If your professional services firm still calls an IT technician only when something breaks, you are operating on a model that was designed for a different era. One82 is a managed service provider based in Los Gatos, California, with 26 years of experience serving CPA firms, law firms, and boutique financial services firms across the San Francisco Bay Area. We have helped dozens of firms transition from break-fix to managed IT, and the difference in security posture, compliance readiness, and daily productivity is measurable.
Professional services firms across the South Bay and Peninsula — in San Jose, Campbell, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Redwood City — face regulatory requirements that make this distinction especially critical. Here is what both models actually look like in practice, and why the distinction matters far more for professional services firms than for most other businesses.
What Is the Break-Fix Model?
Break-fix is exactly what it sounds like: something breaks, you call a technician, they fix it, and you get a bill. There is no ongoing monitoring, no proactive maintenance, and no retainer relationship. You pay only when you need help.
For years, this was the default model for small firms. It felt economical because you only paid when there was a visible problem. The reality is that invisible problems — unpatched software, unmonitored endpoints, misconfigured backups — accumulate silently until they become expensive emergencies.
What Is the Managed IT Model?
Managed IT (also called an MSP relationship) means a provider monitors, maintains, and secures your firm’s technology continuously for a fixed monthly fee. Problems are identified and resolved proactively. Security is layered and maintained. Compliance documentation is generated as part of ongoing operations, not scrambled together before an audit.
According to Datto’s 2023 Global State of the MSP Report, 82% of small and mid-sized businesses using managed services reported improved security outcomes compared to their previous IT arrangement (Datto/Kaseya, 2023).
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Break-Fix | Managed IT (MSP) |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | None — problems discovered when they cause disruption | 24/7 monitoring of endpoints, servers, network, and cloud services |
| Maintenance | Reactive — patches and updates only when requested | Proactive — automated patching, updates, and health checks |
| Cybersecurity | Basic antivirus at best; no layered security | EDR, MFA, email filtering, security training, dark web monitoring |
| Compliance | No compliance support; documentation is your responsibility | Ongoing compliance reporting for IRS Pub 4557, FTC Safeguards, state bar rules, SEC requirements |
| Response time | Variable — depends on technician availability | SLA-defined response times, often under 1 hour for critical issues |
| Cost structure | Hourly billing — unpredictable and spikes during crises | Fixed monthly per-user fee — predictable and budgetable |
| Strategic planning | None — no technology roadmap or business reviews | vCIO services with quarterly reviews and multi-year planning |
| Backup and recovery | Often ad hoc or untested | Managed backup with regular testing and documented recovery procedures |
| AI guidance | Not available | AI readiness assessments, tool deployment, governance policies |
| Vendor management | You manage every vendor relationship yourself | MSP coordinates with software vendors, ISPs, and hardware suppliers |
The Real Cost of Break-Fix for Professional Services Firms
The perceived savings of break-fix evaporate when you calculate the actual cost of reactive IT in a professional services environment.
Tax season downtime for a CPA firm. A server failure during peak tax season does not just cost repair fees. It costs billable hours. If a 20-person CPA firm loses a full day of productivity, that is roughly 160 billable hours multiplied by an average billing rate of $200 per hour — a $32,000 impact before the technician even sends an invoice.
Court filing deadlines for a law firm. When email or document management goes down hours before a filing deadline, the consequence is not just inconvenience. Missed deadlines can result in sanctions, malpractice exposure, and client loss. According to the ABA’s 2023 Legal Technology Survey, 29% of law firms reported experiencing a security breach (ABA TechReport 2023). Break-fix firms have no monitoring in place to catch the early signs of a breach.
Deal data exposure for a financial firm. Boutique financial firms handling M&A transactions, fund closings, and investor documentation operate in environments where a single data breach can kill a deal and permanently damage the firm’s reputation. Without continuous monitoring and endpoint protection, deal-sensitive data is vulnerable to exfiltration that the firm may not discover for weeks.
When Break-Fix Made Sense (and Why It No Longer Does)
Ten years ago, a 10-person law firm could arguably get by with break-fix. Cybersecurity threats were less sophisticated, regulatory requirements were less demanding, and firms stored less data electronically.
That world no longer exists. Today’s threat landscape includes AI-powered phishing attacks, ransomware targeting professional services firms specifically, and regulatory bodies that hold firms accountable for their IT security posture. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported over $12.5 billion in cybercrime losses in 2023, with business email compromise remaining the most financially damaging category (FBI IC3 2023 Annual Report).
Break-fix cannot address these realities. It is structurally incapable of proactive security, continuous compliance, or strategic IT planning.
Making the Transition
Transitioning from break-fix to managed IT does not have to be disruptive. A qualified MSP will begin with a comprehensive assessment of your current environment, identify immediate security and compliance gaps, and build a phased onboarding plan that minimizes interruption to your firm’s operations.
One82’s onboarding process for professional services firms typically includes:
- Discovery assessment — A thorough review of your existing IT infrastructure, security controls, and compliance documentation
- Gap analysis — Identification of vulnerabilities, unpatched systems, and regulatory shortfalls specific to your industry
- Phased deployment — Security tools, monitoring agents, and compliance frameworks deployed in stages to avoid disrupting client work
- Staff training — Security awareness training and new system orientation for all team members
- Ongoing optimization — Quarterly business reviews with a virtual CIO to align technology investments with your firm’s growth plans
Frequently Asked Questions
Is managed IT more expensive than break-fix?
On a monthly basis, managed IT has a higher visible cost because you pay a fixed fee regardless of whether something breaks. However, when you factor in the cost of downtime, emergency repair bills, security incidents, and compliance failures, most professional services firms find that managed IT costs less over a 12-month period. The predictability alone is valuable for budgeting.
Can I keep my current IT person and add managed services?
Yes. Many firms start with a co-managed arrangement where the MSP handles security, monitoring, and compliance while an internal IT contact handles day-to-day user support. This is a common transition model for firms between 20 and 50 employees.
How long does it take to transition from break-fix to managed IT?
A typical onboarding for a professional services firm with 10 to 50 users takes two to four weeks. The first week focuses on assessment and planning, the second and third weeks on deploying security and monitoring tools, and the fourth week on training and optimization.
What happens if I am under contract with a break-fix provider?
Most break-fix arrangements are not formal contracts — they operate on a pay-per-call basis. If you do have a contract, review the termination terms. Many firms find they can transition with 30 to 60 days’ notice.
Will my firm experience downtime during the transition?
A well-planned transition should cause minimal to no disruption. One82 deploys monitoring and security tools in the background and schedules any system changes during off-hours to avoid impacting your team’s productivity.
