Posts Tagged ‘break/fix’
Somehow, 2021 is already almost upon us. In preparation for the New Year, business owners across the country are taking a close look at their finances, scratching their heads as they inspect their budgets, line by line, to cut everything that isn’t absolutely necessary and searching for new investments that will boost their bottom line. In the midst of all this, it’s vital that leaders take a long, hard look at their technology budgets. Chances are those budgets are a far cry from where they should be.
Many business owners – especially those running smaller organizations with tighter resources – assume that IT is the ideal spot to cut costs. But they forget that, today, technology is the foundation upon which their business is built. We can almost guarantee that if you partner with a cut-rate IT support company, you will sorely regret it down the line. You’ll end up spending thousands more on broken equipment and systems, you’ll lose customers to server downtime and you may even fold completely under the weight of a cyber-attack.
The minuscule amount you’ll save by hiring a cheap support company will be vastly outweighed by the long-term cost of your decision. It is just not worth it. While looking at your budget this December, check whether you’re making one of these three potentially deadly mistakes with your IT investment. It might just save your company.
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Out with the old and in with the new! For far too long, small businesses have taken an old-school approach to IT services and security. In other words, they wait until something goes wrong before they call an IT services company and request help.
Back in the day (think 1990s and 2000s), this approach worked, more or less. External threats, such as hackers and viruses, were still few and far between. A data breach wasn’t on anyone’s mind. So, it made sense to wait until something went wrong before taking action.
In IT circles, this is known as the “break-fix” approach. Something breaks, so someone has to come in to fix it. And they charge for their services accordingly. If something small breaks and it takes a short time to fix, you could expect a smaller bill. If something big breaks, well, you can expect a pretty hefty bill.
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How do you handle network issues? If you’re like most small businesses, you wait until something breaks or goes wrong before getting an IT services company on the phone. At a glance, it makes sense. Why pay to fix something if it isn’t broken?
Sadly, this way of thinking can do more harm than good, and it has taken many businesses out of commission.
When you get right down to it, there are two primary ways to handle network security:
- By being reactive
- By being proactive
One of these costs significantly more than the other and can destroy a business. You can probably guess which one we’re talking about.
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A question we often get is “Why do I need to be on a managed IT plan? Can’t I just pay you to come out and fix things when they’re broken?” While that’s a legitimate question if we were talking about your washing machine or car, that’s definitely NOT the right approach to a critical and dynamic IT system that your company depends on; you DEFINITELY don’t want to wait until something “breaks” before you try and fix a problem. One virus or hacker attack or one slip-up can cause permanent data loss, extended downtime, a violation of data-breach laws, bad PR, loss of customers and sales, and a host of other expensive problems.
Additionally, under a “break-fix” model, there is a fundamental conflict of interests between you and your IT firm. The IT services company has no incentive to stabilize your computer network or to resolve problems quickly because they are getting paid by the hour; therefore the risk of unforeseen circumstances, scope creep, learning-curve inefficiencies and outright incompetence are all shifted to YOU, the customer. Essentially, the more problems you have, the more they profit, which is precisely what you DON’T want.
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