Insourcing Vs Outsourcing IT Services: What’s Best?

When looking to improve your company’s IT infrastructure, you have two main options. You can manage your technology internally, or you can outsource your IT services to a third-party IT expert.

Insourcing means that IT services are performed on-site within your organization by an employee (or a team of employees). Outsourcing is when you hire an outside organization to manage your IT services on behalf of your organization. 

Which one you should choose depends on your company and its needs. But it’s important to take the time to research your options, otherwise you could make a decision that negatively impacts your bottom line. 

Here are some things you should consider when deciding whether to insource or outsource your IT services.

Outsourcing is usually the cheaper option for businesses, especially for organizations with less than 100 staff members. For example, outsourcing eliminates the costs for recruitment and onboarding permanent employees. It also eliminates the costs associated with ongoing training, which is necessary for IT staff since the IT environment is always changing. 

Outsourcing your IT services means that you are only paying for the services you actually need. You also eliminate payroll costs associated with hiring one or more specialists, including benefits and employer contributions to payroll taxes, as well as physical space costs and equipment/ technology costs. 

Regardless of whether you hire an IT specialist internally or externally, they must be up to date on the newest information and resources. This is the only way you can ensure they’re giving you a competitive edge and protecting your company. 

This is where outsourcing has the biggest advantage. When you outsource your IT services, you benefit from the wide range of technical skills and experience from all their staff. That means you are getting a broader scope of talent and you can trust that a third-party focused on IT services is keeping their staff up to date with the latest technology trends. While you can hire experts in-house, chances are you will need to hire multiple staff to get the range of expertise you need. 

One potential challenge of outsourcing IT is that your internal team may be resistant to working with outside workers. That being said, a strong IT service provider will know how to properly integrate themselves with your company. 

They will be easily accessible, be able to communicate so that everyone involved understands what is happening with latest projects, and will treat your staff with respect. This will build a strong relationship that will break down barriers and help everyone achieve their goals collaboratively. 

IInsourced IT services may give management and staff a greater sense of control. Outside service providers typically have preferences when it comes to the systems they use. This can be frustrating to some teams as they may have a specific solution in mind when they approach their provider. The thing to remember is that a good IT service provider does their research and the reason they have preferred systems is likely because they are the best available. 

That being said, a good IT service provider will be able to explain the differences between the solutions they use and the ones you have researched and allow you to evaluate the choices. That way you can better understand the technology being used, and be a valuable part of the decision-making process.  

Being able to walk down the hall to talk to your IT specialist can be a perk. But with more and more businesses turning to hybrid and remote working models, in-person communication is becoming less important. The vast majority of businesses today need to use phone calls and computers to access their IT service staff, whether insourced or outsourced. 

A superior IT service provider will offer rapid access and support through various channels. This includes phone, chat, email and emergency lines. 

At the end of the day there are pros and cons to both insourcing and outsourcing IT services. 

Outsourced IT service providers will help reduce costs and provide the expertise to ensure you are using the best systems available, within your specific budget. And if you work with the right service provider, they will be able to do all of this while making sure you aren’t sacrificing collaboration, control and access. 

To learn more about our IT services and how we help our clients optimize, cost, expertise, collaboration, access and control, please contact us today.