Surprisingly, managed services actually cost less on average than break-fix repair. Not only in monthly expenses, but when factoring in the cost of downtime that comes with the old method. A break-fix company must drive back and forth to customers and is always in firefighting mode. Remote monitoring, maintenance, and the prevention of major issues allow a managed service provider to operate far more efficiently.
We’ve often seen that someone on staff who isn’t an IT person is tasked with handling minor issues to avoid paying support fees. Not doing their real job equals both money and productivity waste. And when this person is in management, the cost is even greater.
Using break-fix support, rush fees and after hours/weekend support to handle emergencies adds up. A managed service company can prevent issues before they happen, and handle most service remotely. The MSP can thus offer a “better” service without charging more.
The cost of managed services and renting hardware from your provider instead of buying (known as Hardware-as-a-Service [HaaS]) can even factor in as a business/operating expense. This allows most companies to deduct costs from their taxes to save even more money. These deductions aren’t available with the old break-fix model.
Managed services are generally priced on a flat-rate monthly basis.
Depending on the services included, pricing is usually based on the number of devices managed. This makes it easy for a business to get the exact service they need, without paying for more than is necessary.