IT support pricing is often a first consideration for any business looking to engage with an IT. If you’re a small to medium size business that’s had enough of trying to manage I.T in-house, and are looking for a new provider that can actually meet your service expectations, or just want the peace of mind that your I.T set up will reliably work when you need it to, then understanding how pricing works will be an important step forward. In this article we’d like to show you how the fee structure is worked out and what you can expect to pay.
How Pricing Is Worked Out
There is no one size fits all. With so many variables making up the combined level of service that your business needs, the amount you pay will be totally specific to your organisation, its staff, the applications it uses and the type of work that is carried out.
As a result, it’s impossible to tell you the amount you will pay for without a discussion about your business and your IT needs. To help you to get a feel for what you should budget for and put this into context, you should consider the following service types available to you and how they are priced:
- Day-to- day help desk assistance usually incurs a price per user per month that covers a certain number of devices per user.
- Bigger projects such as server upgrades, email migrations and so forth, that require planning and specific IT knowledge to complete, will incur a project cost that is based on a day-rate agreed. The rate will take into the account the experience of the engineer required to carry out the work and the number of days required to complete the project
- On-site services that fall outside of your plan and project work will usually be priced on an hourly rate based on the experience and skillset of the engineer required
All of the above should be considered when approaching a supplier to provide your business with the Service Level Agreement you require. As a trusted provider of proactive and efficient SLA’s, the staff here at Premier IT Solution take the time to listen to your needs and can guide you through the things to consider when looking for to ensure you can balance the service you want and need, at a price you’re able to afford.
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If you’re ready to think about changing your IT provider then read on to understand the process in more detail, what’s included, the things to look out for, and how to identify markers of brilliant IT companies that will keep your business safe, connected and online.
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IT Support Keeps Businesses Running
In a world where businesses are increasingly reliant on computer systems to keep all areas of their operations and decision making processes afloat, the correct planning, running and maintenance of these IT systems has never been so important.
This could be the reason that according to a survey by Service Desk Institute, in 2018, 35% of service desks expected to take on more staff to keep up with customer demand for IT support. So let’s find out a little more and what it all entails.
What Is IT Support?
They are generally referring to the day to day technical support required in order to keep their business and it’s staff online and connected. This focuses on the performance and suitability of the hardware and software used at your business day to day but also looks at the bigger picture such as road mapping the lifecycle of your entire IT infrastructure to ensure it remains fit for purpose and upgrades are managed in a timely manner before anything goes wrong.
IT services can be managed in house but is commonly outsourced by many SMEs. Outsourcing enables smaller businesses to make use of a wide set of skills and expertise that would be near impossible to achieve without a very large IT team and staffing budget in-house. Therefore the prices associated with it are a great way to get the level of expertise you need to keep your business running smoothly, without the overheads.
From managing computers, tablets, mobiles and networks for organisations, to installing and configuring new operating systems and diagnosing technical issues. Solving problems is all in a day’s work when it comes to working with technicians that are available at the other end of the phone or helpdesk email.
What Does IT Support Cover?
The level of service, types of tasks covered, as well as the number of devices supported will depend on the plan you have in place with your provider.
As there is no one price or single level of service provided across the board, the price you pay will be specific to your business needs, the number of staff you have, the technology that you use and of course, just the level of service you actually need.
When talking to a new IT provider about their fees you should ensure that you have considered the following points in advance to get an accurate price for the service you are looking for.
- Levels of service – do you want remote support, ad hoc IT support, 24/7 or only during office hours?
- Do you just require helpdesk services or a fully outsource IT solution which is like having your own IT team in house, but based elsewhere? Whatever your support cost is, it is there to ensure your business continuity and therefore must be cost effective for a Return On Investment.
- How many users do you have? Are you a small business, medium sized? Which pricing model suits you?
- Does your business have an on-premise server, cloud based storage or a hybrid of both?
- What kind of devices do you want included – desktops, laptops, mobiles, tablets?
- Do you have an in-house I.T guru or will everything be outsourced .
- Do you deal with particularly sensitive data?
- What expertise do you need access too? First level support, helpdesk team leaders, project managers and account managers?
How Much Do I Need To Budget For IT Support Costs?
The Everyday
For everyday help desk support companies you can expect to pay either a price per user or a fixed price for your organisation which will be factored on the number of staff you have and level of assistance you will likely require.
Managed Services
When it comes to managed services, this is where you outsource the responsibility for maintaining and anticipating your IT needs. Common services here include PC licences such as office applications, anti virus protections, office 365 etc. You will typically pay a price per user for each of these services on top of your monthly service fee.
Project Management
If you engage your prospective company for project management of large IT projects such as moving your users to office 365, upgrading your IT network’s infrastructure or server, moving from server to cloud based storage etc then you will incur a project management fee. Your project manager will work with you to scope out the requirements of the project, put a delivery plan in place and then execute the plan with all required stakeholders and follow up to ensure everything went smoothly.
Hardware Replacement & Software Renewals
When considering IT costs, you should also make allowances for the hardware and software you need to purchase and any renewal cycles will be subject too. We recommend replacing laptops and PCs every 3-4 years for optimum performance and a good IT team will be able to provide you competitive quotes for consideration that make use of bulk buyer power and commercial relationships.
Who Could Benefit From IT Support?
The services can cover so much from ad hoc support services to on going contracts, we don’t think we’ve ever met anyone that couldn’t benefit from at least a degree of assistance at some point or another! Saying that, small to medium size businesses (SME’s) tend to be organisations that can rely on and benefit from the level offered by Premier IT Solution the most.
From something as simple as helping staff to stay connected by supporting them in resetting their password in the morning, to critical strategic strategies that protect your organisations online systems from external threats like viruses or malicious hacking attempts, and keeping your data stored and backed up safely, the price you pay should have all of these things covered.
We’ve all been in the position where the internet has gone down, we’ve been locked out of emails, the file server is inaccessible or security updates to the applications and software you use every day are required before you can use them. When these things happen, your business productivity stalls and staff have to manage the stress that it causes.
If any of these things sound familiar, your business could benefit from a proactive team like Premier IT Solution to help you manage these things and the stress they can cause, to ensure your business remains as productive as possible.
Tell Me More About Premier IT Solution
By now, we’re bet you’re nodding away at the familiarity of the common IT scenarios outlined above. If you’re ready for them to be a thing of the past, then you may be interested to know more about Premier IT Solution and the service that we can offer you business.
As you might expect, we can’t give you an exact price without talking to you about your businesses IT needs in more detail, but we have included our three main areas outlined at the beginning of this article and would welcome the opportunity to speak with you if you’re interested in the services we can offer your business.
- On Flex-Contracts our fee is based on £10 /user/month based on 5 devices.
- IT projects, migration and IT consultancy starts from £350 per day depending on the nature of the project.
- On-Site Engineering cover starts from £65 per hour
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What Will I Get For My Money?
The team here at Premier IT are excellent at listening to our customers to get to the bottom of the problems they face so we can provide workable solutions as soon as possible. Our problem solving skills are second to none and technical knowledge is well honed to ensure we can provide a consistently brilliant service to every business that trusts us to keep their business online.
In a nutshell, aside from being able to provide a 360 degree service that covers day to day service desk to ensure you’re running business as usual, to IT security and enterprise solutions. We have all the skills and strategy any SME could need. What’s more, we don’t set you up and leave you to it. Our core cover runs from 8.30 – 18:00 Monday to Friday and we have an out of hours service to complement this if you need us for up to 7 days a week.
Day-to-day
A helpdesk team on hand to fix your day to day IT needs such as staying connected and protected with network connectivity, installing updates needed and keeping your data and systems protected with robust firewalls and antivirus protection. Our aim when providing services to our customers, is to ensure the smooth running of their computer systems and helping their users get the most from the technology available to them.
When Things Change
When you bring on new staff, we can help you in setting up new PCs, printers and laptops, and increasing user- licences for the core business systems used. In a world where distant working is fast becoming the new normal, Premier I.T Solution offers a proactive approach to help keep your team and systems online wherever they’re based
Planning Ahead
We are also proud of the knowledge we have within our teams which allow us to share the very latest in IT strategy with you as well as helping you to plot the best IT road map that is based on your business needs, budget and technical help required.
People Power
Aside from all that has been discussed, which you may expect from all IT suppliers, we don’t just focus on the wires and computers here. We also value personal assistance for our customers and we still want to talk to you. When it seems like the world is trying to automate everything, we still believe in personal service and that our people are our biggest asset. That’s why we don’t hide behind virtual chat windows and a maze of call handlers. We are always on hand to talk to you – by telephone, email or in person, whenever you need us.
Related Questions
How To Choose an IT Support Provider
When you are weighing up different options you must be clear on what is important to you when it comes to the IT service you are expecting to get.
When IT goes wrong, or doesn’t go wrong because it’s so well managed – what is it you value above all else? Is it the best service? The cheapest price? The quickest response times? The best fit of skills and expertise? The friendliest team? Or a mixture of the above.
When deciding between various companies and their associated price structures, make sure you compare like for like requirements. We always recommend that you openly discuss your expectations on turn-around times to new enquiries, what exactly is included in any prices quoted and the associated costs for anything that falls outside of the agreed service contract upfront with any new potential IT suppliers.
Taking the time to have these important discussions upfront before anything is signed will ensure you’re not just tempted by the cheapest price. If you are, there is a high chance that the attractive price you see now, will go up significantly when you actually need to call upon your IT company in a crisis, by which time you’re locked in and somewhat tied to the costs quoted to get you back up and running.
Going for a cheap price in the short term could be a false economy when compared to paying a little more each month to have the peace of mind that when things do go wrong (which they will eventually) that everything is covered by your IT support.
Summary
We hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought when it comes to the importance of knowing what to consider and ensuring you have access to the type of service that best meets your business needs.
The key points to remember are:
- The price you pay should be specific to your business and will depend on the size of your business, the devices you use and the level of cover you need – business hours or 24/7
- Know what is important to you when it comes to making a decision – speed of service, reliability, access to certain expertise
- Always compare like-for-like services and make sure you get down to the detail of what is and isn’t included in the prices quoted.
If you have any questions about IT support pricing, would like help reviewing your current costs or are wondering if Premier IT Solutions could work with you, do get in touch with the team and we would be happy to help you further.