Is your company looking to hire an IT firm? Regrettably, unless you’re tech-savvy or experienced with IT contracts, there can be hidden costs that you wouldn’t expect or be aware of. While it can sound appealing to go for the cheapest firm, that decision can end up costing you more in the long run due to carve-outs and undisclosed fees in the contract. Cheaper IT companies may exclude certain services from the original agreement and later nickel-and-dime you to add them on or by quoting you inadequate solutions that you’ll later need to pay to upgrade.
To help you identify those companies that do not live up to their advertised bargains, there are a few key elements to consider when determining if your quote is insufficient, overpriced, or underquoted.
Insufficient Compliance And Cybersecurity Protections:
A ransomware attack is a significant and devastating event for any organization. Therefore, it’s imperative that the IT company you’re working with isn’t just putting basic (cheap) antivirus software on your network and calling it a day. This is undoubtedly the one critical aspect that is often overlooked by most budget friendly MSPs.
Having antivirus software is beneficial, but woefully insufficient to protect you from serious threats. In fact, insurance providers are now requiring advanced cyber protections such as employee cyber awareness training, 2FA (2-factor authentication), and what’s called “advanced endpoint protection” just to get insurance coverage for cyber liability and crime insurance. We provide those standards in our offerings, so not only do you significantly decrease your chances of a cyberattack, but you also avoid being denied an important insurance claim (or coverage denial altogether).
Inadequate Recovery Solutions:
One thing you want to make sure you look for in any IT firm’s proposal is that they do regular backups of your servers and workstations, as well as any cloud applications your company uses (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc.), because online applications do NOT guarantee to back up your data. Again, most insurance companies now require backups to be in place before they’ll insure against ransomware or similar cyber events.
Transparency About On-Site And After-Hours Fees:
It may come as a surprise, but most IT firms will charge EXTRA for any on-site or after-hours visits. We clearly define ALL of these elements in our agreements, whereas ‘budget friendly’ MSPs will intentionally leave this out and add it on later to make the sticker price appear lower. Make sure you understand what is and isn’t included in your service agreement before signing.
Nonexistent Vendor Liaison And Support:
Will they assist you with all your technology needs, or only specific components that they have installed? Some IT firms will charge you hourly to resolve tech support issues with your phone system, ISP, security cameras, printers, and other devices that were not purchased from them but are still connected to your network and causing technical problems. These fees can stack up over time. As a client of ours, you get all of that INCLUDED, without extra charges.
Cheap, Inexperienced Techs And No Dedicated Account Managers:
Some companies reduce expenses by compromising on customer support and knowledge. Many of the smaller MSPs opt to employ technicians under a 1099 agreement or seek out less costly, less experienced engineers to handle the maintenance of your network and systems. The cost of a tech professional increases in proportion to their level of expertise and knowledge in networking, particularly in the field of cybersecurity.
Additionally, many smaller MSPs may lack the financial resources to employ dedicated account managers. Consequently, you’re depending on the owner of the company (who’s EXTREMELY busy) to allocate time and attention to your account. This includes monitoring for potential issues, implementing critical updates, planning upgrades, and managing your budgetary requirements.
Effective account management includes creating and managing an IT budget, a custom road map for your business, and reviewing regulatory compliance and security on a routine basis to make sure nothing is overlooked. You get what you pay for, and this is an area that should NOT be neglected.
It is important to thoroughly understand the inclusions and exclusions of the service you are about to sign up for BEFORE signing the contract. It’s VERY easy for one IT services provider to appear significantly more affordable than another UNTIL you look closely at what you are getting.
If you’d like to see what dependable, quality IT support looks like, book a call with our team, and we’ll be happy to give you a quote that covers everything you need. To Schedule Your FREE Assessment, click here or call our office at 281-646-1200.
