What actually moves the number
Headcount is the starting point, not the answer. Two organisations of the same size can be 40% apart on price, and it's almost always for one of the reasons below. The useful part: several of them are things you can change.
Nine things that push the price up
01
High impactHow old your kit is
Six-year-old laptops and an unsupported server generate more tickets than anything else. Age is the single biggest driver of support cost.
02
High impactCloud or on-premise
A properly set-up Microsoft 365 tenant is cheaper to support than a server cupboard. Hybrid setups - half moved, half not - cost the most of all.
03
High impactHours of cover
Business hours is the baseline. Extended hours, weekend cover or genuine 24/7 can add 20-60% depending on how it's staffed.
04
Medium impactSecurity requirements
MFA and patching are baseline. Monitored detection, logging retention and awareness training are real, ongoing costs on top.
05
Medium impactCompliance and sector rules
Regulated work means evidence, reporting and audits. It's not harder technically, it just takes more documented time.
06
Medium impactNumber of sites
One office is straightforward. Five sites, each with their own network and its own quirks, multiplies the surface area we look after.
07
Medium impactLine-of-business applications
A single unusual, elderly or vendor-locked application can generate more work than the rest of your estate combined.
08
Medium impactHow much your own team keeps
Co-managed arrangements cost less per user because your team absorbs the first line. It only works if that's genuinely resourced.
09
Low impactHow tidy the starting point is
Undocumented setups, shared admin passwords and no asset list mean the first few months take longer. It shows up as onboarding, not monthly fee.
Six things that bring it down
None of these are quick wins you can do this afternoon. All of them pay back within a year or two, and most make the day-to-day better regardless of who supports you.
Standardise the hardware
One laptop model, one refresh cycle, one image. Fewer variables, fewer tickets, easier to support.
Finish the cloud move
Being half-migrated is the expensive state. Completing it usually pays for itself within a couple of years.
Get the licensing right
Most organisations are paying for licences nobody uses and missing features they've already bought.
Fix the starters and leavers process
A repeatable process removes a surprising amount of ad-hoc work - and closes a real security gap at the same time.
Sort the recurring five
Every organisation has five issues that come back monthly. Fixing the cause once is cheaper than treating them forever.
Be honest about cover
Buying 24/7 you don't need is one of the most common ways organisations overspend on IT.
What shouldn't affect it
A quote should reflect the work involved. These aren't work.
- Your sector's reputation for having money
- How urgently you need to switch
- Whether you asked for a discount
- How many other quotes you're getting
If a price drops significantly the moment you push back, it was never based on the work in the first place. That's worth knowing before you sign a three-year term.
Find out where you'd land
An IT health check looks at the things on this page - age of kit, cloud position, security baseline, licensing - and tells you which ones are costing you money. You get a prioritised list whether or not you work with us.