In another in our new series, “Moments With Mark,” Founding Principal Mark Anderson discusses the important differences between the break/fix model of IT services, and why, ultimately, Anderson Technologies chose to become a managed IT services provider instead.
If video isn’t for you, the transcript is below.
Transcript
Mark Anderson: There are some major differences between a break/fix support model and a true IT managed services support model. There are monetary differences, and there are quality of service differences.
Let’s talk about monetarily. In break/fix, your small business isn’t really as interested in getting a proactive IT solution. You might really appreciate having smaller bills, “I only pay if there is a problem, and I call you.” And not all companies, though, are going to be satisfied with a never-call-me-unless-something’s-on-fire approach.
Monetarily on the other side of the house, a managed services support model is more of an all-you-can-eat, fixed monthly fee, that you can anticipate what your annual spending will be. You can anticipate what those dollars are buying. Because there’s a very, very long list of services that goes into an all-you-can-eat IT managed services model.
Quality of service, though, that’s another huge one. If you’re only calling us when something is broken or on fire, you’re only getting attention when there’s a disaster, then you hang up the phone and kind of cross your fingers and hope nothing else breaks because “I don’t really want to get their bills,” right?
In the managed services model being all-you-can-eat, it behooves us to provide you with a rock solid solution where we’ve minimized downtime, and we’ve maximized your productivity. We’re also not fearful of making your phone ring and brainstorming with you. We proactively come up with solutions that are going to increase your productivity, you’re going to leverage technology, you’re going to extend that lever.
And so in a managed services model, where we are just an extension of your company, we’re your outsourced IT department, you’re never fearful to pick up the phone and make our phone ring. There’s not that trepidation. It’s “Get them on the phone, I want to hear what they have to say with it.”
We’re truly on your side of the table working together to produce great solutions versus “I’m very nervous, I don’t want to make this call because they’re just going to bill me this really high hourly rate.”
Those are two very distinct differences in the cost, but then predictability as well as then the level of service that you’re ultimately deploying and using in your company.
