How Much Does an In-House IT Department Cost vs Outsourcing?

In this ever-evolving business environment, success is dependent on pricey technology. Making the best choice between directly hiring and outsourcing when managing your IT can be complex, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. Here are the hidden costs of recruiting internally vs the cost-effective advantage of outsourcing IT services.

Hidden Costs of Hiring Internally

The pros and cons of employing internally vs. outsourcing are constantly up for discussion. Some refuse to abandon their internal IT staff because they fear change or are reluctant to part ways with those who have access to their data. 

Pay Range

Determining how much your IT services person will be paid is the easiest cost to consider. You will need to spend at least USD 60,000 a year on an adequate IT service professional. A good tech is probably closer to USD 90,000 a year in terms of salary. The greatest IT workers can easily ask for and receive salaries of more than USD 144,000. That is a sizable portion of many small business budgets.

Even if you have allocated USD 60-150k, this has yet to include other bonuses and perks you’ll need to entice a quality IT service specialist. Your overall total may hinder the growth of a small firm or even cause it to fail outright.

Recruitment Fees

The benefits of hiring an internal IT team go beyond just the compensation. You will spend time and money on the hiring, onboarding, training, retraining, and certification processes. 

Keep in mind that certifications are required to guarantee that your personnel is knowledgeable about the most recent technologies and that your business won’t lag behind. Payroll, health insurance benefits, and other paperwork-related administrative costs are also included. You can also factor in the price of purchasing new workplace furnishings and IT equipment.

Turnover Costs

Replacing an employee is another hidden cost associated with internal spending. According to research, the typical employment term of the millennial population is three years. The compensation package should be competitive if your business wants to hire individuals with higher levels of education and training.

The cost of lost production is in addition to the increase in employee pay. It may take some time for new hires to adjust and reach the former employee’s level of production. You should also consider the cost of disengagement among other employees in the same department.

Downtime Costs

In-house IT teams cannot ensure 99.9% availability compared to outsourcing from Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Research shows that 25% of small businesses estimated the hourly cost of downtime for their operations to be almost one year’s worth of salary, which is a sizeable sum.

Downtime is a significant concern for SMBs today since it causes delays to corporate operations and lowers employee productivity. This excludes the potential for consequential data loss, corrupt backups, or security breaches that may occur while the system is unavailable.

Hardware and Software Costs

Regular hardware and software upgrades come at a cost, not to mention the time it takes to monitor and make sure these are all working properly.

Underspending on IT won’t cut it if you want to have an effectively managed IT system. If the workplace is subpar and your hardware and software are unable to proactively reduce potential risk, you won’t be able to keep an IT department professional. These costs can quickly accumulate, and you might discover that choosing an externally provisioned solution like ZenAdmin is more affordable and scalable.

Inadequate IT Support Costs

Business owners and managers have a lot of thoughts on IT management because of how it affects employee productivity.  Switching to outsourced IT with the correct MSP is a no-brainer, especially when you sit down and calculate how much your unproductive employees are costing you, usually operating at 50% capacity when support issues go unresolved.

Financial Advantages of IT Outsourcing

Managed IT Services give your company access to the resources it needs to prosper financially while saving you from a number of hurdles and additional spending. Here are some additional ways an IT service provider can help your business make money, raise customer happiness, and enhance your organization’s agility:

Infrastructure Costs

You can reduce on-site infrastructure and relocate it to your MSP’s data centers when you outsource your IT to an MSP like ZenAdmin. Not only does this reduce the cost of hardware, it also reduces the amount of energy and storage space required. You’ll also see the savings on licensing, consulting, training, and monitoring costs.

Expert-Level Assistance

Time is money. Projects can be delayed by IT issues, and the time spent trying to fix them costs money too. Outsourcing your IT to ZenAdmin gets you instant access to professionals who can fix your IT issues and get you back on track in no time. More skill sets are available through IT outsourcing than can be handled by a few in-house IT staff.

Scalability

You can scale your business up or down without worrying about how IT can be integrated into it if you work with an MSP. Your business grows, and so does the infrastructure supporting it. Even if you add 5, 10, or 20 additional employees, an MSP like ZenAdmin can still handle them. Managed IT Services give your company flexibility, especially in the early stages when there is rapid growth and constant change.

As a small to medium-sized business owner, you want to ensure that you are receiving the service that you paid for. You will benefit from proactive assistance, enhanced security, the newest software and technology, and more when ZenAdmin is your partner.

Device Administration

The installation and proactive administration of MDM software throughout your IT infrastructure is frequently included in outsourced IT support services. Working with an IT solutions provider like ZenAdmin will provide you access to MDM experts who can tailor the policies they implement to your unique company requirements or cutting-edge security protocols.

Read more about What MDM (Mobile Device Management) Is and How It Works.

MDM software may be charged by certain suppliers, but others cover the expense. This gives you access to your device inventory and compliance while enabling your organization to take business-critical actions such as security, patching, imaging, and upgrading without the need for technical skills.

So… Should Your Business Outsource or Hire Directly?

Every business has a unique strategy and set of requirements, so you must decide which variables are most significant in order to successfully run your organization. However, outsourcing will be more cost-effective for small to medium-sized businesses.

Read more on How You Can Have an IT Department Without Hiring a Single IT Person.

Outsourcing IT services can minimize expensive downtime associated with an employee whose knowledge isn’t always needed and can lower the hidden costs of recruitment or turnovers.

Know more about the Secret to Seamless IT Management.

Make IT Easy With ZenAdmin

ZenAdmin is available to assist you with all of your IT needs, allowing you to concentrate on what’s really important – your business. Let our experts handle the finer issues, giving you the best IT structures and processes to support you and your company. Book a free demo session today!