The Hidden Cost of Cheap IT Providers

There are few things as important to an organization, regardless of its size, as having a quality IT solution in place. When you work with the right IT providers, you can rely on their expertise to manage software development, integration, and network security for your company. A relationship with an experienced IT provider will not only make your processes more efficient and effective, but will also avoid the problems that can result from cutting corners simply to save money. 

You might ask yourself: “How bad can it be?A computer is a computer. A server is a server - we’ve got antivirus and the owner’s son’s best friend used to work at Big Box Electronics - we’ll be fine.”

The truth is, it can be bad… really bad. Imagine letting someone build your house whose only experience with carpentry is building a birdhouse in Boy Scouts. You can probably come up with a list a mile long right off the top of your head about why that would be a terrible idea. In today’s digital age, the IT infrastructure of your company is its home. You may think that there’s nothing wrong with cutting costs - and there isn’t, generally. But cutting costs in IT can quickly cause far more problems than it was worth, and end up costing you more money in the long run by inviting hidden costs.

Consider the various ways in which cheap IT providers can affect your business.

The “Too Good To Be True” Costs

You’re ready to sign a contract with an IT service provider. You’ve spoken with a few and they’ve provided proposals that run the gamut. In an effort to watch your company’s bottom line you’re leaning towards going with the least expensive proposal. Watch out! That proposal is less expensive for a reason.

At some point down the line, work is going to turn up that falls outside the scope of your initial proposal. It may not happen right away - it could be six months or two years from now, but it’s almost definitely going to happen. Some piece of equipment will eventually need to be upgraded or replaced, or your organization will get hit with a major virus and the additional costs of this “out of scope” work will make it quite clear why their initial proposal seemed too good to be true. With hourly rates, labor costs, and travel expenses adding up quickly, you’ll find that companies that start off with low-ball quotes sometimes end up making a killing on one-off tasks and projects that they’re able to charge a premium for.

The “You Get What You Pay For” Costs

Perhaps, however, the quote they’ve provided clearly lays out their out of scope costs and you’re confident that one-off projects won’t be bottoming out your company’s coffers. That’s great - but as with any other service or product, in the IT world you get what you pay for. The least expensive company on the block may be the least expensive because they’re not as experienced as others.

For some organizations with a tight budget, it’s a risk they might be willing to take. But the potential pitfalls can weigh heavily on a business. For every misconfigured service, wrongly connected network cable, or broken piece of equipment, it’s going to cost time and money to rectify the situation. And, to add salt to the wound, if your IT isn’t being managed properly and your business suffers a prolonged period of downtime you could lose revenue in addition to having to pay the provider to fix the problem.

The “Measure Twice, Cut Once” Costs

It’s entirely possible that your prospective IT provider is providing you a low quote because they’re new to the game. They could be a technical genius, but they’re just starting out and they’re in the “everybody’s got to start somewhere” mentality with their price. That’s fine. Actually, that’s great because they’re being honest about their worth.

However, this also means that in being new they may also be slow. Their response and resolution times may take longer. Even if their hourly rate is low, this inexperience could quickly result in a hefty invoice at the end of the month for something that could have taken a more experienced technician half the time.

With all of that said, you can probably see why - in the case of IT providers - less isn’t always more. Since 2007, we’ve been providing our clients with expert IT services - get in touch with us today for your free IT assessment and to see what sets us apart.