With all the talk about proactive support and managed services these days, it can be easy to forget about the continuing importance of break/fix repairs, which typically command hourly fees rather than a flat monthly fee. Given the effectiveness of remote support and outsourced IT, the break/fix support model is far less common than it used to be, but it can still come in handy.
Many IT companies place a huge emphasis on proactive support, which is the result of unlimited support plans. After all, any provider that offers unlimited support will undoubtedly want to prevent as many as possible. All companies need a proactive support strategy, particularly since even just an hour of unexpected downtime can end up costing thousands of dollars. However, there are a few times when break/fix support is the way to go.
When should you opt for break/fix support?
A lot of technology providers seem to think that every company relies on its IT to get anything done. That’s often the case, but there are still plenty of companies that get by with 1-2 small technology issues per month.
It’s not like a San Clemente florist with a few employees needs a team of technicians on call 24/7. There will be times when a technician is required to install upgrades or resolve issues, but they’re far too infrequent to justify a recurring monthly expense.
The best way to prevent the break/fix model from becoming unpredictable and expensive is to work with a contractor that also offers a proactive support plan. That way, if you outgrow hourly support or your IT problems become too frequent, you can upgrade to unlimited service from a provider that already knows your needs.
Which option is better when you have an in-house IT team?
There are times when a business has a complicated technology infrastructure but may not need proactive support. This usually happens when a company is getting by just fine with full-time technicians until something catastrophic happens.
For example, what if the florist from our earlier example opened a second location and hired an IT guy to keep both stores connected and running smoothly. If there’s an issue at one of the locations he should be able to fix it without any problems. But what happens when there’s an IT emergency at both offices? It’s unlikely, but a slow response could put the entire business at risk.
A break/fix arrangement ensures businesses always have additional expertise on-call without the cost of a technician’s salary or a monthly subscription. You hope you’ll never need to call your hourly contractor, but at least you know it’s always available.
The case of managed IT services
Many of our clients are perfectly happy with our break/fix services, but our team still believes that managed IT services are the gold standard for tech support. Whether there’s a disaster or your systems just have a particularly rough month, you’ll always pay the same flat fee. Your backups will be monitored 24/7 and your firewall will be tested every single day. Best of all, you’ll see a noticeable drop in downtime events or mundane upkeep such as software updates and upgrades are handled without taking up any of your time.
Whether you choose break/fix repairs or proactive monitoring, the most important thing is that your business is always prepared for the worst. Technology may not seem like a number one priority when things are going well, but most outages are more devastating than you’d expect. You should always be prepared to respond to a company-wide IT problem at a moment’s notice, so make sure whoever supports your systems always has a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place.
OC-IT serves businesses in Orange County from locations in Costa Mesa and San Clemente. If you’re in need of immediate IT support, call us today.
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