Much like fingerprints, no two businesses are the same. The same is true for managed service providers (MSPs).
You have many MSPs to choose from (hundreds in South Florida alone), but not all of them are the best fit for your business – or budget. Managed IT services pricing depends on several factors, including:
Number of Users
Some MSPs count up all the machines, but in reality, it’s the users that require support. A firm that’s charging based on machines is likely shortening their focus to supporting machines and not people, so they aren’t as robust as they should be.
Number of Sites
Each physical office location housing multiple people carries a cost. A simple example is that each site needs a firewall.
Complexity of Your Environment
Complexity goes beyond the number of computers and servers. To stay competitive, companies must provide complex solutions for customers, maintain a high degree of infrastructure availability, and streamline the user experience.
Make sure that you’re comfortable with the payment structure the MSP uses. These three structures are most common:
Even though the all-inclusive plan may appear to be the most expensive, it typically results in lower overall IT costs. As a rule of thumb, every 50 users require an IT professional.
So, take the average cost of an IT professional ($90,000) and divide it by 12 (months) and again by 50 (users). That equates to $150 per user. Keep in mind that you have to add the tools the professional needs to do their job (approximately $25 per user). Now you’re at $175 per user, or $8,750 per month for a 50-user firm.
The right MSP helps you plan for IT as your company expands and changes by providing transparent, predictable pricing. Your MSP should discuss:
The cost of having an outside vendor handle your IT requirements varies. Most seasoned MSPs won’t provide a final quote without gathering specific information about your IT infrastructure or your company’s IT objectives.
While everyone usually seeks the lowest cost, cheaper isn’t always the best – or safest – choice. Our experts are happy to get you a clear estimate of how much you can expect to spend.