Managed Services vs. Break/Fix IT Services – What Better Suits the Needs of Your Business? | Asigra

What is the Break/Fix Service Model?

The Break/Fix model is a fee-based model – as in when something within your IT infrastructure breaks you contact your IT service provider to fix the issue and they bill you accordingly. Considered to be a reactive approach to IT, the broken system can only be used once the IT contractor is on-site, identifies and fixes the problem.

What are Managed Services?

A Managed Service (MS) is where your IT networks are continuously monitored by a third party, who mitigates risk and problems before issues arise. Unlike the break/fix model, the managed service model bills on a monthly basis and is considered more proactive as they employ preventative care. They work to identify potential challenges and threats before these issues disrupt business operations.

What is an appropriate situation that a company would use the break/fix model as opposed to a managed service?

• If a company was looking to cut costs
• If a small or medium sized enterprise did not have the financial capital to sustain the monthly bills that are associated with managed services, but has the money to handle fluctuating or ad-hoc costs associated with IT problems
• If an organization rarely has IT/Technology issues
• If there was an onsite IT staff who could handle the majority of requests

What are some disadvantages when using the break/fix model?

• Your IT staff/administrators do not have line of sight into how much the issue will cost, so the unpredictable fees can quickly blow your budget
• It increases down time which translates into lost business and revenue
• IT contractors charge on an hourly billing basis and therefore aren’t really interested in making your networks stable in the long run. Typically, they fix the immediate problem as a Band-Aid solution and rarely offer any preventative measures to avert these problems from occurring again

What are some advantages of implementing the MS model?

• The fees are predicable which most IT departments can support
• This model comes with easy access to IT professionals
• Downtime is minimized as risks are monitored and mitigated

Does the Break/Fix Model achieve economic efficiency in the long run?

No. It may save organizations a few dollars in the short term, however, when systems/networks are down your organization is losing money…and the longer the systems are down the more money your organization loses.

Which is the more efficient solution… break/fix or hiring a third party managed service?

The managed services approach is a better solution for businesses of any size because it involves constant monitoring of your network 24 hours a day. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) will detect issues before they develop into larger problems which is all included in their monthly fees.

If you’re still questioning whether your organization should choose the break/fix or the managed service model, consider your organization’s dependency on IT. Long periods of downtime are detrimental to companies of any size, therefore it’s best to have a team of experts at your disposal handling issues before they arise.

Read our data sheet for helpful hints on how to select an MSP that suits your organization’s needs.

Read the Data Sheet