The Pros and Cons of In-House I.T. Management

Many business owners assume there are only two approaches to I.T. management: In-house staff or outsourced. While not all outsourced service providers offer it, there is a third option: Co-managed I.T. We briefly discussed this unique service model in a recent blog post. If your business is considering co-managed I.T. as an option, or if it currently relies solely on in-house I.T. staff, the below information will help you evaluate your options.

The Pros and Cons of In-House I.T. Management

As is the case with many things in business, there generally isn’t a one size fits all approach. While small businesses typically choose to outsource their I.T. management needs entirely, businesses that scale to 150 or more employees often choose to bring these responsibilities in-house with their own staff. And for good reason. There are many benefits to having in-house staff dedicated to I.T. management. At the same time, there are some disadvantages that are occasionally overlooked.

Pros

Cons

Typically, the individual or team can respond to the technical support needs of the staff very quickly, including hands-on support. The individual or team can have a deeper understanding of the company-specific line of business applications and other special systems. The individual or team oftentimes fulfills all I.T. management responsibilities, including the execution of major projects. The business maintains complete control over all I.T. decisions and business information, and doesn’t have to rely on or trust a third party.

Preventative maintenance and proactive efforts are often neglected, with day-to-day support and large projects taking priority. Cybersecurity tends to be weaker due to less oversight, fewer available defense mechanisms, and smaller incident response teams. I.T. planning is typically the responsibility of a single person, resulting in a narrow vision and biased approach. Lack of scalability with sudden fluctuations in I.T. support demand occasionally results in some employees having to wait days for technical support.

Augmenting In-House I.T. Management

Co-managed I.T. allows businesses to take advantage of the benefits of an in-house I.T. team while also addressing most of the disadvantages. Additionally, co-managed I.T. is a great way for businesses to reduce costs since it is less expensive than scaling up the in-house I.T. team or outsourcing the I.T. function entirely. Here are some other benefits you can expect to achieve when partnering with a mature co-managed I.T. service provider, such as Digital Boardwalk:

• A dedicated team focused solely on preventative maintenance and proactive support. Even if there are large projects happening or high demand for technical support, all the back-office tasks necessary to keep your systems running smoothly are completely consistently.
• A dedicated team focused solely on cybersecurity and compliance that is continuously auditing and remedying vulnerabilities in your technology.
• A dedicated virtual Chief Information Officer (“vCIO”) that helps develop an I.T. roadmap, determine a technology budget, and deliver other I.T. management oversight based on your specific industry’s best practices.
• Your in-house I.T. team gets to use some of the most powerful technology management tools in the industry, allowing them to do their job more efficiently and effectively.
• In the event your in-house team is sick, on vacation, there is a sudden increase in technical support demand, the in-house team is working a big project and needs extra hands, or the in-house team is stumped by an issue and needs help, they have an award-winning team of technology engineers at their disposal.

Conclusion

While it may be hard to find a mature managed I.T. service providers (“MSPs”) that offers a dedicated service model for co-managed I.T., a partnership with a mature MSP, such as Digital Boardwalk, will take your I.T. operations to the next level while reducing costs at the same time. The many benefits of the co-managed I.T. model will help your existing staff do their jobs even better, improve your cybersecurity posture, make your technology run better than ever, and help you achieve peace of mind otherwise not possible with an in-house team alone.