The IT landscape has changed drastically in the last few decades and with that, service providers have had to change their offerings to address the evolving needs of customers. Companies are dealing with an ever-expanding web of both personal and company owned devices that all need to remain functional, secure, as well as connected to ensure business continuity and eliminate downtime or lost opportunities.
What is the Break-Fix Model?
The break-fix model of IT support can be looked at similar to fighting fires. If nothing is breaking and there are no ‘fires’ to be put out, then nothing is being done. This model relies on the customer to notify the IT service provider when something breaks or needs upgrading so they can come and address the problem. This model has been feasible for some organizations up to this point and has been a way for them to keep IT costs low if issues are minor. However, in the modern IT landscape, this model is no longer a safe way of managing your business’ IT as it doesn’t have any forward-thinking mentality towards security or aging infrastructure.
Pros and Cons of Break-Fix IT Management
As mentioned above, the break-fix model has benefitted some organizations in the past who have simple IT infrastructure and only want intervention from service providers when necessary. If issues remained minor, the cost of IT management would also remain minor, but if issues became major then costs could quickly escalate. That uncertainty of cost brings difficulties when it comes to budgeting for IT spending. On top of uncertainty with cost, the break-fix model leaves a lot of uncertainty regarding security. Since this model is completely reactionary, there is no ongoing planning for keeping company data secure and safe from attacks. Being that cyber-attacks are continually changing, the break-fix model can leave your organization extremely vulnerable to attack and potentially one attack away from complete catastrophe.
Where Does Managed IT Services Play a Role?
Overall complexity of IT is on the rise and with that, companies are moving away from the break-fix model. An increased number of endpoints, increased amounts of data, and increased frequency and severity of cyber-attacks has forced many companies to say goodbye to this older form of IT support and move towards managed IT services. Managed IT services provide a much more proactive and predictable approach that provides peace of mind and the ability to plan ahead in regard to cost.
How Does Managed IT Services Benefit the Customer?
Managed services can look different for every organization. Depending on the capabilities of in-house staff, or lack thereof, companies may choose to have different aspects of their IT managed by a service provider. At TSR, we break our managed services down into six categories:
Whether an organization chooses to have all or part of their IT managed by a service provider, they will see benefits in many ways. First, the proactive approach of managed IT allows organizations to address issues before they happen instead of only reacting after the fact. This means that instead of having to spend whatever amount of money necessary to fix a problem, companies can spend a fixed amount each month while knowing that the problems will be taken care of before they happen. Even if issues do arise, the organization can have peace of mind knowing it will be addressed quickly and not at an additional cost. Given that managed services addresses issues before they happen, emergencies and issues will also be less frequent than with the break-fix model. This is especially important regarding security in today’s environment. Managed services provide a high amount of attention to data security, meaning your organization will be less vulnerable to attacks. Overall, the proactive approach that managed services provides puts your organization in a less risky place when it comes to finances as well as security.
How to Know Which is Right for You?
Up until the past few years, break-fix was still a valid option to consider for IT support. However, with the type of security threats that are now occurring regularly, a business’s livelihood could literally be at stake. Businesses can no longer take a passive approach to security and should seriously consider managed services if they haven’t already.
Wanting to learn more about TSR’s managed service offerings? Contact us to speak with our team and learn more about how managed services can benefit your organization.