When a budget comes into play, it is important to remember that there are a few ways that you can adjust it beyond eliminating line items. For instance, you can instead optimize some of the most egregious financial requirements your technology has--its support costs--by translating the unpredictably variable costs you likely deal with now for your support, to the much more sustainable agreement that a managed service provider will operate through.

Let’s go over some of the ways that an MSP can help reduce your support costs, while still providing better support than the alternative.

Where Support Costs Build Up

Take a moment and consider why technology costs tend to rise so rapidly once an issue is discovered.

• The technology itself could be expensive to repair or replace.
• The repair fee will likely include fees and travel costs in addition to the cost of the service itself.
• The repair is likely only focused on fixing the immediate problem, without considering if it will recur or if the fix itself will cause further problems down the road, leading to repeat visits.
• If an issue does happen, you have to call in the technician for them to come and actually fix the problem. This all takes a lot of time, before the repair even takes place, which itself can take a large amount of billable time as well. So, in addition to paying for the travel time for the tech to get there and the time they spend solving the issue, you are also incurring costs through missed productivity.
• It is next to impossible to predict these kinds of expenses when trying to budget out your year, as you can never know when you may be surprised. If you set aside too little, you could drain your budget long before you planned.

Of course, this is assuming that you would call a regular tech support company and that you didn’t have a managed service agreement with an MSP. Most of the above issues can be resolved much more efficiently (and cost-efficiently) through a managed approach, as we’ll demonstrate:

How MSPs Ease These Budgetary Challenges

Let’s go through the reasons we went through before, that would typically lead to swelling costs and exceeded budgets. This time, however, we’ll assume that you’re leaning on an MSP for your IT assistance and support.

• While the technology could be expensive for others to procure, the MSP likely has developed a relationship with vendors who can provide them with more affordable solutions.
• Many problems can actually be resolved remotely, as the MSP takes full advantage of. This means that travel costs are usually unnecessary, and anything that falls within the agreement with the MSP is covered by a consistent monthly fee.
• In addition to fixing the problem at hand, the MSP uses their access and vantage point to identify the root cause of the issue. This means that the issue itself is resolved, preventing future intervention from becoming necessary.
• Your MSP will also monitor your technology for these kinds of issues, using special tools that alert them of inconsistencies and errors. Since they use remote access to do so, they can even find potential problems and proactively fix them. Even if an on-site visit is required, it may be included in the agreement, as well. As a result, your team can return to work--and therefore productivity--that much quicker.
• With a recurring and inclusive fee for these services, budgeting for a managed service provider is a relative breeze. Any changes you need to make (like if you add more employees to further boost your productivity) can easily be incorporated into your monthly fee, keeping costs in check.

Interested in finding out more? Reach out to our team and ask about what other benefits working with us can bring! Call (410) 531-6727 today.