Maintenance Agreements (and why you need one)

One of the first jobs out of college was with the Lake Doctors, Inc in Florida. I managed and cleaned up waterways from business to residential water retention areas. We would get a call from a business or homeowner’s association telling us weeds were choking the waterways, causing flooding, smells, and unsightly conditions.

An initial cleanup rate would be worked out, plus a followup maintenance agreement. We would go in and treat the waterways over several months, cleaning them up so they would look pristine. The businesses and homeowners would be ecstatic and be glad to pay for the next year.

Then after a few years the maintenance agreement would come up for review. Since the waterways looks great, the Homeowner’s Association would say, “Why are we still paying for maintenance? Everything looks fine, Why do we need it?” So with everyone in agreement, the contract would expire. Six months later, the waterways would be choked with weeds again.

Another initial cleanup fee would have to be paid, and a new maintenance contract would be put in place. It was cyclical. (And they spent much more than they would have spent if they had kept the maintenance agreement.)

The same thing happens with computer maintenance contracts. The business contacts a managed computer firm to come in and clean up a mess. It could be malware or spyware issues; a system crash, hackers gaining access to their systems; lost backups; etc.

An initial contract for services is rendered. After the work is completed a followup maintenance contract is put in place. The work is completed, the client is ecstatic, the business continues running smoothly.

Now fast forward a year or so…

It’s time to renew their computer maintenance contract. But the business is still running smoothly. The company decides it can save money by NOT renewing their maintenance contract.

Things continue to run smoothly for a few more months, then a hacker gets into their computer system and their customer data is compromised. But the company doesn’t know this until the hacker has been in their network for another month or so. Customer data starts disappearing. Then their entire computer system fails. Now the company has lost valuable customer data, and they have a computer system that is down. But that’s not all.

Their customers are upset because of the data breach,and the company has to deal with reassuring their customers that everything is under control. But the bigger problem is this…now the company has lost the client’s trust.

Computer crashes, lost backups, ransomware, spyware, hackers and natural disasters (fire, tornado, flood) could cost your company tens of thousands of dollars and more. Any one of these could potentially put you out of business.

How would you recover your business if any of these were to occur?

Are you a healthcare provider who has to deal with HIPPA requirements? As you know, you could be audited at any time and fines can range from a few hundred dollars to $50,000…and more.

You have enough to worry about in your business just dealing with the day-to-day activities that come with running a successful business.

So what is it worth to you to have peace of mind knowing that regardless of the scenario that occurs in your business, you have a way to recover quickly? Doesn’t this sound better the than having to scramble to recover from one of the aforementioned disasters?

This is a great time of year to review and renew your computer maintenance contracts to avoid heartache and pain in the future.