People ask us some version of “do I need managed IT or just someone to call when things break?” pretty regularly. Here’s the honest answer: it depends on your situation, and we’re going to walk you through how to think about it rather than just tell you to buy the more expensive option.
What break-fix actually is
Break-fix IT is exactly what it sounds like: something breaks, you call someone, they fix it. You pay for the time spent. There’s no ongoing relationship, no proactive maintenance, no monthly fee. For a very small business with simple, stable technology and a high tolerance for occasional disruption, this can be a reasonable approach.
The catch: when something breaks badly, it tends to break at the worst possible time. And when you’re paying break-fix rates for emergency work, the cost of one bad day can exceed months of managed IT fees.
What managed IT actually is
Managed IT means an ongoing relationship where someone is actively keeping an eye on your systems, applying patches, monitoring for security issues, handling routine maintenance, and being available when things go wrong. You know what you’re paying each month, and the provider has a financial incentive to keep things running well rather than waiting for problems to generate billable hours.
The catch: it’s not free, and if your technology is genuinely simple and stable, you may not get enough value to justify the cost. A three-person office with cloud-only tools and no servers might be fine with break-fix. A 20-person company with on-premises infrastructure, compliance requirements, and no internal IT staff almost certainly isn’t.
The question we actually ask
When a Kansas City business asks us this question, we ask them one back: what would it cost your business if your systems were down for a full day? If the answer is “not much,” break-fix is probably fine. If the answer involves lost revenue, missed deadlines, unhappy customers, or employees who can’t do their jobs, then the monthly cost of managed IT starts to look different.
What CyteWorks actually offers
We’re a bit of an unusual case because we don’t require a monthly retainer to be a client. You pay for work done. That means some clients have us on a managed basis with regular check-ins and proactive monitoring, and others call us when they need something. We’re straightforward with both types about what makes sense for them.
If you want an honest assessment of which model makes sense for your KC business, call us. We’ll ask you a few questions and tell you what we actually think.