For a Colorado dental practice or law firm with 10–60 employees, DataSHUR managed IT services generally range from $100 to $200 per computer per month. The actual cost depends on factors such as the number of computers and locations, the complexity of your technology, cybersecurity requirements, backup and recovery needs, and the level of support included.
For example, an organization with 30 computers might use $3,000 to $6,000 per month as an initial planning range.
But price alone doesn’t tell you whether you’re getting good value from an IT provider. To understand what managed IT should cost your organization, consider these five factors.
1. How Many Computers, Employees, and Locations Need IT Support?
The first factor is the size of your technology environment.
A 15-person law firm with one Colorado office and 20 computers has very different IT requirements from a 50-person dental organization operating multiple locations.
When estimating managed IT costs, consider:
- Number of desktop and laptop computers
- Number of employees
- Number of physical locations
- Remote and hybrid employees
- Servers and cloud infrastructure
- Network equipment and Wi-Fi
- Microsoft 365 environment
- Specialized applications
- Printers, scanners, imaging equipment, and other connected technology
Using DataSHUR’s typical range of $100–$200 per computer per month, here are some simple planning examples:
| Computers | Approximate Monthly Planning Range |
|---|---|
| 10 | $1,000–$2,000 |
| 20 | $2,000–$4,000 |
| 30 | $3,000–$6,000 |
| 40 | $4,000–$8,000 |
| 60 | $6,000–$12,000 |
These are planning estimates, not quotes. Your actual cost depends on your environment and the services required.
That’s also why comparing two IT companies based only on a monthly price can be misleading. You need to understand what you’re receiving for that price.
2. What Is Included in the Managed IT Agreement?
When evaluating managed IT providers, don’t stop at:
“How much does it cost?”
Ask:
“Exactly what does that price include?”
A managed IT relationship may cover areas such as ongoing technical support, system monitoring, maintenance, network management, Microsoft 365 support, backup and recovery, cybersecurity, and coordination with technology vendors.
The specific services included can vary considerably from one provider to another.
For a dental practice, for example, an IT provider may also need to coordinate with vendors responsible for practice-management software, imaging systems, and other specialized technology.
For a law firm, the environment may include document-management applications, cloud services, remote-access systems, Microsoft 365, and other software attorneys and staff rely on throughout the day.
When comparing proposals from different IT providers, ask each company to clearly identify:
- What’s included in the monthly fee?
- What costs extra?
- Is remote support included?
- Is onsite support included?
- Is cybersecurity included or sold separately?
- Are backups included?
- Is vendor coordination included?
- Are projects and upgrades included or separately billed?
- Are there limits on support requests?
A $125-per-computer proposal isn’t necessarily less expensive than a $175-per-computer proposal if the lower-priced agreement excludes services you’ll regularly need.
Compare scope to scope, not simply price to price.
3. How Much Cybersecurity Does Your Organization Need?
Cybersecurity is another major factor affecting managed IT costs.
A useful way to evaluate an IT provider’s security approach is:
Protect → Authenticate → Monitor → Respond → Recover
Protect: What technology is being used to reduce the likelihood of a successful attack?
Authenticate: How is access to systems and sensitive information controlled?
Monitor: Who is watching for suspicious activity and technology problems?
Respond: What happens when a potential security incident is detected?
Recover: How will the organization restore systems and data after a serious incident?
These questions are particularly important for organizations responsible for sensitive information.
Dental practices need to consider the protection of electronic patient information and their HIPAA-related responsibilities.
Law firms routinely handle confidential client information and depend heavily on access to email, documents, case information, and other systems.
Don’t accept a vague answer such as “cybersecurity is included.”
Ask the provider to explain the security controls and services included in the agreement and which security services, if any, cost extra.
4. What Makes Managed IT More—or Less—Expensive?
Two Colorado organizations with the same number of employees can have very different technology needs.
Lower-Complexity Environment
An organization might fall toward the lower end of a pricing range when it has:
- One location
- Modern, standardized computers
- A relatively simple network
- Cloud-based applications
- Few legacy systems
- Straightforward support requirements
Moderate-Complexity Environment
Costs can increase when an organization has:
- Multiple locations
- Remote or hybrid employees
- Specialized applications
- More complex backup requirements
- Greater cybersecurity requirements
- A combination of cloud and onsite systems
Higher-Complexity Environment
An organization may require a more sophisticated IT solution when it has:
- Multiple offices
- Aging or inconsistent technology
- Complex networks
- Legacy applications or servers
- Significant cybersecurity requirements
- More demanding recovery requirements
- Numerous third-party technology vendors
This is why a responsible IT provider should understand your environment before promising an exact price.
5. How Should You Compare Managed IT Quotes?
Suppose you’re considering three Colorado IT providers.
One charges $110 per computer, another $150, and another $190.
Choosing the $110 provider automatically because it has the lowest monthly price could be a mistake.
Instead, use a five-part comparison:
Support
How do employees get help? What happens when the problem can’t be solved remotely? What support is included versus separately billed?
Cybersecurity
What security protections are actually included? Don’t settle for terms like “advanced security.” Ask for specifics.
Backup and Recovery
What is backed up? How frequently? How is recovery handled when something goes seriously wrong?
Industry Experience
Does the IT provider understand organizations like yours?
A dental practice and a law firm have technology requirements that are different from those of a restaurant, retail store, or construction company.
Total Cost
Finally, determine what you’ll actually spend.
Ask about monthly recurring fees, onboarding costs, project fees, hardware, software licensing, cybersecurity services, backup services, onsite support, after-hours support, and contract terms.
The goal is to understand your total IT investment, not simply the lowest number printed on a proposal.
Example: What Managed IT Might Look Like for a 25-Person Colorado Law Firm
Consider a hypothetical Colorado law firm with:
- 25 employees
- 30 computers
- 2 locations
- Microsoft 365
- Remote-access requirements
- Sensitive client information
- Ongoing cybersecurity and backup needs
At DataSHUR’s typical planning range of $100–$200 per computer per month, the firm’s preliminary managed IT budget could be approximately $3,000–$6,000 per month.
Rather than choosing a provider solely based on where its proposal falls within that range, the firm should evaluate what it’s receiving.
Does the agreement provide the level of support employees need?
What cybersecurity services are included?
How are backups and recovery handled?
Who coordinates with other technology vendors?
What happens when an employee can’t work because of an IT problem?
And perhaps most importantly:
What happens when something goes seriously wrong?
This example is illustrative. Actual DataSHUR pricing and services depend on the organization’s technology environment, requirements, and service agreement.
What Can IT Downtime Really Cost?
Consider a hypothetical 25-person organization where the average value of employee time is $75 per hour.
If a technology problem prevented all 25 employees from working for four hours, the potential productivity exposure would be:
25 employees × 4 hours × $75 = $7,500
That doesn’t include lost billable work, delayed patient appointments, missed deadlines, reputational damage, or the cost of recovering from the underlying problem.
This is why the right question isn’t simply:
“How cheaply can we outsource IT?”
A better question is:
“What level of IT support and protection does our organization need to operate reliably?”
Why Industry Experience Matters for Colorado Dental Practices and Law Firms
Technology support isn’t just about fixing computers.
Your IT provider needs to understand how technology affects your actual operations.
For an orthodontic or oral surgery practice, an IT interruption can affect staff productivity, patient scheduling, communications, imaging, and access to information.
For a law firm, an interruption can affect attorney productivity, client communications, documents, deadlines, and billable work.
DataSHUR brings more than 20 years of experience serving Colorado law firms and dental practices.
Our approach can be summed up simply:
Exceptional IT. Extraordinary Service.
How Much Should Your Organization Budget for Managed IT?
For a Colorado dental practice or law firm with 10–60 employees, a useful starting point for DataSHUR managed IT services is approximately $100–$200 per computer per month.
Use this five-part framework:
1. Environment: How many computers, employees, locations, and systems need support?
2. Services: What is actually included in the monthly agreement?
3. Security: What specific cybersecurity protections are provided?
4. Complexity: How complicated is your technology environment?
5. Value: How well will the provider help your organization stay productive, secure, and operational?
If you’re evaluating managed IT for a Colorado dental practice or law firm, DataSHUR can review your current environment, discuss your needs, and help you determine an appropriate level of IT support.
Exceptional IT. Extraordinary Service.
