Do You Really Need In-House IT Support?

In the beginning, new businesses rarely have complex IT needs. Many get by for years without ever needing an IT support team. If a problem arises, leadership simply rolls up their sleeves and handles it themselves. But this won’t last forever.

As your business grows, you will eventually reach a crossroads. Systems become more complicated, your team is larger, and the arrangement that worked before is now falling apart. It’s at this point when you must make a decision: is it time to hire in-house IT support?

This article will finally address that all-important question, and ask another: is there another option?

The Benefits of an In-House IT Department

Hiring an in-house IT expert provides a few key advantages for growing businesses:

• Familiarity: An internal hire is focused on your business alone, rather than serving multiple clients at once. This allows them to develop a deep understanding of your systems, workflows, and the unique quirks of your digital environment.
• On-site Presence: Unlike third-party providers, who are located further away, an in-house staff member is already on your premises. This sometimes means outages are resolved faster, reducing downtime and limiting the damage.
• Cultural Alignment: An employee who is thoroughly embedded within your organization will be immersed in your values and culture. This lowers the risk of miscommunications and other cultural mismatches.
• Ownership and Accountability: When you control the IT team, ownership is always clear. There are no questions of loyalty or prioritization. Most importantly, there is no ambiguity about who is responsible for which tasks.

The Disadvantages

Unfortunately, there are also challenges when working with in-house employees:

Coverage

Growing businesses realistically cannot afford a full support team. Instead, they almost always start with a single new hire. The problem is that however capable this person is, they will not be able to handle everything alone. Some of the tasks required to properly manage your IT environment include:

• 24/7 monitoring (particularly for threats, which don’t always strike during normal business hours)
• Small optimizations and tweaks
• Addressing larger problems
• Strengthening the company’s security posture
• Strategizing for the future
• Implementing updates and upgrades
• Tracking device lifecycles
• Backing up data and testing recovery processes
• Implementing and testing a disaster recovery plan

No matter how talented your staff member is, this is not the workload of a single person. They cannot cover everything. And the gaps they leave behind could put your business in danger.

Availability

Your internal hire works business hours, then goes home. They take leave. They get sick. And eventually, they’ll move on. During these periods, the protection they provided vanishes. You’re left with three choices:

1. Hire more people than you need
2. Attempt to fill the gap yourself
3. Hire emergency outsourced support

All of these options are expensive and time-consuming. The reality is when your business depends on a single source of knowledge, you’re at a disadvantage every time they walk out the door.

Burnout

Heavy reliance on one staff member eventually leads to burnout. That single employee becomes the default point of contact for every question, complaint, or crucial decision. Over time, this becomes exhausting. You might find yourself filling that same position more often than you would like as a result.

The Real Cost of In-House IT

The most common misconception about in-house IT support is that it’s cost-effective. Usually, business leaders say this because they are only looking at the salary. But here’s what your company is truly paying for:

• Compensation: Base salary, benefits, taxes, leave, and more.
• Recruitment: The onboarding process, during which your employee may not be able to contribute effectively.
• Training: Both immediate training and ongoing professional development courses (necessary in a field of work that constantly changes).
• Equipment: Office space, computer, software licenses, security platforms, and storage.
• Turnover: Every time an employee leaves the company for any reason, you must do it all again.

In light of this, hiring internally can actually be extremely expensive.

What About Outsourcing?

For businesses who decide that this ultimately isn’t worth the hassle, there’s another option. You could outsource your IT to a managed service provider (MSP). This comes with its own set of benefits and disadvantages:

Pros:

• Only charges a single monthly fee, which leverages economies of scale
• Access to a full team of experts
• 24/7 coverage, even if someone gets sick

Cons:

• Instead of handling IT matters internally, you now communicate with a third-party
• An outsider has access to sensitive data, making strong security non-negotiable
• An MSP serves many clients, potentially meaning they have less time for you

Is It Better to Hire Internally or Externally?

Ultimately, the answer to this question will depend on your business. There’s a case to be made either way.

In-House IT Support Makes Sense If:

• Your business is big enough to justify a full-time workload, but not yet big enough to require a full team
• You have specific, complex systems that an external provider may struggle to understand
• You want more direct control over your IT environment
• You have the budget to support ongoing training, turnover, and other costs

Outsourcing is Smarter When:

• You don’t have the resources to train and maintain an in-house team
• Your IT infrastructure is getting too big or complex for a single staff member to handle
• You have high security or compliance needs
• You require 24/7 monitoring
• You’ve previously experienced a major outage or breach while relying on in-house staff

The Third Path

If neither of these strategies feels quite right, remember that “both” is always an option. Co-managed IT services are designed to work with and support your existing team, rather than replacing them. This provides you with access to specialized expertise without needing to rely entirely on a third party.

Make the Right Choice, Not the Cheapest

Choosing between in-house and outsourced IT support is always difficult, especially early in the business’ lifecycle. But you don’t need to commit to a path that isn’t right for you. Take your time, consider all the factors involved, and remember that you can always try out the co-managed model. This way, you’ll be able to make the best possible choice for your business.

Growing companies often make the mistake of settling for a support team that keeps the lights on, but doesn’t do much else. Read our article to learn about the long-term impact this can have.