Managed Services - Pay for Results, Not Hours
Stop counting hours. Stop surprise invoices. Gain predictable IT costs with all-inclusive support, maintenance, security updates, and development included in one fixed monthly fee.
Get proactive monitoring, guaranteed SLA, and development capacity without estimating every request. Focus on your business while we handle your web applications!
Unpredictable IT costs and emergency fixes - do you know this problem?
Running business-critical web applications comes with constant worries: will something break? How much will the fix cost? How long will it take to get help? Traditional hourly billing means:
Key features of Droptica managed services
Our Managed Services model flips the script. You get support, maintenance, security updates, and development capacity for one predictable monthly fee. No counting hours. No surprise invoices. We're motivated by efficiency and results, not billing time.
How does the managed services process work?
Before we start, we have a quick diagnostic call. We check if Managed Services makes sense for you. No sales pitch - if hourly retainer is better for your needs, we'll tell you honestly.
1. Onboarding and technical audit
We start with a thorough technical audit of your web application. We review architecture, identify security risks, document customizations, and establish baseline performance metrics. You get a detailed report with prioritized recommendations.
This takes 1-2 weeks and includes access setup, monitoring configuration, and documentation of your application's unique aspects.
2. Monitoring setup and testing
We deploy our monitoring stack and configure alerts for your specific environment. Then we test the SLA process with simulated issues to ensure our team responds correctly. You get training on how to submit requests and escalate urgent issues.
3. Regular maintenance cycles
Security updates happen automatically within 24 hours. Feature development work gets planned in regular cycles (typically 2-week sprints). We prioritize your requests, coordinate with your team, and deliver changes incrementally.
You see progress continuously instead of waiting for big bang releases.
4. Monthly reporting and planning
At the end of each month, you get a detailed report showing:
- What work was completed
- Security updates applied
- Performance metrics and trends
- Upcoming recommendations
- Plan for next month's development work
We use this meeting to align on priorities for the coming month.
Common concerns about managed services model
We understand the fixed-fee model might raise questions. Here are honest answers to the most common concerns we hear from potential clients.
Our incentive structure works opposite to hourly billing. We're motivated to work efficiently because:
- Fixed fee means we profit from efficiency - faster work = better margins.
- We want long-term relationships - slow work means you'll leave.
- SLA penalties hurt us - missing response times costs us money.
- Reputation matters - we share case studies and get referrals.
With hourly billing, providers profit from taking longer. With fixed fees, we profit from solving your problems faster.
Each plan has realistic capacity based on typical client needs. If you consistently need more development than your plan includes, we'll recommend upgrading to the next tier or discuss custom capacity.
However, most clients find the model works because:
- No time wasted on estimates - we skip back-and-forth scoping discussions.
- Work happens in parallel - we manage multiple small tasks efficiently.
- We're motivated to find efficient solutions - not pad hours.
You usually get MORE done than hourly model because overhead disappears.
The monthly fee covers ongoing maintenance, monitoring, security updates, and support availability - regardless of whether you submit development requests. Think of it like insurance: you're paying for peace of mind and availability, not just task completion.
Many clients with seasonal businesses appreciate this model - they know their web applications are monitored and maintained even during slow periods, and capacity is available immediately when they need it.
Your account manager helps set realistic expectations. When you submit a request, we evaluate it and provide one of three responses:
- We'll handle it - fits within regular development capacity.
- We'll schedule it - larger task that needs planned sprint.
- Let's discuss scope - might need plan upgrade or phased approach.
We're transparent about what's feasible and proactive about managing expectations.
All plans work on monthly contracts with 30-day notice. No long-term commitments. No termination fees. If the service doesn't deliver value, you can leave anytime.
We also provide:
- Transition support - we help hand off to your next provider.
- Documentation handover - all work is documented in your knowledge base.
- Export of monitoring data - you keep all reports and metrics.
How much does managed services cost?
Ready to get predictable IT costs and stop counting hours? Book a free consultation to discuss which plan fits your web application needs!
Who are Droptica managed services for?
Technologies and requirements
Why choose Droptica for managed services?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes. Submit requests through our ticketing system, email, or directly to your account manager. We evaluate each request, estimate effort, and either handle it immediately (for small changes) or schedule it in the next development cycle (for larger features). There's no approval process for hours or budget - we just get to work.
Your account manager works with you to prioritize requests based on business impact, technical dependencies, and effort required. Security updates and critical fixes always take precedence. Feature development gets planned in regular sprints with your input on priority order.
All plans include monitoring and emergency response capabilities. Enterprise plan includes full 24/7 support availability. If your application goes down at 2 AM, our on-call team gets alerted and responds according to your plan's SLA. For non-emergency requests submitted outside business hours, we respond according to our SLA (typically next business day for medium/low priority items).
We can manage your applications on any hosting environment, or we can recommend and manage hosting for you. Many clients prefer us to handle both hosting and application management for simplicity. If you already have hosting you're happy with, we'll work with it.
Typical onboarding takes 1-2 weeks. This includes technical audit, access setup, monitoring deployment, and handoff documentation. During this period, we're learning your application architecture while still providing emergency support if needed. After onboarding, we operate at full capacity according to your plan.
Absolutely. Plans work on monthly billing, and you can change tiers anytime with 30-day notice. If your needs grow (or shrink), we adjust your plan to match. Many clients start with a lower tier and upgrade once they see how much work we handle compared to hourly billing.
Your applications remain fully functional - we don't hold any code or data hostage. We provide transition support to help you move to another provider or bring management in-house. All documentation, code, and access credentials transfer to you. We'll even help train your new provider during handoff.
Yes. Part of onboarding is reviewing your existing custom code. We maintain and enhance custom features, modules, and integrations as part of the service. If we find security issues or technical debt in custom code, we'll recommend fixes and handle them like any other development work.
An experienced full-stack developer costs €50,000-80,000+ per year (plus benefits, recruitment costs, training, and tools). With Managed Services, you get an entire team including developers, DevOps engineers, security specialists, and project management for a fraction of that cost. You also get 24/7 coverage instead of limited team availability with vacation and sick days.
