Why Your It Business Might Consider Using Block Time Agreements
Many clients are accustomed to paying for IT (Information Technology) support service on an as-needed basis. The computer crashes, you call us. Network issues, you call us. Your business is often paralysed while we work to resolve these issues, but we get you up and running again. When something else breaks, we repeat the cycle.
Looking at it that way, you probably think that there must be a better way to pay for IT service. There is, and it is called a Block Time Agreement. Allow us to explain how it works.
Why Move To Block-time?
-
Cost Certainty
Under a Block Time arrangement, you pay for a set number of hours of IT support up front and then call us when needed. We deduct the time spent fixing your infrastructure from your allotment instead of sending you an invoice, streamlining the paperwork on your desk.
Pre-paying for the IT support you know you will need eventually also gives you Cost Certainty when you are planning your monthly expenses. This makes your future accounting much more manageable than paying ad-hoc for computer support services.
-
Regular Maintenance
The actual beauty of Block Time is the fact that most clients allow us to perform regular maintenance instead of waiting for a total system failure. Consider something simple such as backing up your data as an example. In our experience, clients do not understand how vital regularly backing up their data is until they lose it, at which point it cannot be recovered. We obviously want to help you avoid this nightmare scenario, but nobody wants to call us in for something he or she views as trivial.
However, a business with a Block Time purchase views their IT services as a sunk cost they have already paid for. They become more willing to call us for the trivial, giving up five minutes of their purchased time to make sure that their valuable data remains safe.
This example may seem abstract, but it illustrates a broader trend. It is less damaging to professionally back up your most essential data than it is to lose it. It is better for your network to receive regular maintenance than to wait for it to crash and then fix it. Many entrepreneurs do not realise that the expensive and unpredictable costs most businesses associate with IT support can be averted through regular maintenance. Put another way, calling us in for the trivial can help prevent your business from stopping dead while we handle a catastrophic system failure.
-
Versatility
Block Time arrangements can also be drawn to suit the specific needs of your business. For example, some agreements offer a set number of hours that expire in a year, while others allow you to pay a little extra for hours that never expire. This affords you the freedom to create a package that best fits you and your business.
The number of hours you purchase is also entirely up to you. For example, a smaller company with a small IT department may only need five hours of expert assistance to keep up with their IT needs. While a massive operation which is lacking native IT support may require hundreds of hours to keep their technology in perfect condition. We cater to the needs of both companies and are even willing to work with you to determine what type of package would be best for you.
-
Valuable Incentives
Finally, we offer several incentives to give our Block Time business a try. We offer affordable rates relative to what you would pay on an ad-hoc basis, improving your bottom line. That includes consulting and actual work performed, so the discount is applicable no matter how you use your hours. All arrangements also include access to both our remote and on-site services, ensuring that you get the type of help you need when you need it. We even offer after-hours IT support because we understand that your business does not necessarily stop after business hours are over.
If you are worried about tracking how many hours you have left before getting hit with an unexpected bill, don’t be. We will contact you when your hours remaining fall below a threshold you set, and even give you the option to purchase more if you do not think you have enough in the bank. You will also receive support tickets detailing exactly what we did every time you call us. We strive to make the entire process as convenient as possible so that you can focus on what you do best: run your business.
-
Block Hour IT Support
Under a Block Time pricing model, you get Cost Certainty that you can count on while drawing up your monthly business budget. You protect yourself from the high costs of massive repair jobs. You purchase peace of mind, knowing that experts may be called in when wanted instead of absolutely needed. We will handle all of the logistics so you can concentrate on your company. The result is a much better IT experience and a more productive, profitable business.
If you are interested in learning more about the IT support we offer or in purchasing a block of time for your business, please give us a call using the contact information provided below. We look forward to hearing from you.
