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What are the benefits of managed services?

Are you a proactive thinker? Always trying to anticipate the next business challenge or business opportunity? Then managed services may be for you!

Do you have a reactive or proactive mindset? Do situations, events or the latest crisis dictate your next step? You might be a reactive thinker. Do you take situations in stride, have a plan B when something goes wrong and plan ahead to avoid a crisis? You are being proactive. Reactive thinkers scramble to react; proactive thinkers tend to be cool under stress because they have thought out the different scenarios. Proactive vs. reactive is the fundamental difference between managed services and break/fix.

What is managed services vs. break/fix?

In a nutshell, managed services embodies both IT services and hardware that work together to secure, protect, maintain and support a company’s IT infrastructure. In a nutshell, it is a proactive mindset for managing IT. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure in a world of ransomware and phishing attacks! Managed services are offered by IT solution providers that have built a stack of IT products that work together and a well-seasoned staff to utilize them.

Each managed service provider will have slightly different offerings, but the goal of proactively securing, protecting, maintaining and supporting remains the same. Most often, companies purchase a managed service plan so they don’t have to find, train and maintain their own IT staff.  However, some companies will leverage the skill-set and products of a managed service provider to complement their own internal IT staff.

Break/fix, on the other hand, is waiting for something to break before calling for help. Services, support and hardware are purchased on an as-needed basis from an IT solution provider. It’s a reactive approach to IT where the management of IT is the responsibility of the business owner, not an IT solution provider.

IT Support with Next Century Technologies Team

What are the benefits of managed services over break/fix from the business owner’s perspective?

First and foremost, managed service providers make their money when their clients’ networks are functioning well, and lose when they are not – great motivation to maximize uptime! This leads to better productivity for their clients because the focus is on keeping the computers going, which keeps the client’s staff working.

There are many other great benefits of managed services:

  • Managed services offers 24/7/365 monitoring. This is the cornerstone of managed services, and the only way to be truly proactive.
  • A managed service provider has a team of IT experts. IT is complicated. To manage it properly a business needs a team of individuals with different areas of expertise that work together to resolve any issues as they arise. The expertise can also help recommend, plan and implement IT infrastructure improvements.
  • You don’t have to spend time and money searching for an IT person! Too often companies go through a long, drawn-out process of placing an ad, reviewing resumes, interviewing and then end up hiring someone that is not qualified. Lack of qualifications can lead poor computer support or even a serious security breach. Not only that, but an in-house IT person will need ongoing training to keep up with the ever-changing world of IT and security.
  • Managed services is a proactive approach to managing IT. Break/fix, on the other hand, is reactive. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
  • A managed service provider utilizes a multi-layered approach to secure all aspects of their clients’ IT infrastructure. Antivirus alone is no longer enough! A full 80% of data breaches target small companies. Many layers of security are now necessary including training the staff on what not to open or click.
  • Managed services provides a more predictable IT budget. With its fixed-price structure, it helps balance that budget for both hardware and support. Managed service plans are priced by the device or the user, and includes support hours as well. Some plans even include the hardware such as desktops, firewalls, and switches. The associated contract guarantees predictable pricing for the term.
  • Many cyber insurance policies offer discounts for companies that have a managed services plan. Some discounts are steep enough to cover the cost of their managed service plan! Cyber insurance policies can pay off big in a ransomware situation.
  • A managed service plan comes with a service level agreement (SLA). In writing, an SLA provides guaranteed response time. An IT solution provider puts their managed service clients first.
  • A managed service plan frees up YOUR time! Under a managed service contract, clients allow their staff to open their own support tickets because they know it will be covered by the contract. Copies of ticket and/or reports keep managers abreast of what is happening. This frees up management’s time and allows them to focus on their core business instead of dealing with IT issues.

Our take on it

From the aspect of an IT solution provider, our favorite part of managed services is the freedom to select the best products for our clients. They trust us to make the best decisions for their IT. We are constantly researching and learning about technology and the threats that go with it so we can provide the best service possible and protect our clients’ investments.  Plus, being proactive means we are cool under stress!

Next Century Technologies is a trusted provider of managed services and IT consulting since 2001.

Call us at 859-245-0582 or click here to reach out to us.


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Tracy Hardin

Tracy Hardin is President and founder of Next Century Technologies in Lexington, KY. She has a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Kentucky and has earned certifications from Novell, Cisco and CompTIA. Her specialties in the field of IT are network design and security, project management and improving productivity through technology. She loves helping people by sharing her knowledge of tech.