What is the difference between Reactive & Proactive Support?
What is Reactive Support?
Reactive support refers to technical support only after a problem occurs (e.g. company laptop is failing to connect, IT Service Provider investigates the problem and fixes it).
Reactive support is beneficial because its cost-efficient, and support is provided when something goes wrong. However, reactive support is poor because it has limitations like downtime. Reactive support fails to recognize an issue before it has occurred, which could potentially lead to additional disruption.
Reactive Support is an appropriate decision for small businesses because its cost-effective, and fixes issues. However, its limitations must also be considered by the small business.
What is Proactive Support?
Proactive support refers to technical support where problems are identified before they occur meaning the managed service provider can act on this.
Proactive support is beneficial, because it reduces downtime (preventing an issue before it occurs) and it reduces security risks (fixing system inconsistencies before a malicious attack takes place). However, Proactive support is poor because of its financial setback. It is generally more expensive to implement proactive support than it is reactive support (this is unsuitable for an SME).
Proactive support is an appropriate decision for a small business because its reliable, reduces downtime, and enhances cybersecurity. However, its limitations (financial setbacks) must also be considered by the small business.
Determining a suitable option for your small business
When choosing between proactive and reactive support, a small business should consider budgeting, security risks, and complexity.
Budgeting – A business with a smaller budget may favour reactive support, as its cost effective compared to proactive support. However, a business with a higher budget may choose to favour proactive support because they are able to afford it.
Security risks – A business with high volumes of sensitive data may consider a proactive support plan, so that risks are identified before anything majorly problematic occurs. A business with low volumes of sensitive data, security measures previously implemented, or a business with small budgets may favour reactive support plan.
Complexity – A business with a low complexity system may chose a system of mediocre complexity (with average quality features) to upscale from low quality to average. A business with average complexity systems may favour a system of high complexity and performance, which gives them the ability to further grow.
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