- Suggested URL: /managed-it-vs-co-managed-vs-break-fix/
- Meta title: Managed IT vs Co-Managed IT vs Break-Fix | Vertech
- Meta description: Not sure whether you need managed IT, co-managed IT or break-fix support? Compare the three models and find the right fit for your business.
Every business relies on technology, but not every business looks after it the same way. Most get IT support in one of three ways: break-fix, fully managed IT or co-managed IT.
Here’s how each model works, and how to tell which one suits your business.
Vertech team to provide info for the above intro:
- What are some of the common situations a business is in when they first call Vertech?
- How many businesses has Vertech supported across these models, and for how long?
What is break-fix IT support?
Break-fix is the traditional pay-as-you-go model. When something stops working, you call an IT company, they fix it and you pay for their time.
It can suit very small businesses with simple setups. The downside is that nobody watches your systems between call-outs. Security updates can be missed, backups can fail without anyone noticing, and costs are hard to predict. And because you pay per job, there’s little reason for anyone to focus on prevention.
Vertech team to provide:
- Include any examples (anonymised if better) of a break-fix client who had a costly problem that monitoring would have caught early on. What happened, what it cost in downtime or recovery, and how it was fixed.
- Honest additional information on the size and type of business is break-fix genuinely fine for?
What is managed IT support?
With managed IT, an outside provider takes ongoing responsibility for your technology in return for a regular fee. The company that does this is known as an IT managed service provider (MSP). Instead of waiting for problems, an MSP monitors and maintains your systems to stop issues before they cause downtime.
This service typically includes:
- Security updates and patching for firewalls, antivirus and spam filtering
- Backup monitoring, so you know your data can actually be restored
- Network and server monitoring to catch faults early
- Remote desktop support for fast fixes, with onsite visits when needed
- IT planning and budgeting advice, often called a virtual CIO
Because the fee is fixed, IT becomes a predictable cost. A fixed fee also means your provider is rewarded for prevention, not repairs.
This service suits growing businesses that don’t have in-house IT staff but depend on their systems every day. See exactly what’s included in our managed IT services.
Vertech team to provide:
- What does a typical month look like behind-the-scenes for a managed client?
- Average response and resolution times from your helpdesk data.
- Which monitoring and security tools do you use? And why.
- Any monitoring dashboard screenshots we can share without showing any sensitive information?
What is co-managed IT?
Co-managed IT is a partnership between your internal IT staff and an outside provider. Your team stays in charge of what they do best, and the provider fills the gaps.
That might mean the provider looks after servers and backups while your IT person supports staff and desktops. Or your team handles day-to-day support and calls in the provider for monitoring, security or complex problems.
Co-managed IT works well if:
- You have one IT person who is stretched thin, or nobody covers them during leave
- Your team needs specialist skills such as cyber security, VoIP or Microsoft 365
- You have more IT work than one person can handle, but not enough to justify a new hire
Your internal team stays in place. Co-managed IT simply gives them extra tools, cover and expertise when they need it.
Vertech team to provide:
- An example (anonymous if preferred) of a current co-managed set up. Who does what? (Example: for a 60-person manufacturing company, their IT handles users and devices and we look after their servers, backups and security monitoring)
- What do internal IT staff usually worry about before starting a co-managed IT (will they replace me?) and what usually happens?
Comparing the three models
| Break-Fix | Managed IT | Co-managed IT | |
| Best For | Small businesses with simple IT | Businesses without in-house IT | Businesses with an IT person or team |
| How You Pay | Per Job or Hourly | Fixed regular fee | Agreed fee for shared services |
| Approach | Reactive | Proactive | Proactive, shared with your team |
| Monitoring | None between call-outs | Ongoing | Ongoing, with access for your team |
| Budgeting | Unpredictable | Predictable | Predictable |
Vertech team to provide:
- Verify all info
- Any additional information on costs or how each of them are priced? Per hour vs per user? (Keep this general in the blog. Detailed pricing belongs in the “How Our Managed IT Pricing Works” section of the Managed IT Services page.)
- Any additional information on typical response time?
Which model is right for your business?
Relevant questions to ask
- Do you have anyone in-house who looks after IT? If not, managed IT is likely the best fit. If you do, consider co-managed IT.
- How much does downtime cost you? If an hour without email, files or systems would hurt, a proactive model is worth considering. A disaster recovery plan matters too.
- Do you need predictable IT costs? Managed and co-managed models replace surprise bills with a regular fee.
- Are you confident your backups work? If nobody tests them, that’s a gap an MSP can close. An IT risk assessment is a good place to start.
Vertech team to provide:
- What question does the team ask in a first meeting to work out which model suits a business?
- From your own audits or risk assessments: what share of new clients have backups that fail a restore test?
- Any NZ-specific factors you see as a recurrence?
Questions to ask an IT managed service provider
- What’s included in the monthly fee, and what costs extra?
- At Vertech we….
- How quickly do you respond, and do you offer onsite support?
- Our team our Vertech…
- How do you monitor and test backups?
- Our team…
- What cyber security protection is included?
- Vertech’s POV
- Can the agreement be tailored, or cancelled if it isn’t working?
We have put together more such relevant questions that have helped NZ businesses in making the right decisions.
Vertech team to provide:
Answer each of the above questions on how Vertech handles each
Is there a red flag you’ve seen with other providers that businesses should watch for? (without naming competitors.)
Find the right IT support with Vertech
Vertech’s Albany-based team supports businesses across Auckland. See what our clients say about working with us. Whether you need a complete IT team or extra support for your own, we can tailor an agreement to suit.
Need full IT support? See our managed IT services in Auckland.
Already have IT staff? Learn about co-managed IT services.
Every Vertech agreement includes a 30-day, no-questions-asked exit option. Call 09 281 4034 or reach out via our contact form to discuss your options.