Change Your Mindset

We often get asked, “Why would I move to managed services, instead of only calling when we need something?”

It’s a great question, and one that we will discuss in this article.

Differences

First, lets outline the differences in the break/fix model verses managed services.  The break/fix model, or reactive model, is when a business addresses issues after they occur.  The managed services model, or proactive model, monitors systems and performs routine maintenance to prevent issues from ever occurring.

Break/Fix

For example, a business is using a server to host an account software, such as quickbooks.  This software is vital to the daily operation of the business.  One morning, as users are logging in for the day, the server presents an error message saying the system is unavailable.  After discovering the issue, the client calls their IT provider and explains the problem.  The IT provider then dispatches a technician or engineer to investigate the issue.  During the investigation, they discover the hard drive has filled up completely and there is no free space remaining.  The technician now works to free up space and restart services in order to get the system back online.  In conclusion 4 hours have passed, from the time the initial call is received by support until the issues is resolved.  This is a reactive model of support.

Managed Services

Now lets examine the alternative, managed services.  If the company had a managed services agreement, and the server was being proactively monitored, the disk space issue would have been discovered well before it was ever a problem.  The managed service provider (MSP) would  have installed a tool to remotely monitor the device which would have sent out an email notification once the disk free space reached a critical level (usually 10-15% free space remaining).  Once the service provider received the alarm, a technician or engineer would have remotely cleaned disk space or added more disk space to correct the issue before it becomes a problem.  This is a proactive model.

The Move from Reactive to Proactive

The first point you need to consider, is that when you are reacting to issues you are experiencing downtime or situations that are negatively effecting your business. This could be in the form of lost employee productivity, inability to service or communicate with your clients, or negative perception of your business and its reliability.  Some of these negative impacts are intangible, such as the inability to communicate with clients, or negative perception of your business.  With that said, lets focus on what we can calculate.

Calculate the Cost

In the example listed above, the basic cost for the outage can be calculated as follows.

System is unavailable at 8:00 AM.  There are three employees who utilize the accounting software in order to do their job.  Without it they are unable to work.  Each employee makes on average $15 per hour.  The IT support company who was dispatched to correct the issue charges an average rate of $150 per hour.  This charge begins as soon as the technician starts investigating the issue.  It took a total of 4 hours to resolve.  With that information we can calculate the minimum amount this outage cost the company, not including the other intangibles mentioned above.

Thee employees are unable to work for 4 hours and at $15 per hour, that is $180 for all three employees.
The charge for the 4 hours it took for the tech to resolve the issue at $150 per hour is $600.
In total that single outage, again at minimum, cost the business $720.

You might be saying well what would managed services cost?  On average managed service is calculated on a per devices basis.  This can range anywhere from $120 - $150 per device per month.  In this instance the business could have paid for an entire quarter of managed service on that server for what the single outage cost! 

Other Advantages

This is just one example, but the benefits of making the shift are huge. Manged services can include even more that just proactively monitoring your system for resources such as disk space, CPU, or memory.  They can also provided the following.

  • Patching and software updates
  • Antivirus / Malware software
  • Backups
  • Automation
  • Reducing unexpected costs.
  • And more!

Staying on top of maintenance, monitoring, and support in advance means that crisis mode should come around a whole lot less often. Businesses need consistent service and strong support, and if the business can run more smoothly, with less interruption, that’s a huge plus.  Contact us today to discuss how we can help move your business into a more proactive model!

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