that break-fix is likely the most expensive method of dealing with an IT dependent environment.
Break-Fix: The Cost of Downtime
We have discussed in past blogs that the cost of downtime can be catastrophic for small companies. A business which loses its ability to process orders even for a short period of time begins to accrue losses very quickly Worse yet. they may lose customer confidence and future business.
But another cost associated with going down while relying on a break-fix model is that you have no control of your budget. If something happens and it takes 1 hour to fix, you will probably be ok. But what if something devastating occurs, and it takes 20 hours to fix? Emergency professional help is typically far more expensive than scheduled maintenance. What if you need to completely replace equipment, and your IT budget simply doesn’t allow for it?
The Solution: Managed Services
Managed services have evolved to become the easiest and most cost-effective way for SMBs to manage their IT budget while not sacrificing expert technical support. There are 4 major differentiators between break-fix and managed services:
- Managed Services are Proactive, not Reactive: Having managed services mindset means that you deal with software updates, security patches, and hardware innovations head on. This protects your company against possible vulnerabilities which the criminals exploit, while also keeping you compatible with latest versions of software and applications. So much downtime is actually easily avoidable with regular maintenance updates, which are often ignored in the break-fix model.
- Managed Services Provide Ongoing Reliability: Because all of your IT procedures, maintenance and processes are tasked and a part of your plan, they are regularly taken care of. This is opposed to many tasks being put by the wayside when company IT departments are overwhelmed or overstaffed Instead of trying to shoe-horn maintenance into a jam-packed schedule, it simply happens as a matter of course. And everyone knows that a well-maintained machine lasts longer and will save you money in the long run.
- Managed Services are Friendly to Your Budget: Because managed services are covered by a fixed monthly payment – and they essentially become your IT staff – you don’t have to worry about an unexpected catastrophe. It is the job of the IT company to keep your servers and other IT equipment up and running, so if they go down, they are incented to get them back up quickly. In today’s uncertain world, leaving your IT proficiency up to chance may prove too expensive a proposition.
- Managed Services Provide Peace of Mind: When you contract with a managed services firm, you will avail yourself of a set bundle of services which you negotiate. Once these tasks are assigned to the IT services company, you don’t have to worry anymore – you have a deep bench of expertise working for your organization. Because every Sarasota managed services company is different, be sure that you understand exactly what is covered and what is not.
Beginning is easy – simply call Alliance IT for a no-cost consultation to discuss the needs of your business and how we can help. Don’t let an unexpected server crash be the reason you lose business – call us today.
