For every organization, outsourcing critical IT functions is a way to ensure business continuity while reducing costs. To achieve the required savings, you’ll need service providers that you can trust to provide the expertise you need, while working with your teams to ensure cost-efficiency.
The truth is you can have the best of both worlds, which would mean avoiding being overcharged for IT services and still getting all your core IT functions at an affordable price. For this blog, we’ll look at how you can see if you’re being overcharged for managed IT services and what you can do to avoid a similar issue in the future.
How Do You Know If You are Being Overcharged for IT Services?
Most organizations today depend on outsourcing at least some of the functions required to maintain their IT infrastructure. This may include physical repairs, network monitoring, or third-party antivirus and malware protection. Whatever service you’re paying for, knowing that you’re only being charged for the resources you use is essential to make any business relationship worthwhile.
Whatever you cannot take care of in-house, it’s often possible to reduce costs with less expensive IT services by sourcing some of your core functions from managed services providers (MSPs). Here are three conditions that may indicate you are being overcharged for IT services in your company.
1. Your MSP Has Limited Pricing Options for Managed IT Services
There are four main types of pricing used, and these should make sense across the business landscape within your scope. Services should come with tiered pricing, while other elements of your IT system may require per-user or per-device pricing. There are also remote-only plans, and with today’s technologies, these functions should be enough to cover 80% of your service requests.
Depending on your organization’s exact needs, your IT service company should be able to provide a range of services at different prices according to your requirements. If the MSP only provides a one-price-fits-all option, you’ll likely end up paying for services you don’t need.
2. There are Unexpected Charges Included on Your Bill
From a strategic business perspective, outsourcing only makes sense if your department or organization ends up saving money in the deal. When you start noticing new charges included in your bill that weren’t clarified during negotiations, it may mean that the firm wasn’t honest about the costs from the start.
Outsourcing is a way to ensure reliable services at a consistent monthly cost. The C-suite loves it, as it keeps the budget consistent while it frees up you and your resources to envision, enact, and enhance any digital transformation initiatives you have. If your IT services company regularly includes charges disguised in complicated jargon, it may mean you are paying more than required.
3. You are Paying an Additional Premium for 24/7 Support
Some MSPs may only provide limited support and require you to pay more for “after hours” availability of resources. For this exact reason, 24/7 support should be one of the key factors when assessing your MSP and managed IT services providers to determine the actual associated costs.
Make sure that the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between you and your providers include the necessary coverage, including after hours and holidays when necessary. Companies who don’t offer this as standard are likely to increase costs, especially when your systems are down.
For additional peace of mind, check out online reviews and look for testimonials from other customers if you have any doubts about a prospective managed services provider.
Efficient and Cost-Effective IT Services from phx-IT
For any organization that needs accurate billing with exact line items for every service, phx-IT can assist. We provide expert managed IT services while clearly defining each item within our invoices, so that you know exactly what you’re paying for and when we performed any specific task.
To discuss your IT services, get in touch with pxh-IT today.
