IT Managed Services: Pricing Models

At Guardian Technology Consultants, we believe that Each customer should have an IT service package designed around their needs. Not all businesses are the same or require the same level of IT support. Please contact us for a free no obligation assessment of your network and applications. Below are some of the model guidelines we use when customizing our clients IT services.

When deciding how much to charge for managed IT services, there are several factors that MSPs should consider. The cost of managed IT services can vary based on your company's location, size and specific products and offerings. In this article, we discuss a few common pricing models we use for your basic IT services. We do offer custom à la carte MSP and IT security service packages based on your industries compliance requirements.

There are five common pricing models for managed IT services:

  • Per-user pricing model
  • Per-device pricing model
  • Monitoring only pricing model
  • Tiered pricing model
  • Hourly Block Time support contracts (contact us for more information)

Below, we examine the pros and cons of each of these models to provide more insight into which will work best for your business. 

Per-User Pricing Model

Most per-user pricing models charge a flat fee per end user per month and cover IT support on all user devices. While this straightforward pricing model can help cut out some of the guesswork, it has the potential to put you in charge of a lot of devices. For instance, if your user has a company desktop, a company laptop, a company smartphone and a company tablet, the flat per-user fee covers the IT support of all of these devices. 

Per-Device Pricing Model

Another option is  "per device pricing".  The premise is to develop a flat fee for each type of device that is supported in a customer environment. For instance, our basic per-device pricing model might designate a flat fee of $25 per desktop, $199 per server, $19 per network printer and $99 per managed network device.

This model simplifies the pricing structure for services and makes it easier to provide you with a basic quote or estimate. 

Monitoring Only Pricing Model

A monitoring only model designates our NOC as being in charge of network monitoring and alerting. With this scenario, Several different service models can be employed. For example, an SMB-focused offering that provides operating system and software application patch management, antivirus and antispam updates, disk optimization and backup monitoring for a flat fee per month allows for additional remediation activities identified through monitoring. These activities can be a combination of the tiered pricing, Hourly block pricing, or A la Carte pricing models.

Tiered Pricing Model

One of the most popular pricing models among managed service providers, the tiered service model or A la Carte model combines bundled packages of IT services that increase in price as more services are added. A tiered pricing model provides you and your customers the flexibility you need to implement a comprehensive managed IT services solution.

Hourly Block Pricing Model

The Hourly Model is designed for businesses that require more attention and hands on routines for IT services. We have Remote and On-call 24/7 service agreements to fit these needs. Please contact us for more information and pricing.