Somewhere between 20 and 100 staff, most businesses ask whether to hire an IT person or pay a provider. Both can work. The right answer depends on what the business needs IT to do.
What one person can and can't cover
An in-house person knows the business, sits near the staff and can respond in minutes. But IT now spans support, security, cloud, networking, licensing and compliance. No one person is strong in all of them, and one person takes leave, gets sick and eventually resigns.
What a provider brings
A managed provider brings a team, tools and processes: a service desk, monitoring, patching, security tooling and engineers for the harder problems. What it lacks is the daily presence and the feel for how the business runs.
When to hire
Hire when you have enough on-site and business-specific work to fill the role: systems unique to your industry, frequent hardware handling, or projects that need someone inside the business to drive them.
When to outsource
A managed service usually suits a business without a full-time load of IT work, or one that needs cover across more skills and hours than a single salary buys.
The option in between
Many businesses do both. An internal person handles day-to-day support and business systems, while a provider runs security, patching, backups and the specialist work. This is often called co-managed IT.
How to compare the cost
Compare the full cost of an employee, including leave, training, tools and cover, against a provider's fee for the same scope. Then ask which arrangement leaves the business less exposed if one person leaves.
Want your IT looked after for a fixed monthly fee? Managed IT services
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