October 6, 2023

How Much Do Managed IT Services Cost

Many businesses ask how much do managed IT services cost however there are many factors that affect price and service.

The cost of managed IT services is one of the most important considerations for companies when looking for long-term partners.

There are several factors that determine managed IT service costs, including the size of your company, the scope of services provided, and the complexity of your IT infrastructure. A flat fee may be charged by some managed IT service providers, while others charge based on the number of devices or users. A good value for the services provided is more important than the specific pricing model.

Costs of Managed IT Services per month

Managed IT services typically cost small businesses $1,000 to $5,000 per month, while large businesses may pay $5,000 or more. It depends on your business’s specific needs and the services you receive from the provider as to how much these costs will be.

Your monthly costs and expectations will be significantly affected by different service inclusions. To help you evaluate inclusions, we have created a list of essential IT services. Using this list, you can compare the costs of different managed IT services.

A wide range of support services

You should determine whether the help-desk support is unlimited or based on a set number of hours or tickets

The service desk is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: confirm its hours and cost for after-hours support

Support services that include onsite support should be clarified

Get an idea of how much it will cost a technician to travel to your location

Inquire if tier 3 teams are included in the support contract for advanced troubleshooting

Support and vendor collaboration: list the applications you use and ensure they are supported and collaborated with

Make sure the provider offers professional macOS support if you use Apple devices

The cost of ongoing satisfaction scoring and reporting should be discussed.

Managed IT services

You may have to pay an additional fee to directly access and review your IT requests under incident management

Make sure that the managed IT provider charges for Remote Management & Monitoring (RMM)

Review how systems are monitored and how much it costs to respond to after-hours alerts

Understanding the costs of designing and implementing changes to servers and networks

Hosting and management of DNS: verify that the IT provider is prepared to accept the responsibility and complexity of DNS hosting and management

Discuss strategy with the service provider and discover whether your key IT initiatives will be tracked and scored

Consult with a vCIO about the costs and benefits of factional Chief Information Officer (vCIO) services

Disaster Recovery and Backup Services

Find out how much offsite backup services and storage cost each month and how much they vary

You can verify the costs of backing up your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data by visiting the Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace Backup page

Ask about monthly cloud backups if you have sensitive information on endpoints such as laptops

When recovering a file or folder from a backup, confirm whether you will be charged

During disaster recovery, discuss both fees for failover business continuity services as well as the labour cost of recovery.

Providers of cybersecurity services

Confirm whether firmware and driver updates are included and whether manual patches are charged

Virus protection and advanced endpoint protection: find out if they are expensive

Authentication with multiple factors: ask about software and support fees

Training in cybersecurity awareness: discuss the options and costs of managed cybersecurity training

Make sure your managed IT services include ongoing email phish testing

Discussion of firewalls-as-a-service and ongoing security service subscription fees

Providers of cloud services

If you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, confirm that your IT provider will manage your tenancy fully

Get in touch with your provider to find out if they charge extra fees to manage and support your public cloud services like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Review fees, services, and capabilities of hosting services if you plan to use them

Get to know your IT partner’s proactively managed cloud resources and their variable costs

Managed IT services costs are variable

There are additional fees associated with managed IT services, such as one-time setup fees, project-based fees, and on-site support fees. To ensure you understand all the costs associated with managed IT service providers you are considering, review their pricing and service agreements carefully.

It is useful to ask an IT provider what percentage of their revenues come from managed recurring revenue (MRR) and what percentage come from products and professional services. It is likely that your variable costs will exceed your monthly fees if less than half of their revenue is derived from MRR. A provider generating over 75% of its revenue from monthly contracts can provide a more inclusive engagement with fewer variable costs.

Consider the trade-off between higher monthly fees and greater cost certainty when choosing managed IT services, versus lower monthly fees that provide fewer services and come with greater fluctuations in expenses.

The Cost of Managed IT Services

A business’s specific needs can determine the overall cost of managed IT services. Provide specific details about the services the IT provider provides to get an accurate estimate. Compare pricing and service agreements from several providers.

The question is not how much do managed IT services cost? The question is what services, protection, and proactive management are you getting with your monthly managed IT services?

Our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment can put your IT to the test against other Toronto managed IT services providers.