Pay a little now, or a lot later? – How choosing an MSP benefits your budget

The questions is really do you want to pay now or pay later?

The truth is, it’s not a matter of if your IT breaks, it’s when. You could be the most dedicated caretaker of your business’ IT infrastructure, but your tech devices do not last forever, they have an end of life, and unfortunately that tends to be at the most inconvenient times.

 

Until that happens, it can be tough for some business owners to proactively partner with an MSP because they believe they are paying for a service they’re not using.  Often times business owners carry the mindset that their network works fine, so they don’t need an MSP. That misconception couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

Think of it like insurance. No one really likes paying every month for insurance, it feels like money for nothing. But if you have insurance when you accidentally chip your front tooth, get a crack in your windshield or a tree takes out your deck in a windstorm, you’re not left with a massive bill. You’re still paying for it, but in smaller installments that make it more manageable. So the question remains, do you want to pay a little now, or a lot later.

 

If your business has never consulted an IT specialist, NW Technology can almost guarantee that improvements can be made, and we say that for a number of reasons. Mostly it’s because even the most basic necessities for operating a small business like software licensing, setting up a shared network, configuring a firewall, are also pretty confusing if you don’t have any background knowledge.

 

Some business owners are savvy enough to make their IT function, but what an IT professional can do is make it function more efficiently, more securely, and in some cases more cost effectively. Why not take managing IT off your to-do list?

 

Often small businesses choose to take these tasks on themselves because they think their business is too small to go with a managed service approach. A good MSP isn’t creating cookie cutter plans for every client, because every client is different; in size, industry, and network health. Whether your company consists of 2 people or 2000 people, your IT needs to support your unique business, but your bill should be consistent with your size.

 

If your business is small, starting a healthy network early on means that it can grow with your business in a sustainable way. Paying as you go and incrementally upgrading your infrastructure to suit your businesses’ needs cost less than being left with a massive emergency upgrade cost because you’ve outgrown your old set-up.

 

As you plan for the growth of your business, consider including managed IT services in your budget equation. Check out these budgeting tips to help prepare for all those expected and unexpected obstacles down the road.