Managed IT service costs vary widely depending on several factors, including the size of your business, the scope of services provided, and the complexity of your IT infrastructure. Some managed IT service providers charge a flat fee for their services, while others charge based on the number of devices or users. But, the specific pricing model is less important than whether the bottom-line costs are a good value for the services provided.
Monthly Managed IT Services Costs
On average, small businesses can expect to pay between $1,000 and $5,000 per month for managed IT services, while larger companies may pay $5,000 or more per month. However, these costs depend on the specific needs of your business and the services you receive from the provider.
Different service inclusions will significantly impact your experience, expectations, and monthly costs. We’ve created a list of essential IT services to help you evaluate inclusions. You can use this list when comparing what different managed IT services cost.
Support Services
- Help-desk support: check if their help-desk support is unlimited or is based on a certain quantity of hours or tickets
- 24X7 emergency support: confirm the service desk hours and the costs for after-hours support
- Escalated onsite support: clarify if support services include onsite tech support
- Travel: find out the expected fees for a technician’s travel to your location
- Advanced support: ask whether the support contract includes tier 3 teams for advanced troubleshooting
- Application support: list the applications you use and verify that support and vendor collaboration are included
- macOS support: if you use Apple devices, make sure the provider includes professional macOS support
- Satisfaction scoring: discuss costs for ongoing satisfaction scoring and reporting
IT Management Services
- Incident Management: ask about additional fees to directly access and review your IT requests
- Remote Management & Monitoring (RMM): check if the managed IT provider charges for their RMM software
- Monitoring & Alerting: discuss how systems are monitored and the cost to respond to alerts after hours
- Network and Server Management: understand the costs to design and implement changes to servers and network configurations
- DNS Hosting and Management: check if the IT provider will take on the risk and complexity of managing and hosting DNS
- Strategic Discussions: find out if the service includes a system to keep track of and score progress on your key IT initiatives
- vCIO Services: inquire about factional Chief Information Officer (vCIO) services and their costs
Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
- Server Backups: find out the monthly and variable costs for offsite backup services and storage
- Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace Backup: verify costs to backup your Microsoft 365 of Google Workspace data
- Endpoint Backups: if you have critical information stored on endpoints like laptops, ask about monthly cloud backups
- Data Restoration: confirm whether you will be charged when you ask to recover a file or folder from backup
- Disaster Recovery: discuss fees for both failover business continuity services and the labour for recovery from a disaster
Cybersecurity Services
- Patch Management: confirm if firmware and driver updates are included and whether there are fees when patches must be manually installed
- Endpoint Protection: find out if antivirus and advanced endpoint protection cost extra
- Multi-factor Authentication: ask about software and support fees for multi-factor authentication
- Security Awareness Training: discuss managed cybersecurity training options and costs
- Phish Testing: make sure ongoing email phish testing is part of your managed IT services costs
- Firewalls: discuss firewalls-as-a-service and any fees for ongoing security service subscriptions
Cloud Services
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace: confirm that the IT provider will fully manage your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenancy
- Public Cloud Management: find out if there will there be any additional fees for managing and supporting your public cloud services such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Datacentre Hosting: if you plan to use hosting services, review the fees, services, and capabilities
- Cloud Consumption: uncover the variable costs for cloud resources and how your IT partner will proactively manage these expenses
Variable Managed IT Services Costs
In addition to the monthly fee, some managed IT service providers charge fees for certain services, such as one-time setup fees, project-based fees, or fees for on-site support. Therefore, it is essential to carefully review the pricing and service agreements of any managed IT service provider you are considering to ensure you understand all the costs associated with their services.
One way to predict the variable costs is to ask the IT provider the percentage of their revenues from managed recurring revenue (MRR) versus product and professional services. For example, if less than half of their revenue comes from MRR, you can anticipate that your variable costs will exceed your monthly fees. On the other hand, if the IT provider derives over 75% of their revenue from monthly contract services, you can expect a more inclusive engagement with fewer variable costs.
When choosing managed IT services consider the trade-off between higher monthly fee commitments that provide more comprehensive services and greater cost certainty versus lower monthly fees that include fewer services and come with more significant expense fluctuations.
Conclusion on What Managed IT Services Cost
Overall, the cost of managed IT services can vary widely depending on the specific needs of your business. To get an accurate estimate of the costs for your business, be specific about the services the IT provider includes. Get proposals from several providers and carefully review the pricing and service agreements they offer.
If you are curious about what’s included in F12’s managed IT service fees, you might appreciate reviewing this Managed IT Services Comparison Sheet. Also, feel free to reach out to learn more about our inclusions and pricing.
If you need managed IT support, contact F12 Networks for a consultation:
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