IT Services are a necessity of every organisation who runs their own website whether it is for maintenance or for fixing features of your website services. The global managed services as an industry is expected to grow exponentially to a revenue of $282 billion in 2023 from a recorded $180.5 billion in 2018. The main consideration why this industry is booming is because of organisations contracting IT services to keep their business afloat and running taking into consideration cost, resources and quality of services rendered by IT companies. In this article, we will be discussing the difference between the two types of IT services, the break fix services and the managed services and touch on some advantages and disadvantages of each type of service. While both of them pertain to solving your hardware and software problems encountered in your business processes, the main difference lies in the nature and accessibility of each service.
In managed services, a holistic approach is adopted by having a contract referred to as a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which contains the terms and conditions. This is more of a client-centred initiative by being proactive in having IT maintenance as a priority. The monitoring is remotely done and part of the service includes troubleshooting and advising to achieve a well-managed site.
In break/fix support, IT services are provided on demand and services are done on-site. The client is billed for time and materials. This approach is also referred to as fee-for-service. Unlike the first type, break fix support is a reactive kind of approach.
While it may be deduced that the break/fix approach could be better in terms of accessibility and costs in certain types of business models, there has been a massive shift from utilising this model to a managed services model. We will be discussing some of the major disadvantages of the break/fix IT services.
- It costs you more.
Since the essence of adopting this model is for fixing what’s broke, if it isn’t then everything will be well. However, in the long run it will not be beneficial as it will cost you more as it is a reactive response. Everytime something breaks, you shed off money to address it.
- It creates an unnecessary burden for the technicians who shall provide the service.
While it may be argued that these are under the ambit of their expertise, it cannot be denied that there exists the underlying burden of technicians knowing what needs to be done right then and there. Further, there is this innate need for the clients to be the decision makers when something comes up even if it means they are not the best persons to make such.
- Solutions provided are short-sighted and unsustainable.
Clients tend to choose unsustainable solutions instead of long term maintenance. Consequently, technicians and providers are also forced to provide instant solutions considering the cost and urgency.
Considering the major disadvantages, the managed IT services model is better than the break and fix model. Not only is it a proactive alternative that benefits you in the long run but availing it can make you at ease that your business can thrive. Here are the major ADVANTAGES of using the IT managed services.
- It is sustainable and cost effective.
Agreements made between the client and the Managed Service Provider (MSP) include coming up with interventions to prevent problems to arise and less troubleshooting. We can agree that as a client (business owner), this is better than being provided with a piecemeal approach and costs a lot every transaction. Further, incorporating this in your overall budget for operational expenses can help you save your finances as you can already predict and make a definite allocation. Rather than making capital expenses, you converted the expense as an operational one. It is even beneficial for you in terms of financial cost to have MPS as you are assured to get services and solutions at par with having an in-house IT.
- It eases your worry because MSP provides better stability.
It minimises downtime and lessens the worry of clients. It is proactive maintenance which means to say there’s an overseeing of issues and a quick response before failures go out of hand and might cause irreparable damage to your processes.
- It improves the efficiency of IT operations.
In a managed services model, the SLAs will be the guide on what is to be delivered by the provider to you as the client. Because these are experts and experienced professionals, you can put your worries to rest that they can make your IT operations efficient and fast. They can present to you solutions which are more feasible and can scrap those which are not good for your business.
- It gives you a robust and secure IT environment.
The core of MSP is managing the entirety of all your IT processes by ensuring the optimum network performance, security, back-up, emails, etc. MSP also provides high level support and up to date technologies. You can also be assured that for softwares you are using in your business will always be updated and have the latest features.