The advantage of break-fix services is that you only pay for I.T. support when you need it, without being locked into a monthly or multi-year contract. If you’re not happy with the service you’re getting, you can change providers easily. If you’re a micro-business with only a few employees, very simple I.T. needs where you don’t experience a lot of problems and don’t host or handle sensitive data (medical records, credit cards, Social Security numbers, etc.), break-fix might be the most cost-effective option for you.
However, the downsides of break-fix services are many if you’re NOT a micro-business and are attempting to grow in revenue, staff and clients, or if you handle sensitive, “protected” data. The 6 big downsides are as follows:
1.Break-fix can be very expensive when you have multiple issues or a major problem (like a ransomware attack). Because you’re not a managed client, the I.T. company resolving your problem will likely take longer to troubleshoot and fix the issue than if they were regularly maintaining your network and therefore familiar with your environment AND had systems in place to recover files or prevent problems from escalating.
2.Paying hourly works entirely in your I.T. company’s favor, not yours. Under this model, the I.T. consultant can take the liberty of assigning a junior (lower-paid) technician to work on your problem who may take two to three times as long to resolve an issue that a more senior (and more expensive) technician may have resolved in a fraction of the time because there’s no incentive to fix your problems fast. In fact, they’re incentivized to drag it out as long as possible, given that they’re being paid by the hour.
3.You are more likely to have major issues. One of the main reasons businesses choose a managed services provider is to PREVENT major issues from happening. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The smart way to avoid disasters and minimize the cost and damage is to prevent them from happening in the first place, not “hope” they won’t happen.
4.You can’t budget for I.T. services and, as already explained, could end up paying more in the long run if you have to constantly call for urgent “emergency” support.
5.You won’t be a priority for the I.T. company. All I.T. firms prioritize their contract managed clients over break-fix clients. That means you get called back last and fit in when they have availability, so you could be down for days or weeks before they can address your problem. Further, because you’re not under a contract, the I.T. company has no incentive to keep you happy or even address the root causes of your problems, which can lead to MORE problems and MORE costs.
6.If no one is actively maintaining the security of your network and data, your chances of getting hacked go up exponentially. Believe me when I tell you most people grossly underestimate the costs and damage done by a ransomware attack. Your operations shut down and your client contracts, private e-mails, company financials, employee payroll and other sensitive data are in the hands of criminals who won’t think twice about e-mailing your list of employees’ and clients’ confidential information.
Thinking you’re fine because “nobody wants to hack us” or “we’re 100% in the cloud” is gross ignorance. If you don’t have a professional I.T. company monitor and maintain your company’s I.T. security, you WILL get hacked, incurring significant financial losses, not to mention reputational damage and client losses.
For all these reasons, hiring an MSP to manage your I.T. environment for an agreed-upon monthly budget is, by far, the most cost-effective, smartest option for most businesses with 10 or more employees, or who handle critical operations and sensitive data and are risk-averse.
