Is outsourcing IT cheaper than an in-house team?

As your business grows, you may find IT requirements becoming more complex. You could have more employees, devices and systems to manage, alongside increasing cybersecurity requirements and the need to keep your operations running smoothly.

There may come a point in time when you start to consider hiring an in-house IT employee or outsourcing your IT support to a managed service provider (MSP).

Having someone in-house who understands your business is potentially beneficial. However, the cost of employing an IT professional could be more than you initially planned, particularly when additional employment costs are taken into account.

IT downtime is another important consideration. UK small businesses with 11–50 employees lose an average of£7,500 a year due to system disruption, with 92% of businesses taking 24 hours or more to fully recover from a serious outage.

Your team may currently be weighing up whether outsourcing IT is cheaper than hiring in-house. The answer depends on your business, but understanding the full costs of each option can help you make a more well-informed decision.

What are the costs of hiring IT in-house?

When examining the cost of an in-house IT employee, it's fundamental to look beyond annual salary. Employing someone permanently comes with additional expenses that could increase your overall investment. 

These may include:

• Employer National Insurance

Contributions increase the total cost of employing a member of staff.

• Pension contributions

Employer contributions to a workplace pension add to your ongoing employment costs.

• Training and development

IT professionals need to keep deepening their knowledge as technologies, software and cybersecurity threats evolve.

• Equipment and software

Employees will possibly need suitable hardware, software licences and specialist tools to carry out their role effectively.

You may also have to account for recruitment costs, onboarding, employee benefits and future salary increases.

For a small or medium business, these expenses can make employing a dedicated IT professional a significant financial commitment. It’s also sensible to assess whether one person's skills and availability will be sufficient to meet all your IT requirements.

Can one IT employee cover everything?

Understandably, having one reliable person who knows the business well and can resolve technical problems when they arise can be helpful for an SME.

Modern IT covers a wide range of responsibilities, including helpdesk support, network management, cloud services, cybersecurity, backups and infrastructure maintenance.

Finding one person with in-depth experience across every area can be challenging. Even a highly capable IT professional will have limits on their knowledge and capacity.

There’s also the question of holiday and sickness cover. If your sole IT employee takes annual leave or becomes unwell, who will respond when an employee can’t access an essential system or a critical service stops working?

You may need to rely on colleagues with limited technical knowledge or arrange external support at short notice. This can introduce unexpected costs and additional pressure on your teams. 

As your business grows, you may eventually need additional employees to provide the specialist knowledge and availability your organisation requires. This can increase your overall employment costs even further.

How can your business benefit from outsourcing IT?

Outsourcing IT to a managed service provider gives your business access to a team of professionals, rather than relying on the knowledge and availability of one individual.

Instead of employing several people to cover these responsibilities, you can access a broader range of expertise for a predictable monthly fee with a managed IT support provider. The cost will depend on factors such as your number of users and devices or the complexity of your systems.

For many UK SMEs, this approach can offer several practical benefits.

• More predictable costs

A monthly managed IT support agreement can make budgeting easier by setting out the services included and their associated costs.

•  Access to specialist expertise

You benefit from professionals with different technical skills without needing to recruit each specialist directly.

• Greater continuity

A support team should provide cover when individual technicians are unavailable, reducing your reliance on one person's knowledge.

• Proactive maintenance

Regular monitoring and maintenance can help identify potential problems before they cause significant disruption.

Outsourcing doesn't eliminate every IT risk or guarantee that downtime won't occur. However, the right provider can help you manage systems more consistently and reduce reliance on reactive emergency support.

Browse more information in our article: Outsourcing IT vs hiring in-house: How UK SMEs should decide

Why a tailored IT support quote could be the answer

Ultimately, there isn't one right answer for every business. An organisation with complex infrastructure and substantial internal IT requirements may benefit from an in-house employee or a combination of internal and external support.

For other UK SMEs, outsourcing may provide a more practical way to access the expertise and ongoing maintenance they need without the additional responsibilities of employing a dedicated IT team.

The important thing is to compare the full cost of employing someone internally against the services and level of support offered by a managed IT provider.

At Integrity, we take a tailored approach to managed IT support. By understanding your current systems and business requirements, we help you explore an approach that fits your organisation.

Get a tailored IT support quote and see how outsourcing compares with the cost of an in-house team.