Break-fix and managed IT services are the two main ways a business buys IT support. Break-fix means paying an IT provider each time something needs fixing, with no ongoing contract. Managed IT services means paying a fixed monthly fee for continuous support, monitoring and maintenance. They differ in cost predictability, incentives and how far problems are prevented.
What break-fix means
Break-fix is the simplest form of IT support: something breaks, you call a provider, they fix it, and you pay for that job. There's no retainer, no ongoing contract and no proactive activity between calls. The provider is engaged entirely on demand.
Billing is typically by the hour or by the job. Some providers offer a rate card; others quote per incident. Either way, the cost is variable: a quiet month costs nothing, but a serious failure - a ransomware incident, a server crash, a data loss event - can generate a large unplanned bill at exactly the moment the business is already under pressure.
The NCSC's device security guidance makes clear that reactive management of IT assets leaves gaps that a proactive approach would close. Break-fix is by design a reactive model.
What managed IT services means
Managed IT services means paying a fixed monthly fee to an external provider who takes ongoing responsibility for your IT. That typically covers remote monitoring, maintenance, security patching, helpdesk support and - depending on the contract - on-site work when it's needed.
The provider in this model is called a managed service provider (MSP). Their financial interest is the opposite of a break-fix provider's: they earn a fixed fee regardless of how many problems arise, so they're motivated to prevent faults rather than wait for them. Most contracts are governed by a service level agreement that sets out response times, uptime targets and what you can expect.
The UK government's guidance on buying technology products and services highlights the importance of clear contracts and defined service outcomes - both of which a managed arrangement is built around.
The key differences
The most important difference is how costs behave. Break-fix costs are variable and reactive: predictable in a quiet period, unpredictable when something serious goes wrong. Managed IT costs are fixed and predictable, which makes budgeting straightforward. Our article on the cost of IT downtime explores how quickly unplanned failures add up.
The second difference is incentives. A break-fix provider earns more when your systems fail more often. A managed provider earns the same monthly fee regardless, so their commercial interest lies in keeping your systems stable and your calls to a minimum. These are genuinely different models with genuinely different motivations.
Speed of response is a third area of difference. Managed contracts include defined response-time commitments in a service level agreement. Break-fix has no such commitment: you're in a queue with every other client, and priority usually goes to whoever shouts loudest.
Which model suits your business
Break-fix can work for a very small, very stable business with minimal IT: perhaps a sole trader running a handful of cloud apps with no server infrastructure and little reliance on technology for day-to-day operations. In that narrow context, paying only when something breaks is proportionate.
For most growing businesses - especially those with staff depending on systems to work, customer data to protect and any kind of infrastructure to manage - managed IT makes more practical and financial sense. The fixed cost is predictable, the support is proactive and the provider has a stake in things staying up. For businesses that already have an in-house IT person, co-managed IT offers a middle path: external capacity and expertise working alongside internal knowledge.
Whatever model you use, the terms should be set out clearly in a service level agreement so both sides know exactly what's included and what's expected.
Growing businesses need more than break-fix Red Eagle Tech provides managed IT for UK businesses that have outgrown the pay-per-incident model. Our IT operations service covers proactive monitoring, security and support - all on a fixed monthly fee with defined response times.
