Break-fix: reactive, expensive, risky. Managed IT: proactive, fixed cost, prevents downtime. Managed IT saves most businesses 40–50% on IT spend. 0203 834 9728.
BREAK-FIX
VS MANAGED IT
Which Wins?
Break-fix is expensive, risky, and leaves you vulnerable to downtime. Managed IT is proactive, predictable, and prevents catastrophes. Learn why most UK businesses switched.
Break-fix vs managed IT:
side-by-side
| Factor | Break-Fix IT | Managed IT |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Reactive — fix problems after they occur | Proactive — prevent problems before impact |
| Cost Model | Per-incident + hourly rates | Fixed monthly fee per user |
| Monthly Cost (10 users) | £3,000–5,000 unpredictable | £3,000–5,000 guaranteed |
| After One Outage | May spike to £8,000–15,000 | Still £3,000–5,000 |
| Monitoring | None — issues discovered by users | 24/7 automated monitoring |
| Patch Management | Manual or neglected | Automated monthly |
| Security | Reactive — fixes after breach | Proactive — prevents breaches |
| Downtime Risk | High — no prevention | Low — issues caught early |
| Availability | Business hours typical | 24/7 support standard |
| SLA | None or very weak | 15-min critical (Coreitech) |
Real-world cost comparison:
10-person business, 1 year
Break-Fix Model
Managed IT Model
Break-fix vs managed IT —
questions answered
Q.What is break-fix IT support?
Break-fix IT support is reactive — you call an IT provider when something goes wrong, they fix it, and you pay per incident. Common charges: £100–200 per site visit, £50–100 per hour, or monthly retainers with call-out fees. No proactive monitoring or prevention.
Q.What is managed IT support?
Managed IT support is proactive — a provider monitors your systems 24/7, prevents problems before they occur, manages patches, handles security, and provides helpdesk support — all for one fixed monthly price per user. No surprise invoices.
Q.Which is cheaper — break-fix or managed IT?
Managed IT is almost always cheaper. Break-fix averages £200–500/month per user when you add up incidents. Managed IT is £25–50/user/month fixed. One serious outage (8 hours down) can cost more in lost productivity than a year of managed IT support.
Q.Why do companies stick with break-fix if it's more expensive?
Habit. They don't realize the true cost because incidents are sporadic. They see a £500 invoice once a month and think that's reasonable, not realizing they're paying £6,000/year when managed IT would be £3,000/year — plus managed IT prevents catastrophic downtime.
Q.What's the risk of relying on break-fix IT?
Severe. Your business is reactive to IT failures. A server failure on Friday afternoon means you're down until Monday. A ransomware attack means you pay the ransom or lose data. With managed IT, these scenarios are monitored and prevented.
Q.Can I switch from break-fix to managed IT?
Yes. Coreitech handles the full transition in 48 hours. We audit your current infrastructure, deploy monitoring, and get you on proactive managed IT support without any downtime.
Stop paying for
break-fix IT support
Switch to managed IT. Fixed cost, proactive monitoring, no downtime. Most businesses save 40–50% while getting better support.