Why Are Your IT Services More Expensive Than What I Pay Today?

If you are comparing IT providers and your first reaction is, “Why are you so much more expensive than what I pay today?” you are not alone. It is a fair question, and you deserve a straight answer.

In many cases, it is not more expensive. The difference is that you are finally seeing the full cost of doing IT the right way.

In other cases, yes, it costs more — and there is a reason.

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What You’ll Learn

• Why pricing can look higher when you compare providers

• The most common “hidden gaps” in low-cost IT setups

• Real examples of what is usually missing (EDR, MDR, monitoring, backups, and response)

• How to compare IT services without getting tricked by line items

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First: It Might Not Be More Expensive

A lot of businesses compare their current monthly bill to a managed services quote and assume the new provider is “more expensive.”

But the current setup often includes costs that are not being counted, like:

• Emergency invoices when something breaks

• After-hours charges

• Project fees that keep popping up

• Lost productivity every time your “IT person” is unavailable

• Downtime that never shows up as an IT expense, but hits revenue hard

When you add those up, many companies realize they were already paying more. It was just scattered across different places.

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The Big Reason Pricing Looks Higher: You Are Comparing Two Different Things

Some businesses are used to an “on-call IT guy” model:

• Someone you call when something breaks

• They show up, fix the immediate problem, and leave

• Security is often basic or inconsistent

• Monitoring is limited or nonexistent

• Documentation is light

• Long-term planning is rare

That is not the same thing as a managed IT and cybersecurity program.

If you want a simple way to think about it:

• On-call IT is like having a mechanic you call when your car stops running.

• Managed IT is routine maintenance, diagnostics, safety checks, and a team ready when something goes wrong.

Both have a place. But they are not equal.

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What Low-Cost IT Usually Does Not Include

Here is where the cost gap usually comes from. Many “cheap” IT setups do not include the protective layers that reduce real business risk.

1) No Effective EDR or MDR

If your business does not have modern endpoint protection, you are exposed.

• EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) helps detect suspicious activity on devices.

• MDR (Managed Detection and Response) adds a security team that watches those alerts and responds quickly.

If your IT provider is only installing antivirus and calling it “security,” that is a pricing shortcut — and it is a dangerous one.

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2) No 24/7 Monitoring

Cyberattacks and system failures do not wait for business hours.

If there is no 24/7 monitoring, you might not know:

• A server is failing

• A backup stopped running weeks ago

• A device is communicating with a malicious domain

• An admin account was compromised

• Your email environment is being abused

A low monthly bill can be the direct result of not watching anything when you are closed.

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3) No Ticketing System or Real Response Process

Many small providers run support through texts and phone calls.

That feels personal, until:

• Your main contact is on vacation

• The issue is complicated and needs escalation

• Nobody is tracking patterns, root cause, or trends

• You cannot see what is being worked on or when it will be done

A real service desk drives accountability, documentation, and speed.

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4) No Specialists

A single person can be talented, but they cannot be an expert in everything.

Most businesses today need specialized help across multiple areas, such as:

• Data backup and recovery

• Cybersecurity and incident response

• Microsoft 365 security and identity controls

• Network engineering

• Project management and upgrades

• Compliance support

• Vendor management

When you pay a managed provider, you are paying for access to a team with different skill sets — not one generalist trying to do it all.

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5) Weak Backups and Recovery Planning

Backups are a common area where businesses think they are covered, but are not.

Examples we see:

• Backups run, but nobody tests restores

• Backups are stored in the same environment as production

• There is no clear RTO or RPO target

• A ransomware attack encrypts the backup repository too

If your current setup has not tested recovery, you do not actually know if you can recover.

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A Simple Example That Explains the Price Gap

Let’s say your current “IT guy” comes out when you call. He handles basic issues. The monthly spend is low.

But you do not have:

• Effective EDR or MDR

• 24/7 monitoring

• A real ticketing and escalation process

• Documented security controls

• A tested backup and recovery plan

In that case, the “cheap” price is not because you found a better deal. It is because the protection level is low — and the risk is sitting with your business.

When a managed provider prices a plan, they are pricing the work required to reduce risk and support users consistently.

That is the difference.

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How to Compare IT Pricing Without Getting Fooled

When you compare proposals, do not focus on the monthly number first. Compare outcomes and coverage.

Ask these questions:

1. What cybersecurity tools are included, specifically?

   • EDR?

   • MDR?

   • Email security?

   • MFA enforcement?

   • Vulnerability management?

2. Do you provide 24/7 monitoring and response?

   • Who responds?

   • What happens at 2:00 AM?

3. What does support actually look like?

   • Ticket system?

   • Response time targets?

   • Escalation process?

4. Who is on the team?

   • Do you have specialists?

   • Or is it one person doing everything?

5. What is your backup standard?

   • Are restores tested?

   • Is the backup isolated?

   • What is the recovery plan?

If a provider cannot answer those clearly, the price might be low for a reason.

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The Bottom Line

If your current IT model is on-call support with minimal security and limited monitoring, a managed provider can look more expensive.

But in many cases, it is not a true price increase. It is a shift from “fix things when they break” to “prevent problems, protect the business, and respond fast when something happens.”

Novatech has been supporting businesses for more than 30 years. We have seen what happens when companies run lean on IT and get hit by downtime, ransomware, or data loss. The cost of recovery is almost always higher than the cost of doing it right in the first place.