And now we can talk about the other reasons for ditching break / fix IT services.
- You need consistency. When you work with most break/fix companies, you’ll get multiple different people to solve different problems, and those people have no idea what the person before them did to your systems. That causes problems. When you partner with us, you might see Sterling one day and Charles the next, but we work as a team and communicate with each other to make sure everyone is on the same page and our service is consistent. We have a deep understanding of your entire system. We have a plan for your IT, and we stick to it. Everyone is working together toward the same goal. Charles is known for calling this the “win/win” model. When there is a plan and everyone is working together, it’s a win for us and a win for you.
- Break/fix puts you and your IT provider at odds. This isn’t necessarily for lack of knowledge or skill on the break/fix company’s part, and it’s not because all break/fix companies are greedy and evil. The problem is that the break/fix makes money when you’re losing money. Yikes. That’s not a good scenario. When your technology breaks or you experience downtime, etc., they make money. That’s not the kind of business relationship that works for your company’s good. This is why an MSP contract makes so much more sense. It aligns the IT provider’s goals with the clients’ goals.
From your point of view, you’re doing everything in your power not to call your break/fix IT people. You don’t want to pay them yet again to fix the problem that you keep having. (And let me point out, you may keep having that problem because it’s not in the break/fix’s best interest to discover the root of the problem.) So you take time out of your day to try to fix it yourself, or you tell your employees to try to work around the issue or operate without the tools they need to be efficient.
From the break/fix side of things, it’s vastly beneficial for them to show up and give you a temporary fix and collect a check from you and then show up two weeks later to fix that problem again and collect another check. And even if break/fix wanted to find the real cause of your problem, they probably can’t. They don’t have access to and knowledge of your entire infrastructure; they only look at the part of your system that is presenting immediate problems.
Now, with an MSP, say something breaks. You don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call us because we offer unlimited staff support. We are able to jump in and find where the actual problem lies—because we have a deep knowledge of your ENTIRE system. We manage and protect it like it’s our own. Once we’ve taken care of your problem—with no wasted time or energy on your part—it’s actually fixed. And, we are extremely motivated to be as efficient and effective as possible because we aren’t billing hourly. That leaves you to do what you do best—run your company.
Break / fix has its place in the world, but it’s not in your business. Next week, we’ll talk about exactly why you should partner with an MSP and all the good that can come of it. See you then!