Are you struggling to decide whether to outsource your IT or keep it in-house? Is your business growing, and you think outsourcing could be an option? Maybe you have differing opinions from people within your organisation. Wherever your business is at, the decision isn’t easy.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of in-house and outsourced IT support. If you’re nervous about going one way or the other, we also introduce a ‘best of both worlds’ option.
Advantages of outsourced IT support
Cost savings
Although there are now many more benefits to outsourcing IT than solely cost savings, it remains a major factor for decision makers. An IT manager can command salaries of £32,000 up to as high as £100,000. And then there are the IT technical support workers, who can quickly expect salaries of £35,000.
Outsourcing also eliminates the need to train employees, which can be expensive for IT staff that require varied and continuous training each year.
Other cost savings of outsourcing IT can include:
- Technology and software
- Renting of premises
- Improved streamlining
Calculate how much you will save by outsourcing your IT when weighing up all options, as it will vary for each business.
Disadvantages of outsourced IT support
IT outsourcing means handing over potentially confidential information to a third party and allowing them full control. These concerns can be eased by fully researching the Managed Service Provider (MSP) to ensure they are trusted and safe.
These are some things to look out for when deciding whether to trust an IT outsourcing company:
- Make sure they work in compliance with international security standards
- Check the company is experienced. Ask for some references from previous clients.
- Ensure the company is financially healthy
- Monitor how efficiently they respond to you. If they are slow and unclear, this could be a red flag.
- Check how flexible they are
The more information you can gather about an MSP, the easier it is to determine if they’re a trustworthy choice for your business.
Advantages of in-house IT support
Increased control and quicker response times
One of main benefits of keeping your IT in-house is increased control. Your IT team will become familiar with your end users and the day-to-day running of the business. This information comes in handy when trying to resolve issues as quickly as possible.
And because IT staff are onsite, they can act more quickly in an emergency than an outsourcing company. This approach often suits end users who like to communicate their issues face-to-face or those with less patience.
Disadvantages of in-house IT support
High costs
The high costs associated with in-house IT cannot be overlooked. This is often true for smaller companies, where labour costs and resources don’t provide a clear enough cost-benefit.
Other disadvantages of in-house IT support include:
- Management challenges because of less structure
- Staff sickness, holidays and absence halting progress and staff availability
- Lack of innovation leading to lack of streamlining and improving systems
Enjoy the best of both worlds with TechFlex
If you’re struggling to decide whether to outsource your IT functions or keep everything in-house, why not consider an option that provides the best of both worlds?
TechFlex from Total Group is a user-friendly dashboard where IT tickets can be raised easily from an all-in-one user interface. It can support cover for when members can’t be in the office for reasons such as sickness, annual leave and other absences. TechFlex allows IT staff to focus more on long term projects and less on smaller end-user problems.
To find out more about how TechFlex can help your business, contact Total Group today.