Many Alternative Investment companies are taking a long hard look at what they are paying in IT costs and whether they are getting value for money from their IT partner.
At a time when the price of everything seems to be going up, it’s understandable that businesses are seeking to cut costs anywhere they can. However, comparing IT support services can be a frustrating exercise as pricing is often less than transparent.
At Tribeca, we want our customers in the financial sector to have a good understanding of our pricing and be confident that they are receiving an effective and secure support service that meets their specific technology business needs.
We like to be as open and honest as we can about IT costs to ensure that your expectations are met from the beginning. That’s why our core principle is to give our clients a fixed monthly rate, with no usage caps or hidden costs, including all remote support required and 24/7 access to our Service Desk teams. It’s also why we created a dedicated pricing page on our website so you can gain a better understanding of how we calculate your monthly bill.
In addition, we publish regular content on our website and social media channels to provide business owners and executives with the information they need to make an informed decision.
Take a look at the short video below for an example of how we price.
The case study in the video is:
- A financial firm based in London
- 10 users
- Half a day of pro-active on-site time per month required
- 2 hour on-site response to critical events required
- No hosting requirements.
Based on this information and an understanding of the business needs, we provided a monthly pricing package of £1,400 – £1,750*.
The video also briefly touches on the factors which determine the monthly cost.
What factors affect IT costs?
How many users you have:
The number of users within your organisation will have the biggest impact on cost. However, there are economics of scale; while a business with hundreds of users will require more support than a business with 10 users, the larger business is more likely to have issues that can be resolved for multiple users at once.
How many offices you have:
One hundred users in one location will typically have fewer issues than 100 users spread across 10 locations. That said, our Service Desk teams are always available 24/7 via our offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Dublin, and have targets to answer the telephone within 6 seconds.
How much on-site time you require:
We like to include four hours of onsite time per month as a minimum. We often find that, during these visits, people will ask our engineers to assist with a small issue they have been ‘living with’ for a period of time – and that could be something that leads to a more critical problem if left unattended. This is a great opportunity to provide pro-active support to the end users.
Cyber Security:
We will review the current scale of your security measures and advise what security measures you need to put in place – the level of security you already have can affect the initial cost of our service as a set-up fee, and your infrastructure, will dictate what other products and services you require on a monthly or yearly basis to keep everything secure. We will work with you to determine what solutions are most appropriate based on your attitude to risk, budget, requirements and current technology.
Third-party services:
Some elements of pricing are outside of our control – for example, Microsoft 365 licensing. Being a Microsoft partner, we are able to provide you with the licenses , but equally, we are also happy to manage those licenses for you if you choose to purchase them direct.
There is no obligation to purchase hardware or licensing through Tribeca, however licence management is covered in your monthly fee. This is also the case for any other third-party licenses.
How can you make sure you are getting value for money from an MSP?
Ultimately, it’s a balancing act. While you want to avoid being overcharged or paying for services that you do not use, you also have to be wary of a suspiciously cheap deal. Pay too little and it’s probable you will have difficulty getting a speedy resolution to your problems or you may find staff are unwilling to call for support due to being worried about getting charged. The end result is a poor service that doesn’t meet your needs and, worse, potentially leaves your business vulnerable to cyber attack.
The more your IT Partner understands your sector, business and the services you expect, the more likely you are going to be satisfied with the result. As with most things, communication is key.
Find out what our clients have to say about our cost-effective MSP solutions.
*These are examples of Tribeca’s support costs only. Private cloud hosting and back-up costs depend mainly on capacity so have not been included in the scenario. No licensing is included as this will vary heavily from one firm to the next and isn’t typically a huge variable from one provider to another.
