The Cost of Internal IT Support VS. IT Service Provider

One struggle in particular is whether to hire an in-house IT tech or to outsource IT support for their business. As managed services for small businesses grow, the list of choices – and decisions – has grown once again.

To help you with that, let’s look at the IT support choices currently available, as well as some of the costs involved. In this blog, we will provide some estimates around the costs involved, but remember that the actual cost of IT support services can vary greatly, based on the needs of each business.

Self-Managed IT Support

According to PayScale.com, the national median income for an in-house IT tech is currently running at a little over $45,000 per year, with the upper end of that range reaching nearly $66,000 annually; and this does not include the cost of health benefits and other related overhead expenses. For more experienced technicians, the median pay rate is above $50,000 annually, with the upper range much closer to $71,000 yearly.

If we choose a salary of $47,000 for the purpose of this comparison, we must then add the cost of benefits, sick pay, vacation time and your annual payroll tax. These will total approximately $12,000 a year. Your IT tech will want to purchase an IT management system application, which all in could cost $2,500. Not to mention, the total for one-time expenses will range from $3,500 to $10,000, depending on the number of user desktops involved. Now your IT tech total cost of salary and benefits would be around $65,000 per year — and could be more.

Outsourcing Your IT Support

For many small business owners, outsourcing their IT support needs may seem to expensive due to the hourly rate that some companies charge. However, this type of support can be extremely cost-effective because of the expertise being purchased and the experience the techs who visit are able to offer. Further, you should easily be able to budget for the monthly expense, based on the network and system evaluation and recommendations of the managed service provider you employ as your IT support team.

A responsible IT services company will always begin with an objective assessment of your current IT infrastructure, along with recommendations for the work they will perform to meet your needs. This can greatly reduce the cost of IT support for your small business and help close security gaps, rather than hiring an in-house tech and paying an annual salary, as discussed above.

The IT services provider techs usually possess a great deal more experience than an employee, as they deal with a variety of systems every day. In most cases, there will be little they have not seen, which will allow them to handle your specific needs more efficiently. Further, they will most likely assign a particular technician to your account, someone who will visit you regularly, allowing them to become intimately familiar with your IT setup and the needs of your business.

Best of all, your IT service will always be hands-on, with a live human being in place to answer your questions.

For the average small business, you should probably budget for something between $50 and $115 per employee, per month — a vast savings over hiring an in-house IT tech. The cost of managed IT support can vary greatly, depending upon the age and number of servers and desktops being used in your organization.