The success of any modern organization is heavily influenced by its ability to choose, implement, and maintain a suitable technology infrastructure. Still, a lot of companies spend more than they need to on technology and struggle to contain the operational costs of staying abreast on innovation. The world of enterprise technology is a complicated one as well, and finding the right balance requires a robust strategy.
In-house staffing and maintenance remains one of the biggest expenses when it comes to IT. However, without the right staffing in place, your company leaves itself vulnerable to extended periods of downtime, slow response times, major disruptions to workflows, and costly emergencies. One of the first things to consider is the choice between in-house staffing and outsourced services. Let’s see how the options stack up:
In-House Staffing
Prior to the inception of managed IT services, in-house staffing was the only practical solution for most organizations. Though it’s sometimes seen as a dated concept nowadays, especially for small businesses, in-house staffing does still provide some unique benefits. Most notably, in-house staff can respond to issues instantly, and the fact that they’re on-site tends to lead to a more thorough implementation of solutions. Furthermore, businesses can also enjoy full control over their IT resources and staffing.
Perhaps the most obvious drawback of in-house staffing is that it can get enormously expensive. It’s also much less flexible than outsourcing, since you can end up paying full-time employees when there’s nothing for them to do during quiet periods. On the other hand, a small IT department might not be able to handle a sudden influx of time-sensitive tasks.
The drawbacks of in-house staffing make it impractical for many smaller businesses, unless they have very specific requirements. At most, it might be affordable to hire a single employee to oversee the management of your IT infrastructure, but you’ll likely still end up with plenty of gaps to fill. Fortunately, that’s where managed services can help.
Managed Services
A managed services provider (MSP) is a company that offers IT services remotely, including support, management, and technology implementations. These services are typically provided by way of a subscription payment model, whereby costs are calculated on a per-user, per-device, or even all-inclusive basis.
Easily the most widely touted benefit of outsourcing IT is that it comes at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time staff. Since most MSPs offer their services for a monthly fee, you also have complete visibility into cost – you won’t be paying for overtime and other unexpected expenses.
Moreover, you pay only for what you need, which is also what makes managed services infinitely more scalable than in-house IT. To that end, an MSP provides many of the same functions as an in-house IT department provides, but with enormous cost savings.
Another major benefit of partnering with an MSP is that you’ll gain access to some of the best and most current technology on the market. For example, your company will acquire round-the-clock monitoring, thereby adding an additional layer of security to protect your systems from external threats. And when it comes to support, your IT provider will be obligated by their service level agreements (SLAs) to respond to tickets and resolve issues within certain deadlines.
Most of the so-called drawbacks of outsourcing your IT are purely theoretical, while others are outright myths. What it all comes down to is choosing the right company, preferably one that operates locally and where representatives can visit your work premises in person as required.
Which Option Is Better for Your Business?
For small- and medium-sized businesses, partnering with an MSP is almost always the better choice, unless you’re running a tech startup with a very specific set of requirements. Even then, you’ll still benefit from outsourcing certain workloads, such as cybersecurity and disaster recovery. Nonetheless, every business has a unique set of conditions and requirements which need to be aligned with their IT strategy.
Depending on how you approach it, technology can either be disruptive or beneficial. At OC-IT, we eliminate all IT hiccups to ensure your infrastructure works with you rather than against you. Call us today to get started.