A study done by Robert Half Technology showed that the average worker loses 22 minutes per day dealing with IT-related issues. This translates to over two weeks of lost productivity each year per employee.
If your business has 15 employees earning $18/hr on average, and they have no one to go to when they need tech support, you’ll lose over $1,900/month in productivity.
Businesses today are incredibly fast-paced, and the slightest blip in your IT can lead to epic revenue losses. In addition, the simplest faults, such as failing printers and overloaded networks, can lead to unhappy customers, disgruntled workers, and decreased productivity.
There are different forms of IT support, and the choice of support should always be dependent on the company’s needs. Therefore, it’s always good to consider all the options before settling on one. Most IT support can be grouped into two; reactive or proactive.
Reactive IT Support Model
This is commonly known as the “break-fix” approach. In other words, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. With this type of IT support model, companies react after the fact, i.e., after the damage is done.
Usually, the company reaches out to a managed IT service provider when an application or their server is down in hopes that the provider can diagnose and fix the problem.
The problem with this approach is that it leads to long downtimes, costing your company thousands and millions (for larger corporations) of dollars. It can take hours or even days to find the problem and fix it, and a lot of damage can be done in that time. Another problem with reactive is that it leads to unbudgeted bills from the managed service provider.
Benefits of Reactive Support
One of the benefits of Reactive IT support is that the fee varies, meaning you only pay for the hours billed. Some businesses with limited financial resources may find this variable fee appealing.
Proactive IT Support Model
Proactive IT support is a preventative approach. It involves identifying and resolving potential problems before they become major issues. Automating processes and keeping track of vital technology assets are two of the most essential aspects of proactive support.
With proactive support, your IT team can quickly check for any hardware and software issues, giving you a more in-depth look at your company’s IT system. You’ll need to have a technician on the ground to deal with hardware issues, while software issues can be handled remotely. There are fewer downtimes to worry about with proactive support, so many consider it the better approach to reactive IT support.
One downside is that it may seem expensive because of the network monitoring involved and ongoing monthly fee.
Monitoring network traffic demands the presence of a qualified individual. The monitoring software would be useless without this individual. You will also have a more constant bill because you will be purchasing the same services every month, making it easier to budget and prepare for.
Benefits of Proactive Support
- Efficient System: You’ll enjoy round-the-clock monitoring with proactive IT support. You can rest easy knowing that your systems will remain clear of malware and function faster and more efficiently.
- Fewer downtimes: Many faults are handled before they affect your employees thanks to systems that monitor for arising problems.
- Data-Driven Decision making: You can make better decisions thanks to the data that your managed service partner has collected, organized, analyzed, and shared.
- Strategy: Instead of reacting to problems as they come, you can plan your tech strategy over the next couple of months.
- Disaster recovery: Take advantage of sophisticated disaster recovery strategies to ensure that your firm is protected in the event of a fire, flood, or cyber-attack.
Which is better?
Your firm can benefit from both reactive and proactive support. Reactive IT support may be the best choice if you only have a few IT demands.
Proactive IT comes with all sorts of extras that help alleviate the pressure on your staff or in-house IT crew. This gives your team more opportunities to concentrate on growing and improving since the routine of maintenance work does not burden them.
While signing up for managed IT services may seem more expensive than just having things fixed reactively, it often saves money in the long run due to less downtime, longer equipment lifespan, and fewer cybersecurity incidents.
Since there are some price differences between these two options, you will need to decide which one you want before budgeting for your IT needs.
Conclusion
It’s always important to weigh all your options before settling for an IT support plan. But labels aside, the reality is that most firms tend to use a mixture of both, so you don’t have to worry too much about sticking strictly with one.
Are you looking to upgrade your IT support? Tired of being reactive and want to be proactive? Then fill out our contact form or call us on +1 (855) 405-1087