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Guide To Modern Managed IT Services Pricing Models

Which pricing model is right for your organization’s IT support budget? Find out by reviewing this guide to how modern businesses pay for fully managed IT support.

Managed IT services have been growing as the most popular form of IT support for many years now. By 2028, the global managed services market is expected to be worth up to $557 billion—will your investment in IT support be a part of that figure?

If you haven’t hired a managed IT service partner yet, you may still be in the process of figuring out if they’re right for your organization. A key consideration is which type of pricing model you should select, as there are many different options offered by Managed Services Providers (MSPs).

The 6 Major Models Of Managed IT Services Available To You

Monitoring Only: This is a fairly limited model, often favored by larger businesses that have their own form of internal IT support to handle larger projects and bigger issues. This model offers just network monitoring and alerting services.
Per Device: The cost of this plan is based on how many devices your organization uses. That means it scales directly to the size of your business. This is key for organizations with minimal IT needs, say with a larger staff sharing a few workstations, with small server resource requirements. For instance, a basic per-device pricing model might designate a flat price:
- per desktop
- per server
- per network printer
- per managed network

The pricing is straightforward to quote, and the monthly service fee gets adjusted when you add more devices into this model.

Per User: The inverse of the Per Device model, this model is based on support for your number of users. So, instead of the above, this is ideal for organizations that may have both a larger or smaller staff, using a number of different devices for different types of work involved in their service offering. The support typically covers commonly used equipment:
- Office equipment: PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, and connectivity
- Home equipment: home PC, laptop, tablet, and smartphone

The pricing is very straightforward and predictable as it is simply tied to the number of staff. It also encourages staff to have whatever devices they need to effectively do their job without impacting the cost to support them.

Tiered: Tiered models are not based on your organization size, but instead, offer different levels of support and a range of included services. This mode is arranged in bundled packages that offer “X” amount of services. And being that this is a tiered model, it also means there are three or more bundled package levels, with three or more pricing levels. They usually get labeled as “Gold, Silver, and Bronze” or “Basic, Standard, and Premium.” The premise with this model is simple—when you pay more, additional services become available, not offered with any lower-level bundled package.
Value-Based Pricing: This model delivers all necessary services for a flat rate. Under this arrangement, the MSP operates as an extension of the client’s IT team, managing specific processes and tasks as detailed in their agreement.
A La Carte: This model is hard to describe out of context because it’s designed to allow the client to choose exactly what services they want. With this model, you’re getting individual services, piece by piece, to handle what you need. Maybe there’s a specific problem that has come up and needs addressing—that’s when you pay for the services you need. You can also create a customized managed IT services company bundled package for yourself, tailored to your company’s specific needs or requirements.

Why Do We Use A Per-User Pricing Model?

We are committed to delivering an undeniably high-value suite of services to our clients. Part of that commitment means following a pricing model that doesn’t involve upselling our clients on unnecessary purchases, upgrades, and new gimmicks.

We believe that your investment in IT support should directly meet your specific needs as a business. That’s why we offer a per-user pricing plan; it ensures that we have no financial incentive to convince you to purchase more devices.

We support you, the user, rather than just your technology. The goal is for you to have all the technology you need to effectively do your job, without worrying about the cost of supporting that technology. Furthermore, if you need to add a staff member, you know exactly what it costs to get them supported.

The bottom line is that we want to work with you as your strategic partner with a goal of saving you money when and where we can while helping you to better and more effectively plan your IT-related spending.

Which Managed IT Services Model Is Right For You?

Only you can know for sure which managed IT services model is right for you. Given the rate at which technology changes, and how quickly your organization may grow, a per-user pricing model is possibly the better choice. That’s what we have found to be true for our many clients over the years.