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Choosing between outsourced IT support vs in-house IT is an important decision for growing businesses. As your organisation expands, managing everything from employee devices and Microsoft 365 to cybersecurity and backups can be challenging. With an estimated 600 hours saved per organisation per year when using an effective IT Help Desk, there’s no doubt seeking IT support is a good idea. It’s simply a question of which type to go for.
This guide will share everything you need to know to make the right decision for your organisation.
What is In-House IT Support?
Internal IT support means employing your own internal tech staff or department to work directly within your organisation. They manage and maintain your organisation’s technology infrastructure, handling everything from troubleshooting hardware and software issues to network security, system customisation, and helpdesk assistance.
Because they are in-house, it means you employ them and have full control. If you have any IT issues, you can go straight to them, and they can sort them for you.
What is Outsourced IT Support?
Outsourced IT support means seeking out IT support from an external third party, like a managed service provider. It is more flexible, in that it can be an extension of an existing internal IT team or be fully outsourced.
What is the Difference Between In-House and Outsourced IT Support?
The biggest difference is where your expertise and resources come from. With in-house IT, you employ your own people and are responsible for recruiting, training, and developing the team.
With outsourced IT support, you work with an external provider that supplies the expertise and services your business requires.
| In-House IT | Outsourced IT Support | |
| Staffing | Your own employees | External IT provider |
| Expertise | Depends on internal team | Access to a wide range of specialists |
| Recruitment & training | Your responsibility | Provider’s responsibility |
| Scalability | May require additional recruitment | Support can scale with requirements |
| Availability | Depends on team | Depends on provider’s support hours |
| Business knowledge | Direct knowledge of your organisation | Developed through onboarding and ongoing support |
| Cybersecurity | Managed internally | Can be supported by specialist teams |
| IT Strategy | Managed internally | Can be provided by external specialists |
| Costs | Employment and technology costs | Usually monthly or contracted service |
Neither option is explicitly right for every business. The best approach depends on your business size, IT complexity, and budget, internal expertise and future plans.
How Much Does In-House IT Support Cost?
One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make when comparing in-house IT with outsourced support is looking just at an employee’s salary. But the true cost can be far more than this. It can include:
- Salaries
- Employer National Insurance contributions
- Pension contributions
- Recruitment costs
- Training and professional development
- IT management tools
- Cybersecurity software
- Backup solutions
- Hardware
- Software and licensing
- Holiday and sickness cover
- Additional specialists when required
On top of this, a single IT employee may also have limitations in certain specialist areas, such as cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, or Microsoft 365.
As your business grows, you may need to employ additional IT staff or bring in external specialists to cover those areas.
How Much Does Outsourced IT Support Cost?
Outsourced IT support is commonly charged through a monthly service agreement, although pricing models can vary between providers. They also vary based on:
- Number of users
- Number of devices
- Services included
- Level of support
- Support hours
- Cybersecurity requirements
- Licensing (e.g. Microsoft 365)
- Additional projects or consultancy
One of the advantages of a managed IT support model is that many ongoing IT costs can be consolidated into a predictable monthly service.
However, it’s important to look beyond the headline price when comparing providers. A cheaper package may not include the same level of cybersecurity, monitoring, support, or expertise as another provider.
Read more: How Much Does Managed IT Support Cost for Small Businesses in the UK?
Benefits of In-House IT Support
Direct control over IT operations
With in-house IT support, your organisation has full control over its technology infrastructure. From setting priorities to managing resources, having an internal IT team ensures your IT strategy aligns with your business objectives. This allows for quicker decision-making and the ability to customise solutions to fit unique operational needs.
Quicker response times
An internal IT team is always on-site or readily available, which can translate to faster response times when issues arise. This makes communication straightforward.
Deeper knowledge of your business
An internal IT team works closely with your organisation every day, giving them a more intimate understanding of your systems, workflows, and targets. This close understanding helps them design and implement tailored solutions that support your business specifically.
Direct control
With in-house IT support, your organisation retains full control of your IT team. This can be particularly useful for organisations with highly specific or complex technology requirements.
Drawbacks of In-House IT Support
Limited specialist expertise
When you hire an internal IT team, you need to account for different technologies and disciplines. One IT professional might be great at troubleshooting and infrastructure, but have less experience with areas such as cybersecurity, cloud architecture or Microsoft 365.
Building a team of professionals that covers all specialist expertise can become expensive.
Limited scalability
Scaling an internal in-house IT team can be a slow and complex process. More employees mean more devices, accounts, software, security requirements, and support requests. This undeniably adds up in costs. Not to mention the additional recruitment and employment costs.
High costs
Building and maintaining an in-house IT team requires a large financial commitment. From hiring skilled individuals to investing in training, tools, and equipment, costs can add up quickly. For smaller organisations or those with smaller budgets, this may present a barrier.
Limited time
If you have an urgent issue outside of hours or when your IT support engineer is on annual leave, how do you deal with it? If your business operates long hours or your engineer is off, it can be difficult to navigate issues.
Need to be easily replaced
Another concern is when staff resign. Staff must be quickly replaced to maintain the level of support your organisation requires. It often takes months to recruit, let alone train staff.
Benefits of Outsourced IT Support
Lower and more predictable costs
With a managed IT support agreement, businesses can often budget for IT through monthly costs. This can make expenditure easier to plan compared with unexpected repair costs or the expense of recruiting additional specialists.
Easier to scale
An outsourced IT team can easily scale with your business. You don’t need to hire or make anyone redundant as you scale your organisation. This flexibility makes growth far easier to manage.
Greater focus on proactive support
Traditional IT support can often focus on fixing problems after they occur. With a managed IT support agreement, a proactive approach is taken. This means identifying potential issues and maintaining technology before problems cause significant disruption.
Additional support when needed
A small business might not need a full-time cybersecurity specialist, cloud engineer or Microsoft 365 expert, but want expertise from time to time.
Outsourced IT support means you can access specialists when required without having to employ each specialist internally.
Drawbacks of Outsourced IT Support
Less direct control
When working with an external organisation rather than employees who sit within your business, it is important to establish clear communication processes, responsibilities, and expectations.
Finding the right provider
IT providers all differ significantly in terms of expertise, services, response times, pricing, and the industries they specialise in. Businesses need to carefully assess what is included in a contract instead of focusing solely on price.
Communication
An outsourced IT provider needs clear processes for reporting and escalating issues. Before signing a contract, ensure these are clear:
- What are the support hours?
- What response times are offered?
- How are urgent issues escalated?
- Is onsite support available?
- Who is responsible for different areas of IT?
What About a Hybrid Support Model?
You don’t necessarily need to choose between in-house IT support and outsourced support. A hybrid model combines internal IT staff with external IT support. For example. You could have an internal IT team handling:
- Business-specific systems
- Internal IT projects
- Day-today priorities
While having an external IT team helping with:
- Cybersecurity
- Monitoring
- Backup
- Out-of-hours support
- Specialist expertise
- Major projects
For growing businesses, this can give you additional expertise without requiring the internal team to manage every aspect of IT alone.
Outsourced IT Support for Sheffield Businesses
For businesses in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, choosing an IT support provider can also involve considering how much local and onsite support you need.
Many IT issues can be resolved remotely, but there are situations where having access to local technicians can be useful.
When comparing IT support in Sheffield, consider:
- Remote and on-site support options
- Support hours
- Response times
- Cybersecurity expertise
- Microsoft 365 expertise
- Proactive monitoring
- Backup and disaster recovery
- Industry knowledge
- Scalability as you grow
Daffodil IT provides managed IT support for businesses across Sheffield and South Yorkshire, combining remote technical support with local expertise where required.
Which is Right for Your Business?
There are several factors to consider when deciding between outsourced and in-house IT support.
How complex is your IT environment?
A business with relatively straightforward technology setups may have very different requirements from one operating across multiple locations with complex infrastructure.
Do you need dedicated IT staff every day?
If your business doesn’t require a full-time IT professional, outsourcing may provide access to technical support without the cost of employing someone full-time.
What happens when your IT person is unavailable?
Consider whether you have adequate cover for:
- Holidays
- Sickness
- Staff turnover
- Unexpected technical issues
Do you have sufficient cybersecurity expertise?
Cybersecurity requires specialist knowledge and ongoing attention. Does your current team have the expertise and resources to protect your systems, devices, and data?
How much are you currently spending on IT?
Take a look at your current IT costs, rather than simply comparing an employee’s salary with an MSP’s monthly fee.
Think about:
- Staff
- Hardware
- Software
- Licensing
- Cybersecurity
- Backups
- Training
- Specialist support
Is your business growing?
If you’re hiring employees, opening new locations or introducing new systems, think about how your IT requirements will change over the next few years.
Signs Your Business Could Benefit from Outsourced IT Support
It may be worth reviewing your current IT setup if:
- Your IT employee or team is struggling to keep up
- IT problems are taking employees away from their work
- Your business relies heavily on one person for IT knowledge
- You don’t have sufficient cybersecurity expertise
- Your IT support is mostly reactive
- You don’t have reliable backup and disaster recovery processes
- You’re struggling to manage Microsoft 365
- Your business is growing quickly
- You need access to specialist IT expertise
- You don’t have adequate IT cover when your internal resource is unavailable
How to Choose an Outsourced IT Support Provider
If you decide to explore outsourced IT support, don’t choose on price alone. Here are factors to consider:
Support and response time
Find out when support is available and how quickly different types of issues are responded to.
Cybersecurity expertise
Ask what cybersecurity services are included and how your provider will help protect your business.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Understand and ask how your data is protected and what would happen if your systems became unavailable.
Microsoft 365 expertise
If your business relies on Microsoft 365, make sure your provider has the knowledge to manage and secure the platform efficiently.
Scalability
Will this provider be able to support your business as it grows?
On-site support
If your business requires physical assistance, check whether on-site support is available and whether there are additional charges.
Contracts and pricing
Understand exactly what’s included in your agreement, what is charged separately and whether there is a minimum contract period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is outsourced IT support cheaper than in-house IT?
It depends on your business’s requirements. However, when comparing the costs (and considering salaries, benefits, recruitment, training, software, etc.), outsourced is often cheaper.
What are the benefits of outsourced IT support?
Outsourced IT support can provide access to a wider range of expertise, proactive monitoring, specialist knowledge, and scalable support without requiring a business to build a large internal IT team.
Is outsourced IT support suitable for businesses in Sheffield?
Yes – outsourced IT support can be a practical solution for Sheffield businesses that need reliable IT support without the cost of maintaining a full in-house team.
How much does outsourced IT support cost?
The cost depends on factors such as the number of users and devices you have, the services you require, support hours, and level of expertise. Providers may use per-user, per-device, or monthly service pricing.
Which Should You Choose Between Outsourced or In-House
Ultimately, the decision between in-house or outsourced IT support depends on your organisation’s specific needs, resources, and long-term goals. While in-house IT support allows for immediate familiarity with operations, outsourced IT support brings flexibility, breadth of knowledge, and scalability. For some businesses, a combination of the two is the best option.
The important thing is to assess your current IT requirements, cybersecurity risks, available expertise, and where your business is heading next.
Unsure whether your current setup is best for your business?
Daffodil IT provides managed IT support for businesses across Sheffield and South Yorkshire. We can help you assess your current IT environment and identify the level of support your business actually needs.
Get in touch with Daffodil IT to discuss your IT requirements.
