In 2021, your business can no longer survive without an online presence.
But as a business owner, you don't have enough time to manage your company and figure out your IT needs by yourself.
That gives you two other options: outsourced IT services or managed IT services.
We've put together this guide to help you understand the pros and cons of each option and show you why managed services might be a better choice.
Many companies mix up outsourced IT and managed IT services or mistakenly believe they're interchangeable. While both are handled by third-party companies, that's about where the similarities stop.
So what's the difference?
Managed IT services tend to be more specialized than outsourced IT.
They work with business long-term. For example, if you hire managed IT services, you probably won't need an in-house IT team since all the work will be handled by the third-party company.
Outsourced IT services, on the other hand, handle short-term work. In most cases, you'll already have an in-house IT team, and you'll only call outsourced IT services for quick fixes or problems your in-house team can't solve on their own.
Watch our video: What is IT Outsourcing?
For most companies, hiring managed IT services is a smarter choice than outsourcing your IT needs, but there's no one-size-fits-all method.
Both managed IT services and IT outsourcing have their own sets of pros and cons.
Here are a few of the most important ones you should consider when making your decision.
Outsourced IT Services Pros
The biggest pro of choosing outsourced IT is the cost. It's much cheaper to pay for projects only when you need them than it is to pay a third-party company long-term.
But keep in mind, you might already be paying the yearly salaries of your IT team, so when you add that to the cost of outsourcing, it may be the same (or more expensive) than managed services.
When you bring in an outsourced IT company, you have to give them access to your companies' security. That means someone else outside your business has access to your information.
If something goes wrong or if the outsourced company doesn't use strong security methods themselves, you could find yourself with a major problem on your hands.
An outsourced company also has other clients. They can't focus on your business 24/7 or be there right when you need them.
Because of this, if something goes wrong, you might be stuck with downtime, which can hurt your business.
Managed IT services might have other clients, but they still provide your company around-the-clock support at any hour of the day or night. They can fix any problems right away, meaning you won't have to deal with any downtime.
These services also keep your business more secure because, although you still have to give them access to your security, they're with you long-term.
There's less risk of private information spreading or other threats harming your business.
Cost is the biggest con of managed IT services as we mentioned above, it's more expensive than outsourcing. However, the extra cost is worth the added protection, skillset, and support you get.
Managed IT services has more support and better, specialized skills than outsourced IT. Because of this, hiring a managed IT services company is often the smarter choice for your business, even though you might have to spend a bit more money.
Ready to get set up with managed services? Don't hesitate to get in touch with us today!
