How much does managed IT services cost in South Africa?

Have you experienced something while shopping caught your eye and you want to buy it immediately? But when you examine the price tag on the said item, you somehow feel you do not need that item at the said price.

Same goes with when selecting the Managed services Johannesburg. Many clients are confused on how much to set aside to pay for a managed services contract and related expenses. Here are all the items one needs to consider when creating IT budget with intent to use managed services

1. The contract
2. New implementations
3. After-hours support
4. IT lifecycle replacement
5. Contract changes
6. Budget 1 – The Managed IT services contract- When budgeting for managed IT services, one will need to account for contract. The contract consists of flat monthly fee to cover the IT support, leased hardware, backup, office solutions and security services. The service provider will provide the money bill for these items. Based on MSP, other initial costs, like audit, compatible firewall and other required equipment may not be covered in the monthly fee. It is important to know the upfront costs at the beginning of the contract. The initial fees and contract will take up majority of the budget but other factors one need to consider when building the budget.
7. Budget Item 2 – Non-managed services projects- The managed services contract includes all support and solutions that one will need to keep the organization’s technology running seamlessly. However, when planning to expand the facility or replace the solution, one will need to think about more than monitoring and maintaining IT environment. Managed Services Johannesburg is capable of this work. It is important to work with the service provider before signing of the contract to know anticipated costs.
8. Budget Item 3- After hours- emergencies: With managed IT services the business will have access support 24/7. The managed service provider will have normal business hours and any regular service the engineer performs during this time is covered in the contract but the clients can always request for after hours service requests.
9. Budget item 4- IT lifecycle updates: The IT equipment does not last longer and one day they need to be replaced. Also, the hardware needs also will change over time. Purchase of new device to get adapted to IT environment or has better features, is not in the contract scope. It is important to pay for the time taken to configure the new solution to the managed service provider. In most cases the service provider will cover new hardware in the contract.
10. Budget Item 5- Changing the managed services contract: Changes in the contract can be made when required. It is important to leave some room in the budget because one may need to make changes to the IT environment and managed services contract.

    Wrap up

The cost of managed service provider is not only unique to the business size and needs but it depends on many factors. Schedule a free appointment with a professional managed service provider in Johannesburg to work out the budget for the contract.

TCGZA Member since January 8, 2021