You know the saying: You get what you pay for. Nowhere is that more obvious than in IT support for Salt Lake City's civil and structural engineering firms.
On the surface, a cheaper managed IT services agreement might seem like a win: lower monthly costs, basic support, maybe even some security tools thrown in. But scratch the surface, and you'll find hidden costs, incomplete protections, and major operational vulnerabilities that could derail your projects.
After years of reviewing IT contracts for engineering firms across Salt Lake City, we’ve seen the same patterns. Here are five common ways budget IT providers cut corners—and how those gaps lead to real losses for firms like yours.
Weak (Or Nonexistent) Cybersecurity Protections
Basic antivirus is NOT cybersecurity.
Yet that’s where many low-cost IT providers in the Salt Lake Valley stop. No multi-factor authentication. No endpoint detection tailored for CAD workstations. No training for engineers on phishing attempts. No layered defense if something gets through.
Why does it matter? Because if you’re bidding on government or infrastructure projects, you need to be CMMC- or NIST-compliant. We’ve seen engineering firms lose out on six-figure contracts because their MSP didn’t guide them through compliance. Worse yet, claims have been denied post-breach because basic protocols weren’t in place.
If your IT provider can’t tell you how your systems meet federal compliance, they’re not just underperforming. They’re putting your firm at risk.
Backups That Leave Out Half Your Deliverables
Most engineers assume Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace backs up project data automatically.
They don’t. They archive. There’s a difference.
Budget MSPs rarely back up industry-critical platforms like AutoCAD, Revit, or Deltek. That means massive project files, BIM data, or Civil 3D models could be unprotected.
Worse, we’ve seen cases where only local servers were backed up—no cloud redundancy, no immutable backups. A single ransomware hit wiped out a year of drawings for one Salt Lake City firm.
Ask your IT provider this: What happens if your Revit server goes down on deadline? Do they know? Do they care?
Surprise Charges For On-Site Or After-Hours Help
Here’s a classic bait-and-switch: offer a low monthly rate, then charge extra for everything beyond basic help desk calls.
We’ve seen firms billed hourly when a tech had to come onsite to fix a plotter driver. Or pay surge pricing because they needed VPN access fixed at 7 PM before a design review.
That’s not support. That’s stress.
At Qual IT, we believe in flat, transparent pricing. Our clients never second-guess whether they can call. Because when your tech is down, you’re not just losing time—you’re risking reputation.
"Not Our Problem" Responses To Vendor Issues
Printer offline? Camera not recording? Internet crawling?
Some IT providers throw up their hands: "Not our hardware. Not our issue."
That doesn’t fly in engineering. Your systems are interconnected. Plotters affect submittals. Internet issues delay BIM syncing. A good MSP takes ownership across your entire tech stack.
We liaise with Autodesk, HP, Cisco—whoever it takes. You shouldn’t have to be the middleman.
Inexperienced Techs, No Strategic Oversight
One of the biggest risks? Relying on a one-man shop or a firm that outsources everything to freelancers who’ve never touched an MEP workflow.
You might get a response. But you won’t get results.
An engineering firm needs more than ticket takers. You need:
- A dedicated account manager who gets CAD workflows
- Proactive checks on version control, compliance gaps, and VPN reliability
- Planning for staff surges, licensing audits, and BIM/cloud transitions
- Someone who asks about next quarter, not just last week
Bottom Line: If It Looks Too Good To Be True… It Is.
Engineering deadlines don’t wait. Neither do cyber threats, hardware failures, or compliance reviews.
Most firms don’t know their tech is vulnerable—until it fails. And by then, the cost isn’t just money. It’s lost bids, missed milestones, and a client who won’t call back.
If you want IT support that actually supports your firm, you need more than a cheap rate. You need a partner who knows engineering, lives in Salt Lake, and has your back before things break.
Let us take a look at your network. We’ll assess your current IT risks for free, give you clear, non-jargon answers, and show you how to close the gaps.
