Block Hours Contracts
A Great Approach to IT support
Very few small/medium businesses have IT departments. Some don’t have any IT staff at all. If that sounds like your company, your options when you need extra IT support are very limited.
Having a block time agreement with an IT service provider like CG Technologies can prevent issues like this:
- Having to pay a premium to get someone in at short notice
- Disruption to your business while you wait for support
- Increased risks of cyber attack and IT failures when upgrades aren’t applied
- Upgrades that take weeks to complete because you don’t have enough resource
What is a block time agreement?
A block time agreement, or block time contract, is where you purchase a fixed number of IT support hours up front for a fixed cost, then call the block hours off when you need help.
If you choose a multi-skilled provider like CG Technologies, the purchased hours could be used for:
Break/fix support
Applying upgrades
Reviewing IT security
Installing new IT equipment
Routine maintenance
Help with an IT strategy
…and much more
A block hours agreement defines the number of hours and the fixed up-front cost. But how many hours you buy, and how you use them, is entirely up to you.
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What are the benefits of buying block hours?
A block time agreement from a professional IT company gives guaranteed access to skilled IT support. No more phoning round trying to get someone to come out, no more sleepless nights worrying about it, and more time to focus on your business. That helps you to:
Maintain business productivity- Keep IT costs down
- Maximize the return on your IT investments
- Manage risk
Using a block hour approach for IT support provides a great deal of flexibility. Companies can choose to:
- Use them forever
- Only use them occasionally
- Use them once then never again
- Try then out then switch to a managed service arrangement
If you have your own IT staff, a block time agreement can help you to manage peaks in demand or specific skills gaps in a very cost effective way.
How do companies use block time agreements?
Because they’re not sure just how many hours they need, most companies start by buying a small block of hours, something like 10 or 15. That helps to work out how many hours they will need per month.
Buying a bigger volume of block hours can be cheaper if discounts are available. There is no downside to this unless the provider puts a time limit on when the hours have to be used by, but this is unusual with professional services providers like CG Technologies.
When the block is close to being used up, companies just buy another block of hours. This can be the same size, smaller, or larger.
That can help businesses with their planning. For example, if they have a critical time of year when the availability of IT systems is essential, like the run up to Christmas, then they purchase a bigger block.
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