How Much Should IT Cost?

Solutions for Growing Businesses

How Much Should IT Cost?

Know What You’re Paying For—

Key Takeaways for Business Leaders:

IT costs go beyond just fixing computers. Many companies underestimate the full scope of IT needs. Costs should account for help desk support, strategic planning, hardware refresh cycles, site maintenance, and user support—especially as employee count and complexity grow.
Cybersecurity spending is not optional. A proper cybersecurity budget must include tools, redundancy, insurance, and the people to manage and monitor these resources. Skimping here increases the likelihood of data breaches, fines, and operational downtime.
Many providers get IT pricing wrong. Low-cost providers often overlook the strategic value of IT and cut corners that matter—like proactive auditing, fast ticket resolution, and forward-strategic planning. This results in hidden costs and business disruption.
IT should align with your business goals. Your IT provider should help you make better technology decisions that reduce risk, improve employee productivity, and scale with your company—not just react to issues as they arise.
Benchmark your IT spend against real metrics. Comparing your IT and cybersecurity investments to industry benchmarks—typically 4–7% of revenue for SMBs—can reveal whether you're overspending, underinvesting, or misallocating resources.

Why Businesses Ask

When business leaders ask, “How much should IT cost?” it’s often because they’re experiencing service gaps, budget overruns, or are uncertain whether they’re overpaying — or underinvesting. The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But there are clear industry standards, predictable cost drivers, and common pitfalls that can help you benchmark what your organization should be spending.

This page will break that down in two major sections: IT Spend and Cybersecurity Spend — while also highlighting what many businesses get wrong and how to avoid costly mistakes.

The Real Cost of IT: More Than

Too often, IT spending is reduced to a single line item — usually labeled something like “IT Support” or “Help Desk.” But that barely scratches the surface. Let’s break down what real IT spending includes:

1

Hardware Lifecycle Management: IT budgets must include regular hardware rotation for:

Employee workstations and laptops: Keeping user devices updated ensures productivity, compatibility with new software, and fewer support issues.
Servers and storage: Upgrading servers and storage systems helps maintain performance, security, and capacity as business needs grow.
Networking equipment: Replacing outdated routers, switches, and firewalls supports faster speeds, better reliability, and stronger security.

Delaying upgrades often leads to slow performance, security vulnerabilities, and increased downtime. Most companies should plan to refresh workstations every 3–5 years.

2

User Support (Help Desk + Beyond): A help desk is essential, but response time matters. Cheap support plans may offer low hourly rates but result in:

Long resolution times: Delayed fixes reduce employee productivity and may halt critical workflows.
Recurring issues: Incomplete or rushed solutions often lead to the same problems resurfacing, costing more over time.
Poor end-user satisfaction: Studies show that frustrated users are less efficient and may lose trust in internal systems and processes.

Real IT value includes proactive maintenance, end-user training, and a support team that scales with your business.

3

Strategic Planning and Business Alignment: This is where many companies fall short. Without dedicated resources for IT planning, you're likely missing:

Cost-saving opportunities through automation or cloud migrations
Long-term infrastructure planning tied to business growth
Support for compliance initiatives and industry-specific challenges

Strategic alignment turns IT from a reactionary expense into a driver of business efficiency and innovation.

4

Site Support and Redundancy: If you have multiple locations, IT must account for:

Connectivity between sites: Ensuring secure, high-speed communication between offices is essential for seamless operations and data access.
On-site infrastructure needs: Each location may require its own servers, networking equipment, and user support tailored to the environment.
Redundant systems to ensure uptime: Backup systems and failover strategies help prevent downtime and maintain business continuity during outages.

These costs scale with business complexity, and failure to invest in redundancy leads to real revenue loss during outages.

5

Scalability: As your employee count grows, so does the IT workload:

More users mean more devices, tickets, training, and support needs
Without scaling IT resources, response times drop and security gaps widen

A modern IT provider should scale with you — not act as a bottleneck.

Cybersecurity Spending:

Cybersecurity isn’t optional — it’s a baseline requirement for any business with digital assets. Here's where cybersecurity spending comes into play:

1

Cyber Insurance: Premiums vary based on:

Industry: Some industries, like healthcare or finance, carry higher risk profiles and therefore face higher premiums.
Security posture: Companies with strong cybersecurity tools, policies, and practices in place may qualify for lower insurance rates.
Incident history: A history of breaches or frequent incidents can significantly raise premiums, much like accidents affect auto insurance rates.

If your infrastructure isn’t up to standard, you may not qualify for coverage — or you may face extremely high premiums.

2

Security Tools: The modern security stack includes:

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Firewalls and Intrusion Detection
Email filtering and phishing protection
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

These tools are essential, not optional — and must be continually updated and managed.

3

Personnel to Manage Tools: Tools alone aren’t enough. Without skilled professionals managing them:

Threats go undetected
Alerts get ignored
Incidents take longer to contain

This staffing need is often overlooked in budgeting, especially for in-house IT teams who are already stretched thin.

4

Redundancy and Incident Response: Cybersecurity incidents are not a matter of if, but when. Your budget should include:

Backup and disaster recovery solutions
Response playbooks
Access to cybersecurity specialists or third-party MSSPs

The High Cost of Getting

Many companies try to minimize IT spend by choosing the lowest-cost provider or asking a small internal team to “just keep things running.” This leads to:

Unclosed support tickets that drain productivity
Inconsistent ticket resolutions that frustrate users
Unseen vulnerabilities that lead to compliance violations or breaches
Missed opportunities to reduce costs or streamline operations

Shane Morris, our CEO, put it this way:

“Companies that treat IT like a checkbox miss the big picture. IT is not just about fixing what breaks — it’s about enabling growth, reducing risk, and planning for the future.”

Low-cost providers often skip strategic planning altogether. They may offer a ticketing portal, but they’re not actively aligning technology to your business needs. Over time, that gap becomes costly.

Benchmarking

While every business is different, here are a few general benchmarks:

IT Spend: Typically ranges from 3% to 7% of annual revenue, depending on your industry and complexity.
Cybersecurity Spend: Should be 10–15% of your overall IT budget — more if you're in a highly regulated industry like finance, healthcare, or government.

Investing at or above these levels ensures your business stays competitive, compliant, and protected.

Final Thoughts: It’s Not About

When it comes to IT, you get what you pay for. The better question to ask is: “What is the business cost of poor IT support?”

At SUURV Technologies, we help organizations align their IT investment with their business strategy. That includes:

Proactive planning
Strategic guidance
Scalable support
Cybersecurity readiness

If you're wondering whether your current IT spend is helping or hurting your business, let’s talk. We’ll help you understand where your dollars are going — and how to make every one of them count.