Is the Managed Service Model Right for Your Business?

Why are we changing our model?
For years, we've been profiting from your downtime. That's right, the more things break the more we get paid. Sure, we do projects and we provide consulting and strategic advice, but a major portion of our revenue – and that of every IT provider – has been fixing things that don't work. It's inevitable, of course, and we wouldn't have many clients if people thought we were doing it on purpose, but it's a fact that our industry makes more money when things break.

Have you ever wondered if there was a better way? We did. For the last 3 years we've been building a system that would allow us to profit from your happiness instead of your pain. The result? SharedVision™ Managed Services.

But let's back up a second…

How does the managed services model work?
The term "managed services" has been used in the business community for a while now. It essentially means that an organization hires an outside service provider to manage one specific aspect of their business. The service provider usually handles the day-to-day operations related to that area of the business, whether it's the company's accounting, their legal work, marketing, or more recently, their technology environment.

In the IT world, managed services are becoming a more popular option for small and mid-size companies that don't have the in-house resources to maintain the technology level they need to stay ahead of the competition. Typically, a managed IT services provider handles the network-based services, maintains applications, handles computer problems, implements software, and purchases and manages equipment for their clients.

The key component of this model is that the service is billed on a flat-fee basis – usually quarterly or monthly. Regardless of how much time the provider spends working for the client the bill is the same. This is important, because now the provider has a built-in incentive to make sure that things don't break in the first place. In the case of a computer network, the fewer times the network goes down, the more the provider stands to profit. This reversal means that now your downtime hurts us the way it hurts you. Finally, we're on the same side.

What will it cost me?
Although fixed-fee service contracts have been widely used by the Fortune 500 for years, this option has been too costly for smaller businesses. However, in recent years, the costs of technology have become lower and managed services providers have been able to decrease their fees to address the challenges of the small and mid-size business market.

A major benefit for the fixed-fee approach is the predictability of your yearly IT budget. Knowing that it will cost a certain amount to maintain a computer system is a major bonus, satisfying management's need to control their costs more efficiently.

How will it benefit me?
With the fixed-fee managed services model, small and mid-size businesses are not only able to predict their IT budget, but are also able to use more advanced technology solutions than if they managed their IT environment in-house. This enables companies to scale as their business grows, eliminate the need to hire and train in-house resources and drastically reduce their capital investment in technology.

With limited resources in-house, small and mid-size businesses can have access to highly-knowledgeable IT professionals quickly through a remote-service model without making the financial investment in personnel to handle their solutions. And, if they do have an IT manager on staff, the managed services provider enables the IT manager to focus on more strategic projects rather than dealing with time-consuming computer issues.

All in all, the managed service approach is the definition of a "win-win". For more information click here or contact us at 866-PICK-ITS.