Since 64% of businesses use over a perabyte of data and 41% surpass that figure, secure IT services are a critical part of business operations. Choosing between managed services vs in-house IT is an important step toward keeping your information safe, organized, and accessible.
Here, we'll talk about both options and compare their benefits and downsides. Read on to make a more informed decision about whether you need managed IT services or internal IT.
Understanding Managed Services
The first question you may ask when choosing business technology is: what are managed IT services, exactly?
Managed IT services are a form of comprehensive outsourced IT. A managed service provider (MSP) trained in business technology will manage daily tasks like:
- Offering all-in-one services for keeping your data safe
- Monitoring hardware and software
- Monitoring systems for potential security issues
- Performing penetration testing and threat hunting
- Performing automated backups to keep your data safe and recoverable
- Configuring and managing data and applications on the cloud
- Providing telephony services to your network IPs
- Communicating about your IT infrastructure and required changes
- Answering business's questions about their technology
- Overseeing new software installations
- Making sure updates and upgrades go smoothly
Managed IT services perform these functions without the help of your business experts. For example, they may perform ethical hacking every six months to find vulnerabilities in your network infrastructure. While you'll know that this is happening, you won't need to do anything but sit back and hear the results.
These IT management strategies are hands-off for you and leave everything to formally trained professionals. You won't need to spend time monitoring your system 24/7 and can instead focus on developing core products and other business operations.
Key Benefits of Managed Services
Managed services offer a wide range of benefits beyond simply saving businesses time.
They're more scalable than in-house IT.
If your business is growing, you can simply purchase more space on managed IT servers rather than buying new hardware. If you need to downsize, you can ask to decrease your storage without worrying about getting rid of hardware and software.
This scalability is cost-effective since you won't pay for more than you use.
Managed IT services also cut costs by:
- Eliminating the need to hire in-house IT experts that would need onboarding/salaries/benefits
- Operating on a predictable fixed fee, making budgeting an easy task
- Minimizing downtime with consistent operations
- Decreasing the chances of a $4.88 million data breach
Access to specialized expertise is yet another major advantage of getting managed IT services. MSPs:
- Are trained in how to use various network technologies
- Have extensive experience in troubleshooting problems
- Own and understand the technology needed to manage IT infrastructure effectively
- Have an educational background that offers advanced IT knowledge
Beyond that, some other benefits of managed IT services include:
- Avoiding the large upfront costs of hiring in-house support
- A reliable point of contact for IT support
- An understanding of industry standards for better compliance
- Letting you save energy for core business functions
Challenges Working With a Managed Services Provider
While managed services offer numerous benefits, there are potential challenges to keep in mind. They include:
- Reduced control over IT operations
- The potential for communication delays
- Dependency on external providers for your in-house operations
However, choosing a reliable MSP mitigates these challenges by:
- Letting you discuss the updates and upgrades that matter to you
- Giving you quick answers to questions and concerns
- Communicating about potential changes due to upgrades
- Explanations of why each action is important for security or user-friendly operations
This lets you have the peace of mind that your operations are in good hands
Understanding In-House IT
In-house IT is unlike managed IT since it refers to a company's own internal IT department. Instead of outsourcing your needs to a reliable MSP, your organization will directly employ IT professionals to manage and maintain your network infrastructure.
Businesses:
- Set up IT job listings
- Interview potential candidates
- Train and onboard IT experts
- Pay in-house IT professionals a fair salary with benefits
- Pay for network and application maintenance
- Offer consistent training to IT employees
This model provides businesses with complete control over their technology framework. However, it also comes with high operational costs.
Key Benefits of Having an In-House IT Team
Many businesses prefer in-house IT because they want direct control over their technology. These IT management strategies don't require businesses to turn over their network information and data to a third-party provider.
On-site availability also offers convenience to some businesses. However, when you work with an MSP that has a round-the-clock helpdesk, you can also get answers to all your questions and immediate help.
In-house IT teams also may have a deeper understanding of the company's processes. They're trained specifically by your business and know precisely what you need to accomplish.
Challenges of Maintaining an In-House IT Team
Unfortunately, there is a wide range of challenges that come with maintaining in-house IT teams.
Costs are significantly higher because in-house experts need full salaries and benefits packages. You also don't usually reap the benefits of someone with as much unique and specialized experience as an MSP could offer.
Recruitment and retention of employees can also be challenging. Hiring completely falls to your business, and it can be disastrous when people quit. People switch jobs every three years or so, which can leave your technology infrastructure unprotected.
Scalability is also difficult. You need to personally buy more hardware and software to stay ahead. Technology also changes rapidly and can be difficult for your employees to manage.
Because quality MSPs like ThinkSecureNet keep you informed about changes and potential problems, the complete control you get with in-house IT usually isn't worth it.
Comparing Managed Services vs In-House IT
Some benefits of managed service provider teams include:
- Cost
- Expertise
- Flexibility
- Scalability
There are several reasons that in-house providers cannot offer these things. They don't have the resources to scale up and down without paying for new systems, and this costs a lot of money. Luckily, MSPs can help you cut costs and get quality services.
Cost Comparison
Some of the biggest outsourcing-IT-services benefits are financial.
Managed services offer:
- Pay-as-you-go and subscription model options
- Fixed upfront rates
- Predictable costs over time
In-house IT requires:
- Higher initial setup costs
- More ongoing costs including salaries/benefits
- Constant purchases of new tools/equipment
- Ongoing expensive training for employees
According to CompTIA surveys, an IT manager makes about $113,000. When you outsource to an MSP, you can cut costs by around 40%. This means you save about $45,200 annually with managed IT providers.
Flexibility and Scalability
Managed services often offer greater scalability. In-house IT may struggle with rapid changes in your business needs.
This is because managed services can quickly scale IT resources based on demand. All you need to do is make a request to scale.
With in-house IT, scaling requires hiring new staff and investing in additional resources.
Level of Expertise: MSP vs Internal IT
When considering your options, you also should consider the level of expertise you'll get with managed services vs in-house IT.
Experienced providers at managed service companies bring diverse expertise, while in-house IT depends on the knowledge of a limited team. They have worked with businesses in several industries. MSPs also work with businesses of all sizes and know what methods will best manage your infrastructure.
Conversely, in-house IT is limited by the team's size and knowledge base.
Why Choose ThinkSecureNet as Your Managed Services Provider?
At ThinkSecureNet, our solutions are comprehensive. Our managed services don't just include the usual software monitoring and backups. We also offer 24/7 help desk support so you can come to us with any questions and concerns whenever they arise.
We also assist with business continuity by preventing downtime and managing applications to ensure they're running efficiently. Virtualization technology ensures that your business operates at maximum capacity. You'll save time and resources while maintaining the best possible performance.
ThinkSecureNet also delivers several other services and solutions with MSP packages, including:
- Reliable communication that combines voice/SMS/live chat/email technologies
- Offering data analytics to users
- A stronger infrastructure with access control/mass notifications/structured cabling
- Infrastructure solutions engineered by our team to meet unique business needs
- Endpoint-to-endpoint network monitoring
- Threat detection and data encryption for better cyber security
- Security protection for mobile devices and cloud data
- Disaster recovery solutions with regular testing and incident management
- Asset lifecycle management to protect data and decrease downtime
Unlike other providers, we also can act either as your IT team or as an extension of your internal IT team. You can rely on ThinkSecureNet regardless of your specific situation.
If you have a limited budget and need cost-effective IT solutions, we have you covered. We also have your back if you have an IT team but need additional support and expertise.
With over 15 years of experience, there isn't much that ThinkSecureNet's team can't do.
Reap the Benefits of Managed Services Today
Now that you know the ins and outs of managed services vs in-house IT, it's time to work with ThinkSecureConnect to get the most out of your IT budget.
Our all-in-one service manages everything under one roof so you can remain organized and stress-free. Our USA-based team is excited to provide local support to clients, and we have industry-specific expertise to address the unique needs of different business sectors.
Contact our team to learn more or get started with managed services today!
