What is in-house vs outsourced IT?

Many companies rely solely on in-house IT staff to handle all of their IT needs and services. And many are not even aware that an alternative exists which can be even more cost-effective, reliable and experienced.

In contrast with having full-time IT employees who work for your company taking care of any IT needs, you can instead outsource this work to a skilled, professional and vetted IT services provider. 

This managed service provider (MSP) can assist you both remotely and in-person, and can manage routine tasks (such as backups and network monitoring) - and they can help with implementing new systems, with training, or with providing an IT support desk to your staff.

For small businesses, having an outsourced MSP to take care of all your IT needs can help you to scale your business, operate efficiently and save costs. 

And for larger businesses, an MSP can help to work alongside your IT staff, co-managing IT services.

This can provide added capacity, skills and specialized knowledge and is particularly useful where in-house staff are taking care of complex and sensitive networks and data, but require assistance with tools, monitoring and implementing policies.

Top 4 reasons to outsource your IT services

Below we take a closer look at 4 of the top reasons to outsource your IT services and hire a professional and reputable MSP. 

These include the ability to provide constant and consistent IT maintenance and support, the benefit of having access to a wide range of IT skills through one provider, the ability to retain corporate IT knowledge, and save costs.

1. Consistent IT maintenance and support services

When it comes to IT services, most companies would like 24/7 around the clock support in case there’s an emergency, data leak or a website crash. 

But if you have full-time IT staff, they may be off sick, on leave or unreachable when you need them. By comparison, most MSPs are available around the clock, at any time of day and night, to help you resolve urgent issues. 

Having an MSP is therefore a way for you to gain consistent IT maintenance, monitoring and support by a team of professionals. 

And given the rise and complexity of cybersecurity threats, this can be a critical benefit that can save your company’s reputation as well as potential costs.

2. Gain a variety of specialized IT skills through your MSP

If you opt to have managed IT services provided by a vetted and professional provider, they can be an indispensable partner in your business to help your company thrive and operate effectively, productively and efficiently.

There are many skills that MSPs may have, which can benefit your business. 

That includes being able to help you with your IT strategy, IT compliance and planning ahead for the future. For example, your MSP may be able to advise which software, hardware, cybersecurity measures and network infrastructure you need.

And they may be able to help you become legally compliant with the extensive range of IT laws, as well as to plan ahead for business expansion and managing suppliers and network communications and systems. 

In addition, your MSP may have specialized experience in cloud computing, which is seen as the future of work - particularly where remote employees are involved.

Having the skill set to manage this transition and to advise on the best servers, networks, computers and systems to use can be invaluable. 

One of the most in-demand skills at the moment is cybersecurity skills and experience. Being able to access the wealth of knowledge and expertise in this field through your MSP team can help you build solid defenses against cyber risks and threats and help to avoid costly privacy and data breaches that could render your company inoperable or bankrupt.

3. Retain company knowledge

IT professionals frequently change jobs and careers, as their skills are increasingly in-demand. If you’re plagued by a high turnover of IT staff, you could be losing invaluable in-house knowledge and you may spend lots of valuable time on hiring, onboarding and training new IT staff.

To avoid that, you can outsource your IT service to an MSP who will retain your company knowledge. That means you no longer have to spend hours onboarding, training and hiring new staff. 

In addition, many MSPs provide services that can be scaled up or down, as required and in line with your budget. That provides added flexibility.

4. Save on IT costs

There are various ways you can save costs by having managed IT services from an outsourced provider. 

Firstly, you may save costs of having to continuously hire and train new in-house IT staff. 

If you use your MSP’s data centers and servers, you can also reduce the amount of IT infrastructure you need on-site. And by reducing the number of in-house staff, you can reduce the size of your office infrastructure needed in terms of desks, bathrooms etc.

Having an MSP at a fixed monthly cost also helps you to budget and scale your operations, and can often work out more cost effective than full time staff whom you need to pay salaries, benefits, healthcare and pensions for. 

Finally, by having around the clock support and active monitoring of risks and threats, you may help to avoid costly lawsuits for data and privacy breaches due to hacks and ransomware.

Final thoughts on why a managed service provider (MSP) makes sense

Are you keen to hire a professional, experienced and reputable MSP to manage all your IT service needs?

NB Technology is based in Belmont, North Carolina, and provides a range of IT services including managed IT services. This includes IT systems monitoring, remote and on-site technical support, ransomware and malware protection, network and firewall management, WiFi management, server and PC backup management, and vendor management. 

Contact us at (704) 644-1220 for a no obligation consultation to discuss your managed IT services needs and any inquiries you may have.