There have been a good deal of changes in the world of IT over the past 30 years or more. There are a lot of new technologies that are introduced all the time and with each one brings new customer requirements and needs. IT professionals need to be ready to adapt to a fast-changing IT environment as much as possible.
There were a number of servicing and maintenance concerns that started to pop up because of the rapid development in personal computers, which means that many business strategies need to make IT a big component of them. 20 years ago, when a computer failed, the company would contact IT support and get the services outsourced right away.
The company could contact IT service providers. These providers would arrive, look for the issues, and then repair the machine. The break it fix it model arose from a reactive model of engaging IT providers to do this work, rather than having someone there to handle it all the time.
What is the Break It Fix It Model?
This model is a way for companies to get help with their IT needs, but it is often fee-based and the company will need to contact IT support any time they need services or maintenance on their systems.
This is a technique that is going to be based on the time and materials model, where the client will pay for an hourly fee as well as the cost of any of the parts they purchase. The benefit is that the business can get the work done on their computers without having to sign a service level agreement.
The Disadvantages of the Break It Fix It Model
While there are a lot of companies who prefer to go with this kind of model for their IT needs, there are also a number of disadvantages to this model. Businesses will need to look more closely at the model to see if it is the right one for them. Some of the disadvantages of the break it fix it model include:
Uncontrolled Costs
Companies need to pay special attention to some of the costs that they incur during the year. This will help them to manage the costs and ensure that they do not go over budget or ruin some of their financial plans in the process. But when they use the break it fix it model, they may be stuck with IT costs that are uncontrolled and can ruin the budget.
Organizations may find that it is a big challenge to budget ahead of time because of how the break it fix it method works. This is a method that is reactive and is done on a case by case basis. In addition, businesses will need to deal with a number of other issues like:
- Additional labor rates
- Supply chain issues
- Unknown economic factors
All of which are going to determine the final amount that they pay for any services they get out of this model. This is a lot of uncertainty that most companies will not enjoy.
Unplanned Downtime
Any amount of downtime in the business can be bad. It will mean you are losing profits and making customers upset with the service they are getting. The break it fix it model can make this even worse and is a big reason why companies will decide to drop it in the first place.
Because the break it fix it model is going to be reactive in nature, it is possible that your employees will be stuck dealing with service outages. When one happens, they will not be able to do anything immediately to take care of it.
Instead, the employees will need to notify the service providers and then wait until someone else is able to come and fix it. This can cost your company a good deal of money in the process, while making the customers very unhappy.
Unexpected Data Loss
Companies hold onto an enormous amount of data on a regular basis. If they are not careful with the IT services that they, it could mean that they are missing out on a ton of data or putting the data of their customers at risk. Good news for a business or their customers.
Modern companies need to be agile, working together to help deliver some of the best customer results in the business. If you lose critical data along the way, this isn’t doing you any favors in terms of making your business more agile. In fact, it can slow it down.
Losing critical data may ruin the reputation that you have worked on for so long. It also creates a lot of additional red tape for your employees, forcing them to close more deals and work harder to make up for the issue. Finding a new way to fix your IT problems is a good idea.
Unreliable Security
Companies are expected to have some of the best when it comes to the amount of security they get to enjoy. When they decide to do the break it fix it method, it is more likely that they will run into some problems with security. And this is never good news for a business or their customers.
The terrible result of our technologically linked environment is all of the cybercrime that we see. Any type of vulnerability, or even an attack on the system will cause a lot of danger to the company from their image to the money they lose from not being online and so much more. The break it fix method tends to make this worse.
Choosing to Use the Break It Fix It Model for IT
Each company will have to make their own decisions on whether to use the break it fix it model to handle all of their IT needs. For some smaller companies, it can be a great way for them to only fix problems when they arise. For larger companies, the disadvantages above can make this a bad decision.