Running a business takes far more than just having a functional email network. In today’s business world, it’s very difficult to thrive without some form of IT support. Having a strong IT team allows your business to receive all the benefits that come with technology while improving efficiencies and increasing productivity.
When it comes to acquiring IT consulting services, businesses typically have two options. The first is to hire an expert IT consultant to work in-house. The second is to outsource to a third-party IT consulting company.
We often see how business owners get stuck when trying to make a decision between the two options. That’s why we wanted to provide some important points to consider when deciding between hiring a in-house IT consultant vs partnering with an outsourced IT consulting service. Based on the points below, you can see the benefits of each and make the decision that’s best for your organization.
Cost comparison
The biggest difference you’ll find when hiring a full-time IT consultant compared to outsourcing your IT will be the cost. Outsourcing allows you to save a considerable amount of money right out of the gate.
Most of the IT consultants who work for IT firms have previous experience working as in-house IT staff for companies like yours. Hence, they have a clear understanding on what businesses need in order to increase efficiencies while providing the support needed in a timely manner.
When you outsource to an IT consulting company, you’ll be receiving the skills of not just one person, but rather a full team of experienced IT consultants—without having to pay for an entire team. Each member has specialties ranging from network security to PC support, which makes for a well-rounded team that can tackle virtually any IT challenge. Best of all, the cost of managing the team is divided among multiple clients which means you’ll receive the expertise of many at a lower price tag.
But if you decide to hire an in-house IT consultant, you will have to account for a variety of expenses. At an hourly rate, you’ll spend around $50 per hour if you want an experienced IT manager. On an annual basis you’re looking at around $52,000 to $100,000 per year based on the expertise of the individual. Apart from salary, you may have to provide additional benefits including vacation time, training, health insurance, overtime, etc. This would easily double your expenditure. As the employer, you’ll also be expected to provide incremental salary increases every year in order to avoid turnover. In the end, you could be looking at spending upwards of $100,000 for an in-house IT consultant.
Accessibility
Saving money is not the only benefit you get with an outsourced IT consulting service. In fact, accessibility holds a prominent place too.
Once you partner with an outsourced IT consulting service, you can make sure that an expert is available to help and support your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It would be very difficult to get 24/7 hour support from an in-house IT member. If you want to achieve the same type of accessibility, you would need to hire multiple in-house team members in order to distribute the 24/7 workload.
When emails go down or your system crashes in the middle of the night, you’ll need to ensure you can get IT support right way to get you back up and running. That’s never a problem when you partner with an outsourced IT company—in fact, many guarantee 24/7 support. Having that option allows you to make quick decisions and fix what’s needed without it affecting your business flow.
Improve efficiencies
Business efficiency plays a major role in the success (or downfall) of your business. An outsourced IT company will be able to analyze your current systems and make recommendations. You may be several years behind in technology which would make you vulnerable to cyber attacks and more. An outsourced IT company can recommend new technologies, increase network security and keep you connected to your data 24/7. When a company is working at peak performance it results in higher productivity, increased sales and improved processes.
An in-house IT consulting expert will not be able to perform a 360-degree analysis of your current processes while simultaneously dealing with all the IT requests of your staff. In the end, they’ll be more reactive than proactive.
Expertise and experience
Would your email be better suited for Outlook or Gmail? Is Microsoft Teams a good platform for you? What CRM would be a better fit...Salesforce, Zendesk or another? These are questions that are important in today’s ever-changing world.
The truth is that no one person can have all the answers. When you hire an in-house IT member, they’ll be limited to the platforms and products they’ve worked with in the past. Which means they’ll likely make recommendations based on their experience, rather than what’s best for your business.
An outsourced IT consultant company isn’t limited to one person’s experience. They rely on the expertise of several members and the background that each member has from working with different industries. Therefore you’ll receive recommendations that are tailored to your business and its needs. When it comes to business, one size doesn’t fit all. That’s why it’s crucial to have an IT partner that will look at your business objectively and find the best tools for your business.
Final words
So what’s the best option? Well, there’s really not a clear winner; it truly depends on your company’s size, budget and business needs. However, when it comes to small and mid-size businesses, outsourcing is typically the best option. If you’re a larger company, you may have the budget to hire a full team and keep your IT support in-house. Either way, there are multiple factors to consider when deciding whether to stay in-house or outsource. It’s an important decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Regardless of your size, Bonded Networks can help ensure that you’ll never have to worry about IT again. You’ll be able focus on growing your business, we’ll focus on your IT. Together we’ll take your business to the next level. Contact us today for a no-obligation price quote today.