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What does managed IT cost in South Africa?

Managed IT is usually priced as a monthly account fee plus a rate for each device the provider looks after. That makes the cost predictable and easy to work out yourself. Here is how it works, with the real numbers we charge.

Updated

How managed IT pricing works

There are two parts. The account fee covers the service around you: the monitoring platform, the helpdesk, the monthly report and, on higher plans, an account manager. The device rate covers each workstation, server, infrastructure and mobile device that is monitored, patched and protected.

A workstation is a desktop or laptop. A server is a centralised device that serves multiple devices or functions, such as a file server or email server. Infrastructure devices are switches, access points, NAS units, printers and UPS units with a network card. Mobile devices are phones and tablets, managed through mobile device management (policies, app deployment, OS update compliance, remote lock and wipe).

Our three plans, in Rand

All prices are ex VAT, per month.

  • Watch: R495 account fee, plus R149 per workstation, R999 per server, R79 per infrastructure device and R69 per mobile device. Month to month.
  • Care: R795 account fee, plus R250 per workstation, R1,800 per server, R149 per infrastructure device and R119 per mobile device. Month to month.
  • Managed: R2,995 account fee, plus R599 per workstation, R2,999 per server, R299 per infrastructure device and R289 per mobile device. 12 months, minimum 10 devices.

Worked examples

What a real office pays per month, ex VAT:

  • Care, 10 workstations, 1 server, 2 infrastructure devices: R5,393.
  • Watch, 15 workstations, 1 server, 3 infrastructure devices: R3,966.
  • Managed, 20 workstations, 2 servers, 4 infrastructure devices: R22,169.

What is not in the monthly price

Onsite visits are never included on any plan. They are a callout plus time. Ad-hoc remote support for anyone not covered is R649 an hour at standard rates, and onsite is R849 an hour, with a one hour minimum.

Projects such as new sites, migrations and rollouts are scoped and quoted separately. Any provider that says everything is included should be asked exactly what fair use means.

Questions to ask any provider before you compare prices

Two quotes are only comparable if they cover the same things.

  • Is remote support included, and what is the fair use limit?
  • Is onsite support included, or is it a callout plus time?
  • What are the response times for a critical fault, and are they written into the agreement?
  • Is there a minimum term or minimum number of devices?
  • Will I get a report every month showing what was done?
Work out your number →Get a quote

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