When to Hire In-House and When to Outsource Your IT Staff?

Whether you’re a growing startup, a small or medium-scale organization, or a large enterprise, there’s no denying the fact that every business largely depends on technology in order to operate daily.

Hiring Information Technology (IT) specialists is critical in managing your business processes. IT professionals are responsible for providing the infrastructure for automation, governance of your computer and operating systems, and managing, developing, and securing electronic data that belongs to your organization. At its core, a good IT department should keep your business safe, online, and well-functioning.

We’ve established that hiring your own team of dependable IT staff is of great importance for your business’ infrastructure, but so is keeping your costs manageable. And so you find yourself in a dilemma — should you outsource IT services or should you hire an in-house team for your IT staff? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the two options before you make a decision.

Outsourced IT services

An outsourced IT professional refers to a provider that can fulfill all or some aspects of the IT requirements of your business. Outsource IT services can vary depending on your organizational needs; some companies may hire outsourced IT providers for infrastructure support and IT consultancy and keep an in-house team for device management and technical support.

Pros

• Lessen IT costs - Installing an IT infrastructure that includes servers, storage, networks, and other IT assets can be extremely pricey. By hiring outsource IT services, you can save on fixed IT costs and transform these into variable costs and allow you to budget more effectively by paying for only what you use.

• Reduce labor costs - Hiring and training an IT staff can also be very expensive. With an outsourced IT team, you can enjoy the expertise of an experienced and highly-skilled IT team at a fraction of your usual labor costs.

• Flexibility and availability - Outsourced IT providers often offer 24/7 tech support plans. With IT firms, you can enjoy uninterrupted service as most of these providers have the latest innovative hardware and software solutions so your business can enjoy guaranteed uptime.

• Security - Data protection is a specialized area that outsourced IT firms can offer. Because they have access to the latest business technology security tools and solutions, you can expect that they have the means to safeguard your organization’s sensitive data from hacking and other digital threats.

Cons

• Lack of internal familiarity - An outsourced IT provider might be less familiar with your existing infrastructure compared to an internal team. Inform your outsourced provider well with your internal infrastructure and processes before onboarding for a smooth transition.

• Lack of coordination - Choosing a third-party team to handle your IT support may mean shifting control, especially when you also have an existing internal team.

In-house IT staff

Pros

• Availability and timeliness - With an in-house team, you can be guaranteed that your IT specialists are always available whenever there’s a problem. Downtime can be minimized and technical issues can be resolved immediately since they report directly to your office.

• Familiarity with your organization - Unlike with an outsourced provider, you don’t have to explain network protocol anymore since they likely set up your network. Being onsite all the time also gives them the edge of familiarity with your business processes, which can be helpful when you need something quickly done. Miscommunications are also less likely.

Cons

• Retention and training - Hiring and training an internal team can be expensive and take away your valuable time, which can be pooled to other resources for your business.

• Limitations - When you hire in-house IT staff, you’re usually just limited to the skills they possess when, in fact, the IT industry is filled with people of varying skill sets and expertise, which is something you can access through an outsourced IT firm.

• Working hours - Most in-house IT staff only work during business hours and are susceptible to vacation leaves and sick leaves. In contrast, most outsourced IT firms can provide round-the-clock support past business hours, including weekends and holidays.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you want to get the highest quality of work while keeping your costs at a minimum when it comes to getting things done. As you weigh various factors before making your hiring decision, evaluate your business’ IT needs and how your choice of IT specialists can help you fulfill these.