In-House vs Outsourced IT

In-House vs Outsourced IT: Which Should You Choose?

Key points:

• Determining the right model of IT support for your company depends on a number of factors
• You stand to gain a lot by outsourcing your IT support
• Discover what both models have to offer in this guide

Should You Outsource Your IT Support?

Have you settled for internal IT support because it’s simple?

That may be the case—sure, with your internal IT team, you know what the situation is. You’re familiar with who they are, what they can do, and what you should expect of them. It’s easy to just let them be.

But have you considered what more capable, and more cost-effective outsourced IT services could do for your business?

After all, it’s your duty to seek new ways to improve the way you operate—have you thought about outsourcing your IT?

Understanding The Difference Between In-House And Outsourced IT Support

An internal IT department is hired, managed and compensated directly by your company. These staff members operate as a part of your business, require on-site office space, and are treated the same as any other employees you have.

On the other hand, an outsourced IT support provider will offer what are known as “managed services”. In the simplest terms, managed IT services encompass all of the solutions and support necessary to keep your information technology running smoothly.

Essentially, you’re able to outsource all of the functions required to an outsourced IT company, also known as a managed services provider, who assumes responsibility for your environment. You pay a flat-rate monthly fee to offload the monitoring, management, and maintenance of your infrastructure.

The Pros Of In-House IT Support

The primary advantage of an in-house IT team is that you can be confident they are available and present when you need them. As they work only for you, and are situated onsite at your business, getting a hold of them when needed should not be very difficult.

This is the main reason why businesses still opt to manage their IT internally. They worry that if they outsource to an external IT support provider, they may not get the rapid response and committed attention they need.

While this is a valid concern, it does not negate the fact that internal IT support comes with a range of challenges…

The Cons Of In-House IT Support

Employee Expenses

An in-house IT staff member can cost a lot to have on staff. To be effective, IT service and support requires up-to-date skills and expertise.

Managing Benefits, Sick Leave, Vacation Costs

There are additional expenses on top of the salary to consider. For example, holidays, and the coverage while your network administrator is away. When you consider all of this, just one IT staff member can cost you even more than a standard salary.

Investing In Ongoing Training and Certifications

With cybercrime and other threats to your business, you must ensure your IT staff is trained on the latest cybersecurity tactics. In addition, software, hardware, and cloud solutions are constantly evolving.

To provide the most cost-effective IT solutions, your IT personnel should attend vendor training and stay up on certifications that expire. These training and certification expenses can really mount up and may involve travel expenses as well.

The Pros Of Outsourced IT Support

Hiring A Company, Not A Person

An in-house staff is subject to business hours, requires full salaries, benefits, and vacation pay, and will undoubtedly call in sick from time to time. By outsourcing your IT department, you leave the managing, training, payment, and other variables that come with actual employees to someone else.

Reduced Downtime

Downtime is bad for business. And the main cost of downtime is not the fix itself, it’s the halt in your business’ productivity. If an IT-related or natural disaster occurs and takes critical systems offline, employees will be unable to complete their tasks, yet your normal business expenses will carry on.

The fact is that downtime is often the result of poorly supported IT. The best way to approach downtime prevention is proactively—you need to keep an eye out for system issues that can spiral into total stoppages. You need to implement backup technologies and best practices to prevent outages. You need to enhance your cybersecurity to protect against cybercrime.

Wider Pool of Talent

Your IT company can invest in a more skilled and diverse team of IT professionals, from which you benefit. Instead of having to rely on a few general IT technicians you hire and manage in house, you can access a deep roster and extensive knowledge base maintained by your IT company.

Strategy and Consultation

The right IT company will be able to offer strategic and consulting services, likely in the form of a virtual or fractional CIO. This allows you to go beyond simple IT support, and begin planning for future investments, consider new technologies, and more.

Reduce IT Costs

Reducing IT costs is one of the most appealing reasons businesses use outsourced IT services. Businesses that choose to outsource can convert unplanned IT expenses to fixed, predictable ones. This frees up capital for other aspects of their business.

Plus, it saves on hiring (and firing) in-house staff, paying benefits such as sick leave, health insurance, and Social Security. In addition, your IT services will be available 24/7, where in-house staff may take off due to personal issues or illness.

Develop Confident Security

Security is one of the most important aspects of technology. While technology evolves and data expands, the number of ways your IT network can be compromised increases. For example, cloud services are widely used today. However, to ensure the security of an offsite server, it must be continuously monitored and assessed.

Your IT services should offer security services, advise you on the credentials of vendors, and conduct ongoing risk assessments to identify network vulnerabilities.

Access Modern Technologies

Many businesses find it difficult to keep up with the latest advances in technology. Outsourcing with IT services provides easy access to the latest technology so you can be more competitive in this technology-driven world. In addition, with IT services, these solutions are less expensive than if you purchased them yourself. Most IT companies have partnerships with vendors and can provide new technologies at a reduced cost.

Scalability and Adaptability

As your business grows, your IT needs grow as well. Keep in mind that new service offerings often come with significant upgrades or new software programs. Your IT services can provide the flexibility you need to change your products/services or add new ones when required.

The Cons Of Outsourced IT Support

Choosing to leverage managed IT services can come with challenges, especially if you choose the wrong IT company.

Although the managed IT services model, in theory, is incredibly sound, not all IT companies operate the same. Some may lack the expertise, breadth of services or skill-sets to adequately meet your unique requirements.

This is where it’s vital to understand the potential challenges you may face and speak with your chosen IT company beforehand to ensure they’re not going to arise…

Service Quality

When you’re choosing an IT company, you’re looking for a strategic partner that will work closely with you. Naturally, it’s frustrating when you find an IT company with the experience, breadth of services, and skill-sets you’re looking for but they don’t seem to be personable.

This is key to a long-term relationship, so don’t settle for an IT company that treats you like “yet another customer.” Instead, wait for the IT company that makes you feel like a valued client of theirs and wants to learn about your business challenges. It’ll make a world of difference throughout the duration of your relationship.

Verdict: Internal Or Outsource?

When you’re hiring in-house, as time goes on, you start to notice the many costs that come along with hiring someone who doesn’t come with a range of skill-sets and in-depth experience.

Making any big change in your business can be a difficult step; but before you decide to stick with what you have, answer this one question—what happens when your in-house IT support person was out sick or on vacation, and you couldn’t get something fixed when you needed it?

With outsourced IT services, you’ll have access to a team of IT experts with a breadth and depth of tech knowledge and experience—something most businesses could never afford with an in-house IT staff. What’s more, you’ll benefit from 24/7 Help Desk Support, to make sure your needs are quickly addressed, and information technology stays up and running at all times.

Atlantic-IT Will Be Your Outsourced IT Department

The Atlantic-IT team is proud to offer a comprehensive suite of IT services to meet the specific needs of your business. Our team is dedicated to making sure you’re always leveraging the power of the most effective tools for your success.

That said, working with us doesn’t mean you have to fire your current IT team. We can work with your organization to whatever degree works best for you, whether that’s a fully managed arrangement or a co-managed arrangement.

Co-managed IT services allow you and your IT team to take advantage of the expertise and skill offered by our team of IT specialists when needed, without paying expensive salaries or benefits to have them on your staff.

Atlantic-IT offers tried and tested managed IT services (both fully outsourced and comanaged) for large and emerging companies in Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia areas. We provide superior IT support to all our clients thanks to our team of expert managed IT service engineers and IT specialists.

If your business has an IT need, give Atlantic-IT a call.