How Much Does Managed IT Cost?

Finding yourself wondering how much managed IT services cost? 

Whether you’re interested in the answer to that question because you’re thinking about switching providers, or you’re interested in finding an MSP for the first time ever, read on to get an idea of what to expect on the pricing and services front.

Make sure to check out our MSP pricing calculator too, which can help you get an idea of how much a unique IT solution for your company would cost.

How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost?

For managed IT services, pricing can vary significantly based on a range of variables, including the number of users, devices, locations, and the specifics of the Service-Level Agreement (SLA). And by “vary significantly,” we really mean it: Some MSPs charge a couple thousand dollars a month for their services, while others can charge $18,000+. For managed IT services, pricing changes based on how big a company is, how many clients they have, what services they want, and more.

What are the Different Types of Pricing Models?

There are three main types of pricing models when it comes to managed IT services pricing. These three are:

Per-Device

In this pricing model, MSPs charge based on the number of devices they support, manage, and/or protect. It is simple and easy to price services based on devices, which makes it a popular choice for many MSPs and their clients.

The scenario in which this pricing model grows in complexity is when employees access business networks using their personal devices, such as smartphones and their personal computers. For these scenarios, per-device pricing can be a bit complicated.

Per-User

Per-user pricing is based on the number of people on a company’s network. This pricing model is advantageous for clients with users who have multiple devices they use for work. It is a very easy way to keep track of pricing for a growing company: If you onboard a new employee, your price goes up. If you lose a client, your price goes down.

Tiered Pricing

Sometimes, MSPs will have pre-set “tiers” of services that they provide in bundles. As you go up tier levels, companies pay more for more services. The downside to this model is that it lacks the flexibility to fit IT solutions to the companies for which they are meant to work. With this pricing model, a company could have to choose a tier above what they would actually need because that’s the only tier that has one of the services they deem essential, causing a loss in profit because the solution doesn’t perfectly fit their needs. With any bundle, there are usually a few things that you don’t use, but you want to be careful of paying for a tier that’s full of too many services you don’t need. 

If you are looking at an MSP that has tiered pricing with bundled services or products, we urge you to pay attention to what each tier or bundle offers. Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth of products and not overpaying for extra services. 

How is the Cost of Managed IT Services Determined? 

There are multiple factors to consider when determining managed IT services pricing. Some of the important variables to consider when getting a quote from an MSP are:

Number of Employees and Users

The more devices a company has on its network, the more complex—and more expensive—its managed IT services are going to be. This variable has a distinct bearing on all pricing models. The more complex your IT, the bigger the investment. 

Number of Devices

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Number of Locations

The managed IT services pricing for a small business with one location versus a large business with several varies greatly. The more locations a business has, the more it will cost to manage their IT. The more buildings a company has, the more devices, servers, employees, etc. they have, which means a much more complex IT situation, and ultimately, a higher cost for service.

Remote vs On-Site Employees

Having employees who work remotely further adds complexity to securing a company’s IT setup, as access to a business’s network is not just contained in a physical building. Furthermore, when employees are allowed to use their personal devices to access business networks, IT security becomes even more difficult due to the added security risks.

Co-Managed or Fully Managed IT Services

Do you want your MSP to only partially manage your IT, or do you want a more hands-off, 100% fully managed service agreement? If you have an in-house IT team and you want to give them an extra boost, a co-managed solution would be best for you. But if you are looking to make IT a completely separate branch of your company that operates mostly externally, having an MSP fully manage your IT is probably the better way to go. 

Data Backups and Storage

Do you need your MSP to back up and store your data? Probably one of the most important security topics in today’s world, data storage and protection is an invaluable service that many MSPs provide. Ensuring that your MSP can not only backup and store your data, but also do so securely, is of the utmost importance.

Prices will vary depending on how much data you need stored, and also how effective and advanced an MSP’s data storage and protection technology is.

How Do IT Support Costs Vary for Different Businesses?

IT support costs vary mainly based on the number of factors we just listed. Prices will vary wildly depending on the needs of individual companies and the quality of services provided by the MSP. If your smaller company needs only partial IT support, it’s going to cost a lot less than IT support would for a large company that needs a holistic, all-encompassing IT solution.

With our new MSP pricing calculator tool, you can estimate how much your managed IT servicing pricing would be for your business’s size and needs.

Does Every Business Need Fully Managed IT Services? 

No, not every business needs fully managed IT services. Partially managed IT services exist for that very reason. Furthermore, if you’re a company with one monitor, a singular server, and two employees, you probably don’t need to be on the search for a managed IT service provider. When you grow to have dozens of employees with multiple servers and countless devices, that’s when you might want to hit the “search” button for a suitable IT service provider.

How Can I Optimize IT Service Costs Without Compromising Quality?

Finding an MSP that will create an IT solution and tech stack that fits your company is the best way to optimize cost without compromising quality. In IT management, sometimes MSPs can offer tiered pricing models, or bundling, that mean you have to pay for more than you really need. MSPs can push products on companies that don’t actually work best for the size and structure of their business, or bundle certain services in a way that forces you to pay for more services than you really need. At Ripple, we believe in a different approach.

We use per-user pricing to determine the fairest and simplest prices, so you don’t have to keep track of all of your devices, just the number of people on your team. This pricing model also allows us to develop unique solutions for every client who walks through our (sometimes proverbial) doors. We consider our clients’ unique business models and seek to match them with IT solutions that will seamlessly work with their size, needs, and future plans.

Interested in optimizing your IT service costs without compromising quality? Contact us here at Ripple today.