The market in 2026
The UK managed IT services market has shifted significantly since 2020. Cloud-first architectures, commoditised endpoint management, and a proliferation of MSPs means that per-user pricing has fallen materially — while the average SME is still on a contract priced at 2021 rates. The gap between the market rate and the rate most businesses are paying is the largest of any indirect category we benchmark.
What you should be paying
| Service | Market rate | Overpay signal |
|---|---|---|
| Helpdesk (Mon–Fri, 9–5) | £18–28/user/month | >£35/user/month |
| Fully managed (24/7) | £45–75/user/month | >£90/user/month |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | £8–14/user/month | >£18/user/month |
| Cyber Essentials (SME) | £900–1,800 one-off | >£2,500 |
| Device refresh (per seat) | £650–950 | >£1,200 |
Red flags in IT contracts
- Auto-renewal clauses with short notice windows — 30 days is not enough time to run a competitive process. Push for 90 days minimum.
- Vague SLAs — "best efforts" is not an SLA. Define response and resolution times explicitly for P1, P2, P3 incidents.
- Hardware lock-in — contracts that bundle hardware and services make it expensive to switch. Separate them where possible.
- Undocumented out-of-scope charges — project work, major incident response, and on-site visits should be quoted in the contract, not invoiced at will.
- MSP using your licences as leverage — you should own your Microsoft tenancy, your backup environment, and your documentation. Not the MSP.
What a good IT support contract looks like
A properly specified IT support contract defines: scope of service (which devices, which users, which hours), response and resolution SLAs by priority level, reporting cadence (monthly service review minimum), exit provisions (documentation handover, data portability, transition assistance), and price escalation (CPI-linked, capped, specified in advance).
How to run a competitive process
The process doesn't need to be long. A well-specified brief, three to five qualified vendors, and a structured evaluation takes 3–4 weeks. The steps:
- Audit your current contract — extract the per-user cost, SLAs, notice period, and exit terms
- Define your requirement — user count, device types, hours of coverage, current pain points
- Benchmark — use the IQ index or submit to Bundle IQ for an automated market comparison
- Go to market — minimum 3 qualified MSPs, structured brief, consistent evaluation criteria
- Evaluate on total cost — include implementation, transition, and ongoing charges, not just headline rate