🎃 Pumpkin Logic: Choosing the Right IT Support (When You Don’t Have In-House IT)

From checkout counter pumpkins to impressive glowing giants, here’s what each IT support model really offers, where they fall short, and why the biggest one might be the smartest choice for your business.

October is the perfect month to talk pumpkins and an even better time to talk about IT support.

If you’ve been following our seasonal series, you’ll know we’ve been comparing support models to pumpkins. Some are small and unassuming. Some are striking and seemingly robust. But not all are built to last.

Now let’s look behind the scenes. What do these pumpkins really represent? And which one suits a business without internal IT?

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🧯 No Pumpkin – The Break-Fix Approach

Support Model: Pay-as-you-go
Pumpkin Equivalent: You didn’t get one – hoping you won’t need it.

What You Should Get:

• No contract
• Support only when something breaks
• Costs based on usage

What You May Miss:

• No monitoring
• No proactive maintenance
• No strategy
• No response guarantees

Risks:

• Unpredictable costs in emergencies
• Downtime while waiting for help
• Security gaps with no one keeping watch
• No continuity or ownership

Who It Might Suit: Very small businesses or side projects with little reliance on IT
Why It’s Risky: If you’re growing or handling sensitive data, this is more a gamble than a plan.

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🎃 The Tiny Pumpkin – Basic Support

Support Model: Entry-level contract
Pumpkin Equivalent: Small, affordable, but clearly limited

What You Should Get:

• A fixed number of support hours or tickets
• Predictable pricing
• Clear boundaries

What You May Miss:

• Proactive monitoring or patching
• Strategic input
• Out-of-hours support

Risks:

• Extra costs for anything outside the plan, even basics like device setup
• Limited support when things go wrong
• Security blind spots with no routine updates
• No help with compliance or audits

Who It Might Suit: Start-ups with some internal tech knowledge
Why It’s Limiting: Without someone technical on your team, even simple tasks become roadblocks.

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🎃 The Medium Pumpkin – Standard Support

Support Model: Reactive contract with some extras
Pumpkin Equivalent: Nicely carved, maybe even glowing – but still reactive

What You Should Get:

• Quicker response times
• Basic monitoring
• Occasional strategic advice

What You May Miss:

• Full coverage
• Deep business integration
• Truly proactive care

Risks:

• Still requires you to raise issues
• Monitoring may miss critical systems
• Security patching may be inconsistent
• Limited planning or long-term improvements

Who It Might Suit: Businesses with part-time IT oversight or tech-savvy founders
Why It’s a Trade-Off: You’re spending more, but still doing much of the heavy lifting.

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🎃 The Giant Pumpkin – Fully Managed Support

Support Model: End-to-end managed service
Pumpkin Equivalent: Large, glowing, and built to perform

What You Should Get:

• 24/7 monitoring and response
• Proactive issue resolution
• Strategic reviews and planning
• Scalable infrastructure support
• Ongoing updates, patches, and compliance

What You Avoid:

• Chasing updates or troubleshooting outages
• Managing backups
• Worrying about cyber threats
• Training staff on new systems

Why It’s Worth It:

• Security is non-negotiable – fully managed services keep you ahead
• Maintenance is proactive – problems are fixed before they interrupt your day
• Your team focuses on growth, not firefighting
• Support scales as you scale

Who It’s For: Businesses without in-house IT or those who want to focus on customers, not maintenance
Why It’s Smart: Your team shouldn’t be juggling IT. Fully managed support gives you space to grow and peace of mind.

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🧸 The “Just Right” Fit

If you don’t have your own IT team, fully managed support is often the most practical choice.

It’s not just about having the right technology. It’s about time, focus, and managing risk. Your business needs to move forward – not be stuck sorting out updates or chasing down fixes.

Final Thought

There’s no one-size-fits-all in IT support. But if you’re growing, want to sleep easier, or simply need systems that work without fuss, the giant pumpkin – proactive, fully managed, and strategic – is the one that delivers.

Because in IT, just like autumn, it’s what’s inside that matters.