Managed services are a somewhat recent development in outsourced IT support. The older model was called ‘break-fix’–basically, if something broke, you then called your IT technician to come fix it.
There are several disadvantages for your business with ‘break-fix.’ First, your equipment is already broken, so it’s going to require an investment to fix or replace. Second, you’re losing the productivity dependent on that equipment while you wait for it to be fixed or replaced. Third, you’re going to have to pay for the on-site time of a technician. And finally, your IT spend is unpredictable.
The remote network monitoring that is a standard component of most managed services allows you to proactively identify issues (and resolve many of them remotely) before equipment actually fails and productivity is lost. It makes you more secure and your IT billing more predictable.