Ad hoc IT Support VS MSP IT Support: which is best for your business?

MSP vs Ad hoc

In today’s blog, we will be walking you through Ad Hoc IT Support what it means and why some businesses chose to use it, Managed service providers or MSPs what they do, and what support they offer for your business.

Contents:

What is Ad Hoc IT Support?
What is an MSP IT service?
Which one is best for my company?
The conclusion

What is Ad Hoc IT Support?

Ad Hoc IT support can also be known as the break-it-fix-it approach to IT support. This is where your IT support is charged as a one-off job and paid by the hour rather than a contracted monthly cost.

Ad Hoc IT Support can end up costing more in the long run compared to using a monthly contract with your IT provider and overall a more risky approach since your systems are not constantly managed meaning that your systems are not protected regularly and can be exposed to cyber-attacks!

What is an MSP or Managed IT service provider?

A managed service provider is the opposite of Ad Hoc support and instead uses a monthly payment plan and provides regular IT Support to your business whenever you need it. MSPs work remotely, proactively monitoring your IT Systems so that we can spot issues like a data breach before they arise. Using an MSP can help you save costs on using internal IT support or they can work with your internal support. MSPs will usually handle more complex jobs, time-consuming work, or repetitive work that a Director or manager may not have time or resources to do themselves. MSPs typically: handle and manage your business IT infrastructure, provide training, add cyber security measures/software, set up new users, manage account access, and offer onsite and remote support.

Which type of support is best for my company?

With Ad hoc services your IT provider will not have accountability to tell you where you have security risks and won’t let you know of any areas for improvement since you are not contracted. However, they will be able to perform your one-off job or worst case scenario for a one-time payment, and if you are lucky you may only have to spend around £300 for a one-off job! With this being said it’s always good practice to invest in a secure system such as a disaster recovery plan and proactive monitoring to stop these issues from becoming a problem in the first place. (This also reduces your downtime significantly.)

 Honestly, it comes down to the nature of your business for example if you already have in-house IT support but need an odd job doing which your internal staff can’t Ad hoc would be an option to consider. On the other hand, many companies such as Liberate IT can work with your internal IT support this relationship is one of the most beneficial for your company since any onsite work can be easily sorted with your in-house IT and we can look after your systems remotely and provide expert knowledge for all your tech solutions.

The conclusion:

In conclusion, it’s always best to use an MSP for your business to ensure maximum security, a reduction in downtime, and practical IT solutions in your hands whenever you need them! For some companies, there will be exceptions for when ad Hoc works out a lot cheaper for them for example if they only ever have a couple of issues per year ad Hoc would be a more cost-effective IT solution. At Liberate IT, we recommend using only an MSP service for your IT support to ensure practical and secure solutions 24/7. If you are considering an MSP to look after your business IT why not get in contact with Liberate IT today?

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