Technology has become forever infused with business operations. When technology falters, it directly impacts a company’s bottom line. This happens in multiple ways that spider throughout the team, such as equipment downtime, software problems, data loss, and cybersecurity attacks.
But despite the connection between healthy technology and a healthy company, many businesses want to spend as little as possible on their IT services.
It’s understandable to want to save as much as you can. But if you try to go cheap in the wrong areas, it can leave you paying more. We’ll get into several reasons why shortly.
First, let’s take a look at the basics of technology infrastructure. For most businesses their digital environment will typically include:
That’s a lot of things that can go wrong if IT is not being properly managed and protected.
How do you properly protect and manage all those IT assets? By working with a managed services provider (MSP), also known as an IT provider. But beware… because they’re not all created equally.
The cost of IT services can vary greatly. Averaging the various ranges you can find through an online search; you can expect to pay anywhere between $75 to $300 per device or user.
Why such a large range? Because not all IT providers or their services are created equally. Some will be reliable, others not. Some will provide a full “all-in” package, while others nickel and dime you.
If you choose based solely on price, then you’ll likely experience the old adage “you get what you pay for” firsthand. Meaning, that being cheap and choosing a cut-rate provider can often cost you more in both the short and long run.
One of the expensive side effects of choosing a budget IT services company is that you are likely to experience more downtime. In order to offer their technology services at such a low rate, cut-rate MSPs will often cut corners. This can be experienced in a number of ways that result in more and longer downtime for your company.
Such as:
Downtime costs small businesses an average of $8,000 per hour, and large enterprises as much as $11,600 per minute.
Digital Crisis offers a variety of all-in packages tailored to meet your needs. These all come with incredibly responsive support, proactive maintenance, and continuous monitoring of your network to ward off potential downtime.
Without having IT audits performed regularly, your business is more likely to fall victim to a cyberattack due to a vulnerability that you didn’t know about. This is a service that is often left out of budget MSP packages.
One fairly recent example of how sloppy vulnerability management cost a company millions of dollars is the breach of Colonial Pipeline in 2021. The company was hit with a devastating ransomware attack that was facilitated by a missed vulnerability in a company VPN account.
IT security audits are part and parcel of the monthly managed services that we provide, so you can rest assured that we monitor for and address vulnerabilities to keep your company secure.
The sticker price may look great on a cheap IT management plan, but be careful about the additional charges and add-on fees. Budget IT plans are notorious for reeling people in with the attractive price tag and then making them pay later by charging extra for all the things that the company didn’t realize weren’t included.
Look for a trusted IT provider that includes all the typical support you need in your monthly managed services fee.
When you are paying a rock-bottom price for an IT provider, they will likely not be taking time to look for ways to make your company more efficient. They want to get in and out as fast as possible and give you just enough service to keep you from canceling.
A good MSP provider in Houston and anywhere else will care about your business nearly as much as you do. They will continually look for ways to help you use technology to lower costs, do things in less time, and optimize your client experience.
That’s the type of savings that isn’t always factored in when shopping IT providers, but it’s a very real benefit of finding a great one.
Digital Crisis can help your Houston area business lower costs while getting expert IT coverage that keeps your company secure and operating efficiently.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call 713-965-7200 or reach us online.
