Using IT managed services has become popular with many businesses. This is because of the convenience, efficiency, and security they provide. That is why the different pricing schemes in an IT managed service model became a common discussion. This is aside from the talk on types of managed services and top managed service providers. You need to understand the pricing model that suits your business.
Pricing is one of the top concerns of small and medium businesses. This is due to the increasing expenses in maintaining computing services for an enterprise. Thus, it is natural that a small and medium-sized business would opt for the best IT managed service model within the price range that they can afford.
Small and medium businesses choose the best IT managed service model depending on their business needs. There are a lot of things to consider. Small and medium-sized business needs reliability but they also need to cut overhead spending for IT services. That is why the IT managed services model began providing options for the budget-stricken entrepreneur.
This IT managed services model uses the number of devices to assess the computing resource consumption of your business. These devices include desktop systems or mobile devices used by workers to deliver production or service. Thus, when the number of devices increases, your IT management expenses will also increase. That is why this IT managed service model is considered flexible. You can easily scale up and down your computing needs based on the devices your IT service provider will monitor.
The number of devices also makes this IT managed service model predictable. You can easily determine the expenses, and adjust your IT managed service based on the devices you need, then you will be billed a flat fee for monitoring. The flexibility and predictability of this IT managed service model work well for your budget. No surprise expenses. All are calculated expenses. This is why 41% of managed service providers use per device monitoring. They can easily set the criteria for billing purposes. A definite measure is an advantage in retail.
However, this IT managed services model has its cons. First is the possibility of an increase in expenses when devices multiply. When your business grows, there would be more workers. Each one would need a device that needs IT management. Your expenses will increase even if the demand for resources doesn’t.
Since this IT managed service model monitors per device, it would be difficult to provide overall network performance monitoring. Data has to be collated to provide such a report. Overall network performance statistics is one way to assess if your production is meeting its full potential. Missing this information leaves you a blind spot in managing your business.
This IT managed services model uses the number of users to measure the computing resources consumed by your business. This is highly advantageous to small and medium-sized businesses because they have fewer workers who could be using multiple devices. This is the difference when pricing is measured per user instead of per device. It uses a simple and easily comprehended service-level agreement or SLA. Stick with the number of people you have, and you’ll stick with the price range you pay for.
Even if this IT managed service model is the most practical choice for a slim budget, the predictability of this model does not compensate for its lack of flexibility. You can’t just add users to scale up your IT services, right? You need to pay those employees, give them tasks, and train them before you can add more IT services for a growing number of clients.
Employees can handle more than just a task or two. Sometimes, we need more resources yet we don’t need more manpower. Thus, it would be advisable to assess if your business would need more resources anytime soon or not. Keeping your budget tight with this IT managed services model might mean you need to stick with the minimum service while your business grows. Insufficient service is a no-no for any business. Even its 24/7 user support might not help your business if your clients are served with half-baked service.
These two are just the most common pricing models for IT services. There are more options to check before you can get the best IT managed services model for your business.
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