Guide
Break-Fix vs. Managed IT
Two very different ways to handle your technology. Here's how they compare, and why the model you choose shapes your uptime, your security, and your budget.
Break-fix is the traditional model: something breaks, you call for help, and you pay for the repair. It feels simple, but it means you only get attention after a problem has already cost you time, and your provider earns more the more often things go wrong.
Managed IT flips that. For a set monthly fee, your systems are monitored and maintained around the clock, so most issues are caught and resolved before they ever reach your team. Your provider is rewarded for keeping you running, not for fixing the same failures again and again.
| Break-Fix | Managed IT | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Pay per incident, unpredictable | Set monthly fee, predictable |
| When you pay | After something breaks | Before problems start |
| Downtime | You absorb it while you wait for a fix | Minimized by 24×7 monitoring |
| Security | Reactive, patched after the fact | Layered and continuously watched |
| Incentives | Provider earns more when things break | Provider earns by keeping you running |
| Relationship | Transactional, call when it hurts | A partner who knows your environment |
The SVIT Approach
Secured Virtual IT delivers full-time managed care for a set monthly fee, with management agents on every component reporting back to our Flint data center. When an alert is generated, we are notified immediately and take action, and you get detailed reporting on exactly what is happening across your systems, all at a finite, guaranteed price. Many of our clients can no longer imagine going back to break-fix.
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