Managed IT Services vs Break-Fix IT: What's the Real Cost for Calgary Businesses?

The Break-Fix Model

The break-fix model is simple: something breaks, you call your IT person, they fix it, they invoice you. No monthly fee, no ongoing relationship.

On the surface, this seems cost-effective. In practice, it's often the most expensive way to handle IT.

## The Hidden Costs of Break-Fix IT

Downtime Is Expensive

When a server fails, your internet goes down, or ransomware encrypts your files, every hour of downtime has a real cost. Staff can't work. Sales can't be processed. Customers can't be served.

For a 5-person team at $35/hour each, an 8-hour outage costs $1,400 in lost productivity — before you even call the IT company.

### Reactive Is Always More Expensive Than Proactive

In a break-fix model, problems are solved after they've already caused damage. In a managed IT model, problems are caught before they become outages.

Replacing a failing hard drive proactively costs $200–400. Recovering from a failed drive with no recent backup costs thousands.

### No Predictability

Break-fix IT means unpredictable IT costs that blow your budget without warning. An unexpected $5,000 server repair in March is very different from a planned $400/month managed IT fee.

## What Managed IT Actually Costs

Managed IT services for a typical 5-person Calgary business might cost $400–700/month depending on services included. That sounds like a lot until you calculate:

- 2–4 hours of IT downtime prevented: $700–1,400 in recovered productivity
- One prevented ransomware attack: $50,000–$150,000 saved
- Staff time not wasted troubleshooting tech: 5–10 hours/month reclaimed

The math usually strongly favors managed IT for businesses with even minimal IT complexity.

## When Break-Fix Might Still Make Sense

Break-fix can work for:
- Very small solo operations with minimal technology dependence
- Businesses with no sensitive data and no tolerance for downtime
- Organizations that already have strong in-house IT capabilities

For anyone else — if you rely on your technology to serve customers and run your business — managed IT is almost always the better financial decision.

## Finding the Right Fit

The key is working with an IT partner who aligns their incentives with yours. In a managed IT model, your IT company is motivated to prevent problems because they pay the cost of fixing them.

[Book a free IT assessment](/book-consultation) and we'll give you an honest evaluation of what makes sense for your specific situation.