Managed IT vs in-house IT: which is right for your business?

The case for in-house IT

An internal hire is physically present, deeply familiar with your business, and immediately available for the person at the next desk. For some organisations — particularly larger ones, or those with constant hands-on needs — that presence is worth a lot. The catch is what one person cannot be: expert in every system, available 24/7, and immune to taking leave.

The case for managed IT

A managed provider gives you a whole team's range of skills, 24/7 monitoring, enterprise security tooling and documented processes for a predictable per-user fee — with no recruitment, no upskilling and no key-person risk. The trade-off is that they are not sitting in your office, though a good provider is reachable and can be on site quickly when needed.

The best of both: co-managed IT

For many businesses the answer is not either/or. Co-managed IT keeps your internal person for the hands-on, relationship-driven work and adds a provider behind them for depth, after-hours cover, security tooling and the big projects one person cannot pause to deliver. It removes the key-person risk while keeping the in-house presence. It is the most cost-effective model for businesses with one to three internal IT staff.

A rough cost comparison

One senior internal IT hire typically costs more in salary alone than managed IT for a 30–40 person business — and that single hire still cannot provide 24/7 cover or every specialty. Managed or co-managed IT usually delivers more capability for less total cost until you are large enough to justify a full internal team of several people.

How to decide

Roughly: under ~15 staff, managed IT almost always wins. From ~15 to ~75, co-managed often fits best. Beyond that, a small internal team backed by a provider for security and specialist projects is common. A virtual CIO can help you plan the right structure as you grow.