A plain explanation of Managed IT pricing models and what drives the number.
Two providers can quote the same business wildly different numbers because they are pricing different things. One counts employees. One counts devices. One counts hours. Until you know which model you are looking at, you cannot compare the price.
The provider charges a monthly fee for every employee, whether that employee has one computer, three, or none at all. It is simple to quote and common in the industry, but it can penalize businesses with a lot of shared or part-time staff.
The provider charges for the technology actually being managed — computers and servers. If five people share two computers, you pay for two computers.
This is how SteroGroup prices. We charge based on the computers and servers we manage rather than automatically charging for every employee on your payroll.
You pre-purchase a bank of hours. It feels cost-controlled, but it quietly rewards the provider for slow fixes and discourages you from calling when something small is wrong.
You call only when something is broken and pay hourly. It looks cheap until you count the downtime, the repeat problems, and the maintenance nobody was doing.