Introduction
As businesses grow and evolve, their IT needs become more complex and demanding. Choosing the right IT support model is crucial to ensure efficiency, security, and seamless operations. In this blog post, we’ll explore the differences between ad-hoc IT support, managed IT support, and the IT service plans offered by Cranfield IT Solutions.
Ad-Hoc IT Support
Ad-hoc IT support is a pay-as-you-go service, ideal for businesses that require occasional IT assistance without committing to a long-term contract. We charge £85 per hour, with a minimum charge of one hour per request. This model is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses that need support on a best-effort basis.
Benefits of Ad-Hoc IT Support:
- Cost-Effective: Pay only when you need support.
- Flexibility: Ideal for businesses with irregular IT support needs.
- Scalable: Can grow with your business needs.
Managed IT Support
Managed IT support involves comprehensive, ongoing management of your IT infrastructure. This includes 24/7 monitoring, cybersecurity, data backups, and software updates. Managed IT support is typically offered at a fixed monthly fee, Per user or per device model ensuring predictable costs and proactive management.
Benefits of Managed IT Support:
- Proactive Management: Issues are identified and resolved before they escalate.
- Enhanced Security: Continuous monitoring and updates protect against cyber threats.
- Predictable Costs: Fixed monthly fees simplify budgeting.
- Focus on Core Business: Free up internal resources to concentrate on strategic objectives.
While ad-hoc IT support is reactive, managed IT support aims to proactively keep your IT infrastructure robust and secure. However, the effectiveness of managed IT support largely depends on the responsiveness and efficiency of the team managing your IT. If the team is slow and unresponsive, you might still face the same break/fix issues, negating the benefits of proactive management. In many cases, managed IT contracts end up providing very little actual management, as observed by our founder Matt, both from his experience as an employee at managed service providers and as a customer.
IT Service Plans from Cranfield IT Solutions
Cranfield IT Solutions offers three distinct IT service plans, each designed to cater to different business needs. We do things a little differently.
- Block Hour System
- Rate: £65 per hour (40-hour block purchased in advance).
- Validity: Hours can be used throughout the year for remote or onsite labour needs.
- Summary: After each job, you’ll receive a summary of hours used and the remaining balance.
- All-You-Can-Eat Monthly Contract + Endpoint Protection for 10 Devices (Limited Spaces )
- Rate: £850 per month.
- Inclusions: Unlimited support calls and requests, covers all labour for remote and onsite work, including setting up new laptops, computer repairs, consultancy, advice, and technical support. Device security for up to 10 devices is included.
- Term: Minimum term of 6 months.
- Additional Costs: Only for any parts needed.
- Flexible Monthly Plan + Endpoint Protection for 10 Devices
- Rate: £550 per month.
- Inclusions: 10 hours of IT support each month (unused hours cannot be carried over), covering general support, device setup, repairs, consultancy, advice, and technical support. Device security for up to 10 devices is included.
- Additional Hours: Billed at a reduced rate of £65 per hour if you exceed the allocated hours.
These service plans offer businesses the flexibility and support they need, tailored to their specific requirements. The Block Hour System is perfect for businesses that need a set amount of support hours at a reduced rate, while the All-You-Can-Eat Monthly Contract provides unlimited support for a fixed monthly fee. The Flexible Monthly Plan offers a middle ground, with a set number of hours each month and the option to add more as needed.
What Makes Cranfield IT Solutions Different?
Matt, the founder of Cranfield IT Solutions, has extensive experience working for both managed service providers and companies that used such services. He has seen the frustrations from both sides—customers and service providers.
The Problem with Many Managed Service Providers: Many providers promise proactive service but often use basic monitoring tools that only track things like hard disk space, memory usage, and temperatures. While these are important, they don’t prevent common issues like login problems, email issues, or internet outages. Essentially, you end up with break/fix support anyway, raising tickets, and waiting for an engineer.
Many managed service providers are often over-subscribed, meaning they have more customers than they can handle with their current staff. This leads to long waiting times for support. For example, a single user who can’t log in is often considered a low priority compared to other clients experiencing a complete network outage. While this is understandable from the IT provider’s perspective, it can be extremely frustrating for the individual user who is unable to log in and get timely support.
Cranfield IT Solutions’ Approach:
This is why we have limited spaces for our IT service plans, When we reach our capacity we stop taking on more clients, this is so we can provide a great service to everyone. This is incredibly rare in the IT service world but it ensures that we remain a top rated IT provider.
Unlike other managed providers, we aim to support your IT infrastructure, employees, and management staff with technology, rather than completely taking over your IT systems. If you decide to leave a managed service provider, you might find yourself in a situation where you have no idea how things are set up, leaving you vulnerable. To prevent this, we create detailed IT setup documentation as we work with your business. This ensures you have a clear understanding of your IT environment at all times. This approach is one of the many things that sets us apart from most other providers.
Here are the benefits:
- Honesty and Transparency: We don’t sell you on vague promises. We’re upfront about the service we provide.
- Proactive Security: We manage your security by pushing updates, patches, running scans, and monitoring activity.
- Focus on Real Challenges: We address the actual problems that matter to you.
- Always Available: We’re always here for questions, advice, and consultancy on all our IT service plans.
By focusing on what truly matters and being transparent with our customers, we believe we offer a more honest and effective approach to IT support.