01 / RESOURCES / THE SUGARSHOT BLOG

The Real Cost of IT
Outsourcing Vs. Hiring
an IT Manager

Posted on February 4, 2019

As your company grows, you need to ensure employees have uninterrupted access to the programs they need to stay productive. In your search for an IT solution, you may be weighing the benefits of  IT outsourcing versus hiring an IT manager.  

 

The steep price tag of a full-time IT manager might make you wary to keep IT in house. In most cases, it’s not cost-effective for companies with less than 250 employees to hire a full-time IT manager when outsourcing IT is far cheaper and requires a lot less work. When you’re small, you also may not need the resources of a full-time manager all day every day, meaning your wasting money on a salary you don’t necessarily need.

Gain Expert Help With Outsourced IT

Just as you would hire an attorney to handle your legal matters or an accountant to prepare your taxes, you also need a professional to perform basic network maintenance. Outsourcing IT services gives you that professional help — but on your terms.  

 

Outsourced IT teams typically hire IT experts that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford on a salary. In this scenario, you gain the resources and expertise of IT managers, but only when you need it.   However, to have success with outsourced IT teams, you need to set up the right agreement. That’s where a fundamental understanding of the break-fix model versus managed IT services is critical.

Save More With the Right Outsourced IT Arrangement

If you truly understand the cost of your time and factor in employee productivity, the managed IT services model is considerably less expensive over time than the “break-fix” model.   Not only is regular network maintenance critical to warding off cyber threats, but managed IT services also focuses on prevention rather than cleaning up messes after they’ve done costly damage to your business.  

 

Under a “break-fix” model — in which the consultant only addresses issues as they arise — there is a fundamental conflict of interests between you and your IT firm.   IT consultants have no incentive to stabilize your computer network or resolve problems quickly because they get paid hourly. The risk of unforeseen circumstances, scope creep, learning curves, inefficiencies and outright incompetence are all shifted to you, the customer.  

 

These companies essentially profit from your problems, which is precisely what you don’t want. Under this model, the IT consultant can assign a low-paid junior technician to work on your issue. This person could take two to three times as long to resolve the problem than a senior technician. Consultants don’t benefit from properly managing their time or efficiency so there is every reason for them to prolong the project and find more problems than solutions.  

 

Of course, if they’re ethical and want to keep you as a client, they should be doing everything possible to resolve your problems quickly and efficiently.   Second, it creates a management problem for you, the customer, who now has to keep tabs on the hours they’ve worked to make sure you aren’t getting overbilled. And because you often have no way to really know if they’ve worked the hours they claim, it creates a situation where you must have full faith the company is 100% ethical and is tracking their hours properly. The cost of IT projects can vary drastically from month to month, making budgeting a nightmare.

 
Interested in learning how managed IT services can help your company? Get your free network assessment today. 
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