Around 300,000 businesses are hacked into every day. All it takes is for a single employee to respond to a phishing email to send your entire company into chaos.
The best way to prevent the problem is by Googling “IT consulting services near me.” Not only can these professionals cut cybercriminals off at the source, but they can also teach your workers how to use new technology. They can also fix your computer systems when they crash or slow down.
Services that are open 24 hours will watch over your network long after everyone leaves the office for the night.
So, how much will you pay for these professionals? Check out this cost breakdown to learn what to expect.
Why Hire an IT Consulting Firm?
Before going over costs, let’s talk about why you should hire an IT consulting service. When you bring the professionals onboard, you’ll have a specialized team that can tackle any problem you throw at them.
Hiring someone also leaves you open to focus on your regular business processes. They’ll even train your employees:
Specialized Team
Your medical clinic is going to have different tech needs than a retail business. While a general IT company might be able to handle the needs of both, they’re not going to have the same amount of knowledge that a specialist has.
Chances are, any specialist you hire has worked with the software that your clinic uses. That means they can give you personalized help. They also make it their business to stay on top of trends in the medical tech world.
Focus On Your Main Functions
Keeping up with an IT network isn’t as easy as the professionals make it look. It takes a lot of multitasking to take care of computer systems. When you add managing a business on top of your IT, it’s a wonder that you can keep your head on straight.
Outsourcing your IT to another company frees you up to do what you do best. Running your business.
Employee Training
Learning new systems can be confusing for those who aren’t exactly tech-savvy. The good news is that your IT team can train your employees to a point where they’re comfortable using these programs.
For the workers that have some experience with computers, your IT team can show them how to fix minor tech errors. This way, you only have to get your consultant involved when major problems occur.
Scalability
Depending on the size of your company, you might not need to enlist in IT services all year round.
Many IT companies take this into account by offering scalable services. What this means is that you can set up your contract to only include what you need.
Security
One of the main reasons why small businesses end up closing their doors is data breaches. Losing a customer’s information to a hacker will cause them to lose trust in you. Not to mention that losing all that data can be devastating.
IT companies can stop hackers in their tracks. They keep backups of your programs and data, so even if cyber criminals manage to get into your system, your IT firm will be able to restore your computers to the state they were in before the attack.
A lot of IT firms operate 24/7. That means there will always be someone there to watch over your network after everyone leaves the office for the day.
System Analysis
Your IT company will perform regular analysis of your computer systems. It allows them to get a good idea of where your technology is at, so they can make changes if need be.
Analyzing your computers gives firms the chance to spot potential security holes and plug them before hackers also notice them.
Average IT Consulting Cost
For basic IT services, you can expect to spend about $85 to $200 an hour. Of course, this estimate can vary depending on the consultant’s experience. You’ll pay more if you want to hire an expert in your industry.
IT services can be cheaper or more expensive from region to region. The size of the IT firm can be a huge contributing factor as well.
Rates by Size
Not every managed service provider is created equal. They come in four different sizes: enterprise, large, medium, and small.
Their rates tend to vary. Hiring a large enterprise with tons of employees and departments is going to cost a lot more than hiring a small firm, for example:
Enterprise
Enterprise-sized companies have first-rate technology at their disposal. Their services don’t come cheap, so they mostly work with fortune 500 businesses and the government.
Be prepared to pay over 800 dollars an hour if you want to take advantage of their expertise.
Large
If you own a corporation of some kind, we would recommend hiring a large firm.
Like enterprise companies, they offer first-class technology, but they don’t have quite as many employees at their disposal. They typically don’t own as many global branches as enterprise firms, either.
The smaller size allows these companies to keep their prices lower. Hiring them will cost around $300 an hour.
Medium
If your company isn’t that big, hiring a large or enterprise IT firm will be a bit overkill. You can most likely get by with a medium-sized firm.
Most of the time, these companies have around 100 employees or fewer. They work with businesses of all shapes and sizes, and their prices account for that.
When you bring a medium-sized firm onboard, you’ll pay less than $200 an hour.
Small
Small agencies typically specialize in one service area. They’re perfect for companies with very specific needs.
Small firms have about ten consultants on the clock at all times. That’s all they need to provide services to startups and mid-range businesses.
If you feel like a smaller firm is the way to go for your company, you’ll have to pay them about $75 an hour.
Rates by Type
There are three different types of consultants you’ll run into during your hiring search.
If you don’t have a lot of money in your pocket, you may want to talk to a beginner. There are freelancers and outsourced consultants to consider as well:
Beginners
Beginners who are trying to get their foot into the door of IT are always looking for paid internships. If your IT needs aren’t that extreme, and you don’t have a lot of money to spend, you might be able to benefit from these tech novices.
You’ll only spend about $25 an hour to bring an intern onboard. You might be able to get a lot of amazing work out of a beginner, but the term “you get what you pay for” does apply here.
Freelancers
If there’s one thing that there’s an abundance of in the tech world, it’s freelancers. Most of them work remotely, so if that setup works for you, you’ll have access to a wide range of IT talent from all over the world.
If you hire a seasoned freelancer who has 10-plus years of experience under their belt, expect to pay about $100 an hour for general maintenance and project help.
Outsourced Consultants
Outsourced consultants also work with clients from all over the world. They can provide you with their expertise from across the ocean if need be.
The price to hire these professionals varies a great deal depending on location. You may end up paying $25 an hour or $100.
Rates by Region
Due to increased investment in machine learning and data analytics, the United States is leading the bar when it comes to IT. That’s why if you hire a tech company from the US, you’ll end up paying almost $200 an hour.
Western Europe and Canada are next up on the list. IT consultants in these regions charge anywhere between $130 and $150 an hour for their services.
Hiring consultants in Eastern Europe, Asia, and India will cost $20-$50 an hour.
Type of Work
The more complicated the work, the more your IT consultant is going to charge you. Setting up phone systems is one thing. It doesn’t take a lot of skill or expertise to get those going.
Security risk assessments are an entirely different ballgame. It’s a complicated process that takes a lot of time and brain power.
Block Time Agreement
If the prices mentioned so far have your jaw dropping to the floor, there is a way to save a bit of money. Enter a block time agreement with your IT company of choice.
A block time agreement is a prepaid service. In most cases, the contract is good for about 12 months.
During this time, you can call your IT company for whatever you need. Their pay will come out of the money you put down when signing the agreement.
Keep in mind that if you buy new hardware or software, you’ll have to pay for that out of pocket. The agreement won’t cover it.
Weekends and Holidays
If you have a data emergency during a holiday or weekend, the price for your IT services is going to jump up because the company is going to charge you time and a half.
To give you an idea of what this means, let’s say that you pay your IT team $80 an hour. That amount will increase to $160 during the weekends.
Fee Structure
Not every IT company follows the same fee structure. It’s good to familiarize yourself with the different ones that you’ll run into before you begin your search for a tech service:
Hourly
Most major IT firms will charge you based on how many hours they work on an assignment for you.
When the consultant gets done working for the day, you’ll get hit with a $1,000 bill. Of course, this estimate is assuming that the consultant stays in your building for 12 hours.
Project-Based
If the consultant works via project-based pay, the two of you will sit down and negotiate a price for the entire assignment. When they’ve completed the work, you’ll give them their money.
The main benefit of this pay structure is that you’ll know your entire budget ahead of time. Unforeseen circumstances might drive the price up, but for the most part, what you negotiate is what you’ll pay.
Value-Based
Out of all the fee structures, value-based is the most complicated because it forces you to do a lot of math. You’ll be paying the consultant based on the value of the finished product.
So, instead of working with a fixed rate, you’ll have to pay them about 10 percent of the overall value of the work they did.
Monthly
Once you hire a firm to handle your IT, you’ll pay them a fee every single month for their services. The benefit to this is that you’ll have someone on call whenever you need them.
It’s sort of like when you pay your rent at the beginning of the month to ensure that you get to keep your office building.
This is a good option if you’ve worked with a company for a while and you trust them to do a good job, or you’re ready to move on from one of the other pay structure options.
Understanding the Price of IT Consulting Services Near Me
Hiring IT consulting services near me is your best bet for keeping hackers away from your business system. Without that layer of protection there, you risk losing valuable data.
The right company can also train your employees as you incorporate new technology into the office, and they’ll scale with you based on your needs.
The problem is affording that kind of service. Prices can vary depending on the size of the IT company and its location. Know what to expect so you don’t get caught off guard.
For more tips that will help you keep your company secure, visit the Business section of our blog.
