3 Reasons Flat Fee IT is a Bum Deal for Businesses
Can you imagine shelling out money every single month for a service that you might or might not need? After all, you’re likely already paying a flat rate for your phone service, regardless of how often, or how little, you actually use your phone (and we all know who wins in that game).
Phone companies invented the flat monthly rate structure. And do you really want the same from your IT firm? That’s exactly what all those flat rate IT services expect you to do, and quite frankly, we think it’s a lousy deal for everyone – everyone except the flat rate IT service companies collecting your payment every month.
Right now, monthly fee IT services are all the rage, thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns that use smoke and mirrors to sell bundled, pre-paid products and services that most business owners will never fully use. The reality is that many of these flat fee IT companies spend a lot of time doing absolutely nothing at all, except cashing your checks.
Here are three reasons why we believe that flat rate IT services are a bum deal for small to medium-sized businesses:
1) If It’s Not Broke, Why Pay To Fix It?
Phone companies and insurance. They are one of the few that get away with charging monthly flat rates. However, you wouldn’t fork out cash to your automotive mechanic, plumber or electrician every single month just in case you needed them, would you? If you’re not spending your hard-earned revenue to keep other service providers on call, why do it for your IT support services?
2) Monthly Flat Rate IT Services Promote Fear-Mongering
We all know any small to medium-sized business that relies on a computer network (and these days, who doesn’t?) will need outsourced IT support at some point. Sure, fixing an IT problem does require high-level technical skills that most folks simply don’t have, but, that doesn’t mean you should be scared into pre-paying every month just to have access to one of those IT superheroes.
3) Instead Of Putting Out IT Fires, Why Not Prevent Them?
Flat rate IT services focus on reacting to problems, not preventing them. We think that’s a short sighted way to do business, unless of course, your business is providing flat rate IT services. It’s a far better investment to schedule regular network and IT checkups to catch and fix any issues early on rather than wait for a full-blown (and expensive) problem wrecks havoc on your business.
High-Priced Digital Band-Aids
The fact is monthly flat rate IT services are an expensive, unnecessary type of insurance policy for your computer network. Under this service model, nothing actually happens until something happens, leaving customers stuck in a vicious cycle known in the industry as ‘break-fix’ mode.
Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to focus on regular, preventative maintenance that works to minimize downtime, service disruptions and malfunctions? Of course, that involves shifting from a reactive, crisis-based IT strategy to one that focuses on keeping your network healthy, safe and functional, which is a strategy that just doesn’t jive with those flat rate IT service companies.
Bottom line: IT support is a cost of doing business. But the question is would you rather invest in a service that actually provides a service, or flat rate IT services that you might never need?
