Your company needs to have a robust IT system if you and your team of employees are going to work as effectively as possible. But of course, getting that infrastructure isn’t free; there’ll always be a cost to be paid in order to get up and running. While you’ll have a budget to think about, it’s always worthwhile remembering that the money you spend on your IT system can be considered an investment, since it’ll allow you to work harder, and ultimately increase your revenue.
You’ll have multiple options when it comes to choosing the one that’s right for your needs. You can work with an IT provider, hire an in-house team of staff to handle your IT for you, or work with an IT company as and when it’s needed, such as when you have a problem with your tech systems.
Before you make your decision, read the following outline on how different IT support is priced.
MSPs
MSP stands for Managed Service Provider. This is an external company that works with you to plan, support, and all-around manage various aspects of your IT systems. They’re called “managed” because they take a proactive stance. Rather than only working when something goes wrong, an MSP will work to ensure that everything works as it is supposed to, which helps to avoid downtime.
One of the primary advantages of selecting this type of IT support is that you’ll have access to a wide range of skills and professionals. MSPs typically offer everything that a company would need, including advanced cybersecurity controls, general maintenance, 24-hour support, network monitoring, and rapid fire response to problems, so that your systems are always up and running.
They also have the advantage of being experts in their field, which means that they can keep your business at the forefront of IT, which will ultimately boost your business operations. They work on a fixed-cost basis, so you’ll know how much you’ll be spending each month.
Break-Fix Companies
It can be tempting to put your IT requirements in the hands of a break-fix company because they’re cheap, but you normally end up spending more money in the long run.
A break-fix IT company is one that you’d call when something has broken. So if your network goes down, then you’d call this type of company, who would come out to investigate what’s gone wrong and then get it back online.
While they’ll be good at what they do and will help to get your systems working again, there are a number of downsides to taking this kind of approach. For instance, you’ll have to endure IT problems, since there’s no proactive management. And downtime could mean lost revenue. It’s also difficult to plan how much you’re going to spend on your IT as much as it is planning on home care agencies since you can’t predict when you’re going to have a problem. You’ll also be leaving yourself vulnerable to cyberattacks—and there’s often no coming back from them once they’ve happened.
In-House Teams
There are clear advantages to having an in-house IT team (or even just a single employee) since they’ll already be there on-site if and when you have an IT problem. The issue is that they will typically only work during working hours, which means overnight problems can be left untreated, and they’re often so busy that they can’t proactively monitor and improve your systems.
They also usually cost more money than an MSP, because you’ll have to pay a full salary, the cost of the office space, benefits, and so on. You’ll also find that you’d need to hire more IT employees as your business grows since the initial employees you handled to do the work will be overwhelmed.
Why Invest in the Right IT Support
There’s a budget to think about, but the priority should be to get IT support that’s right for your business. It’s like anything else: you get what you pay for. If you have poor-quality IT support, then your productivity and the security of your company’s systems will suffer. A data breach can be a very expensive problem to fix—sometimes they run into the millions of dollars. So in this sense, working with an IT provider in The Village, Oklahoma is a smart investment to make.
For the cost of the IT services, you’ll receive 24/7 support, 365 days a year, and have peace of mind that your systems are robust.
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