If your small business uses ten or more computers, you have a choice in IT services and support. You can rush into the emergency room, that is, call in a temporary IT service provider every time anything goes wrong with an office computer, or you can opt for the managed care of a primary physician, that is a regular IT service provider.

For those business owners out there who wait to address a problem until it needs the emergency room, you’re engaged in what we call ‘break-fix IT services and support’ system. Users who engage in break-fix IT services and support only call in an IT service provider whenever something big breaks. In the event of a virus attack or a crashed hard drive, the ‘break-fix’ small business user reaches for the Yellow Pages and can only hope to land on the best IT service provider capable of providing the proper IT emergency service.

Unfortunately, an IT emergency is just like a healthcare emergency: something is wrong that needs to be fixed, immediately. Time is of the essence in emergencies and when the situation is dire, the focused attention required by the doctors often leaves any potential, pending problems untreated. Who knows, maybe these untreated problems contributed to the emergency reaching its critical status, or maybe they’ve arisen because of the rapid emergency response. Plus, emergencies are expensive. It’s not an ideal position to find yourself in.

The alternative to break-fix IT services and support is utilizing managed IT services, just as you would a primary care doctor. In this case, your primary IT service provider conducts an initial assessment of your overall IT health, regularly monitors the health of those systems, and proactively intervenes whenever an issue arises, or even better, before an issue can begin to take shape. The net result is fewer emergencies, increased worker productivity, a healthier, more durable IT infrastructure and less expense to the business owner.

Why wait until your office computer needs to be taken into the emergency room, when you have the option of enlisting the help of a primary IT service provider? Any doctor will tell you, you’re in bad shape if you have to visit the emergency room. That said, here are 5 Budget-Friendly Steps you can take yourself to ensure that your business never falls into critical disrepair.

THB is a managed IT service and support firm. We provide primary (and emergency care) for your IT systems including network monitoring, scheduled visits, consulting and other services designed to ensure that your IT systems don’t have to visit the IT emergency room.