The Cost of IT Support for Small Businesses

Estimating the average cost of IT support services depends on a number of factors. There is no universal IT services price list that SMBs can refer to because the needs of every business are unique to their process. At the core of these factors are an organization’s needs, budget, and goals, along with the type and scope of outsourced IT support required.

In addition to the IT requirements of your business, it is important to consider the capacities of the Service providers you are considering relying on for services. For many IT companies important factors such their geography, experience, degrees of expertise, vendor partnerships, and specialties in industry verticals create variables in depth and levels of services they offer, affecting the total cost of their IT services contracts.

That is why penning down an ‘average cost’ of IT support for small businesses can be so difficult.

That being said, let us get to the question many SMBs seek answers to when planning their IT budget.

What Is the Average Cost of IT Support Services?

The cost of IT support for a small business, mid-sized or large company depends on these factors:

• Number of users and devices to be supported
• Complexity of IT infrastructure
• Skill and experience the managed services provider (MSP) offers
• Scope of IT security and support services you will receive

In most cases, a typical small-to-medium size  business (SMB) that has no extraneous requirements can expect a monthly IT support pricing to cost between $100 to $250 for each user. However, there’s a great degree of variance in the total cost of IT support depending on the depth of services required,

3 main types of the contract-based IT Service pricing include Retainer, Retainer + Monitoring, and Managed Services models.

For more information and specifics about IT support costs, based on the type of contract,  let’s continue and review small business IT support pricing models.

1.  Retainer IT Service Model

This retainer-based services package is structured as a monthly fee model where a set block of hours is included in a contract, with an option of additional break-fix support set at a variable hourly rate.

For example, let’s say an average cost for IT support per hour for a retainer contract supporting a 40-person company may be around $1,250 set fee per month, to include a block of 10 hours of support; then all additional hours will be billed per-diem, and the average cost of per-diem support may vary from $150 to $250 an hour.

It may appear to be the most cost-effective model, especially if you feel you do not need more support than outlined in the retainer agreement, however it should be noted that once your contract-allocated time is used up, tech support costs can ramp up quickly for situations such as:

• Security audits
• Hardware upgrades
• Network support services
• Employee turnover
• Unexpected changes in business processes
• Potential cybersecurity issues
• Level of urgency in case of emergency
• Time period of tech support required (during or off-business hours)

 

 

2. Retainer + Monitoring Model

For the same example with 40-user organization using this model, the IT support contract retainer price would range higher, let’s say $2000 a month to include same 10 hours of support, and also provide monitoring of your devices. Then again, all additional support will be charged per-diem depending on specific contract with your provider.

While Retainer + Monitoring IT service model removes some limitations of the first type, Retainer only package, the factors affecting your potential needs of extra support may again add up to increase your bottom line of IT cost each month.

It is also important to recognize that both, Retainer and Retainer +  Monitoring model lack critical time- and money-saving elements of Proactive support, such as

• Automation
• Documentation
• Technical leadership

3.  Most cost-effective: Managed Service Model

To overcome many of the problems seen with retainer IT service models, many outsourced IT companies offer support for small businesses in the form of managed IT services. For a fixed monthly fee, businesses benefit from the same IT services offered to enterprises, such as:

• IT consulting
• IT helpdesk services
• Remote monitoring and management (RMM)
• And more

On average, small business owners can expect monthly Managed IT support contract pricing to range between $100 to $250 per user or device. Businesses that require additional services, such as compliance and advanced security monitoring, the number may change, depending on specifics of the business..

In many cases, managed IT services packages are customizable to an organization’s unique demands, budget, and goals. As a result, businesses only pay for the tech support and services they need, allowing them to reduce their total IT managed support pricing.

Because Managed IT Services are Proactive, they give the SMBs the biggest Return on Investment (ROI), minimizing IT spending long-term.

 

 

 
Some of the biggest benefits of managed IT services contract is what keeps their monthly IT cost on budget, stable, and predictable, allowing your business to:

• avoid the hassle of using multiple tech providers for various IT services;
• stay compliant with industry-specific regulations;
• minimize productivity slowdowns;
• reduce overall long-term IT expenses;
• be confident about data security;

What Factors Impact the Cost of IT Support?

As previously mentioned, IT support contract prices can vary significantly depending on several factors. Among the most important of these factors to know include:

• Infrastructure Complexity – Businesses with specialized systems, policies, and compliance requirements can expect to pay higher IT support costs.
• Number of Users – Each additional user and device creates an endpoint that needs securing, in addition to existing access points, thereby increasing costs with more users.
• Number of Servers – Servers add significant data complexity, making infrastructures more difficult to manage effectively. As a result, IT support pricing can increase drastically with each server addition.
• Service Time Needed – The total time an IT service provider spends addressing and resolving your issues can significantly ramp up the average cost of it support for small business.
• Service Scope Required – Prices scale in accordance to the IT service model and the scope of work required. Add an overnight helpdesk, for example, and you should expect your support costs to rise.
• Supported Industry Verticals – Some organizations operate in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, financial services, and defense. In most cases, these businesses require additional compliance, security, and consulting, which raises costs.

IT support contract pricing can also vary depending on the MSP you work with. Experience, industry specialization, and technical expertise can increase rates, but can improve the quality of services you receive.

 

For more relevant information, visit our blogs at: Are You Ready for Professional, Reliable IT Support? Remote Technical Support Services: Top 7 Benefits for Small Business 7 Things to Consider When Setting IT Support Budget for Your Business

 

Finding the right IT support for your small business can be challenging.

For many businesses, the cost of small business IT support is hard to quantify in terms of ROI.

Given those reasons, the team at powersolution.com is here to help. With more than 26 years of business experience and an average customer satisfaction score of 98%, we understand the importance of transparent IT support services pricing.

 

 

Let us show you how expertly improving and properly securing your IT environment reduces the total cost of your technology and minimizes the downtime. Call (855) 551-7760.