Why Would You Outsource IT When You Could Have An Internal Tech?
I reckon I think about this more than the clients do, but yes, we do get asked the question of whether outsourcing IT is worth it & the pros/cons of internal vs external IT….
Yep, there are definitely cons to outsourcing your IT department, but there are also many pros – Depending on your situation. Do you have 25 or less staff? No brainer, outsource your IT. Maybe you have 50+ staff, this is where the question really becomes pertinent. This is the area we’ll be focusing on here; ~50 or more staff.
Pros & Cons of Internal / External IT
Internal IT
Pros
Decreased wait times – Now this is a double edged answer. If you have an internal IT team of ‘One’ person & 5 computers + the server go down. You’re not getting this service. But yes, in general an internal team is already onsite providing hands on service.
You know how much you’re paying – Lets say you have a tough month; the 15 computers you’d been meaning to upgrade but hadn’t, go down, internal IT are on a salary & therefore you’re paying what you were the previous month.
Complete Control – You know that the internal team has tunnel vision interests; uptime, reliability & availability. They aren’t making profits off hardware/software & therefore have no reason to push a cheap, poor quality solution to maximise profits.
Cons
Team Size – Lets say you have 50 staff; realistically, you’re only going to justify a single technician for your internal team. As above, what happens if 15 computers go down, 5 staff can’t access the CRM portal, the server goes down. How can a single person deal with all of this in a timely manner?
Redundancy – Would you prefer a single technician is your brains trust for all passwords, solutions, portals, hardware/software? Or would you rather an outsourced team with 5+ staff who all have at least a base idea of your internal systems?
Skillset vs Cost – Are you using cloud-based software, onsite servers, terminal services, Office 365/G-Suite, complicated backup solutions, custom software & more? A single technician is unlikely to specialize in all of these solutions. Of-course, they would have a decent understanding, but when your entire system is compromised because of a simple on/off toggle for permissions that they didn’t know because of lack of experience, you won’t be happy! Now, if you want someone who is at least competent in supporting these solutions – That’s ‘not’ going to be cheap! Lets say you find a young tech with 5 years experience, degree qualified & has a keen interest in IT outside of work as well. You’re looking at at least $4800 per month outlay (Probably more).
Outsourced IT
Pros
Skillsets – Using Absolute IT as an example; we have 5 IT technicians (Among other staff for different departments). Each tech is degree qualified, has years of experience, each focusing on a different are of IT. All of our technicians come for the same price, many minds focusing on the goal of making your business efficient for the same price as a single technician.
Cost – Only paying monthly rather than weekly frees that money for other opportunities and access to the latest infrastructure without investing in buying it yourself are amongst the top reasons for partnering with an MSP. Some of the software we recommend must be purchased with 100 – 200 minimum seats which we spread across a number of clients, meaning you get it cheaper & without the responsibility.
Flexibility in plans – We only have month-to-month plans; no commitments. With this, you’re not feeling the pressure of knowing how difficult it is to get rid of an incompetent full-time IT technician. Don’t like us, tell us to go away!
Latest Software/Hardware – As we have many staff & clients with different needs, we are always trialling the latest & greatest software/hardware. When a newer, better solution appears, you are notified & given the opportunity to jump on-board the bandwagon! A single internal technician simply does ‘not’ have the time to cover ~50 staff members & research, test & trial new solutions effectively.
Cons
Complete Control – As above in the ‘Pros’ of internal teams, outsourcing you IT means not having total control. We always create guest accounts to all services we provide so that you have as much access as possible. However, some things just cannot be shared, we understand this & hope you accept this.
Conflicts – This is also a double-edged con; if you have an internal team, what you say ‘generally’ goes. We take control of the IT, then it’s more of a set & forget situation, we will make recommendations on additional costs; however prefer the latitude to make decisions without needing to bother the powers that be with too many details.
Quality – Being a member of Absolute IT, I don’t believe this applies to us; however it is definitely prominent in any outsourcing industry. How do you know the solutions provided are quality? How do you even know the hours you’re paying for are being used as well? Is the quality of infrastructure actually being affected by outsourcing to this business? All valid questions & often true; it’s worth doing your research before outsourcing.
So, What Do I do?
This is completely individual to your needs & up to you. However, it’s worth pursuing both avenues until one path is a clear leader. Sometimes it’s even worth going both ways, for instance, we have a client that has an onsite technician. We simply assist with larger projects that the onsite technician doesn’t have time to implement or maybe lacks the specialist skillset for that.
It’s worth doing the research, here is a Google Search that can help. Also, if you’re wanting to see what services we offer, choose a location from our locations page here.
I hope this blog has helped guide you in the right direction & you managed to reach the end. For more blogs click here. Thankyou for reading.
