No one needs to explain why competent IT support is so important for businesses and other organizations. As technology has come to be the backbone of the marketplace, there is always a need for competent people to manage that tech. Still, there are many ways in which these services can be acquired. Although there are some middle-ground options, most plans fall into one of two categories: In-house or managed.
The difference between these two things is quite simple. An in-house approach means that the company will find and hire competent IT experts on their own initiative. This will usually involve choosing from amongst a pool of qualified applicants. An outsourced approach involves outsourcing IT support and services to an external and specialized company. Managed IT support services have become quite popular in recent years, but we want to determine which approach is the better one.
In-House IT Services: The Pros
An in-house team is definitely the more personalized approach, as each tech will be intimately familiar with the workings of your business. Every business is unique in its own way, as they all employ a mixture of ways and means to accomplish their goals. Thus, it can be advantageous to have people who are on-site every day and who know your individual situation like the back of their own hand.
Another definite benefit that can come from an in-house team is a higher degree of communication and feedback. You can only get to know someone so well from far away, and it can be good to know the people working for you. This leads to better communication between IT and management, which is generally a good thing. When the IT guy is right down the hall, it becomes a lot easier to get his attention and have your problem addressed.
There are also certain security advantages that you can gain by keeping everything internal. Because no other company is handling your data in any capacity, you have fewer potential security leaks. When you keep your sensitive data amongst a small team of trusted experts, it becomes a lot harder for that information to be compromised.
Once another company is involved, you have to worry about whether or not they are trustworthy. To be fair to the other side, however, this advantage disappears if one can find a sufficiently trustworthy third-party provider.
In-House IT Services: The Cons
There is one big downside to the use of an in-house team, and that is the cost. It really is a lot more expensive to do things this way, and there is no getting around that fact. Only the largest and most prosperous of companies can really afford to hire the best people and purchase the best technology for the job.
Another problem is that there just aren’t enough top-level IT experts for every single organization to have its own team. After a certain point, people start settling for lower-quality people, lowering the bar and compromising both their service and their security. This is definitely not a good situation.
Managed IT Services: The Pros:
Managed services plans can offer quite a few benefits. These third-party companies are completely focused on one thing, and that is IT services. They don’t have to make a separate IT budget like most other companies because they basically do one thing. While there are many aspects to IT service, all of them fall within the same skill set.
Since managed IT providers are focused on just one thing, they can do that one thing with greater effectiveness. It is much more practical for them to hire the best people available and to invest in all the latest tech. It is also more worthwhile for them to carry out IT-related research that will improve their ability to perform their job. Thus, you can get top-level people using top-level equipment without having to pay the full price for either of those things. You can also bundle in various other services like managed cloud backup and VPN services.
Managed IT Services: The Cons:
When you go with managed IT services, you do perhaps lose a little bit of the personal touch that comes from an in-house team. They will certainly have other customers, so they may not be as intimately familiar with the inner workings of your organization.
We should mention that this factor does vary from company to company. That’s why you should always make sure that a managed IT company doesn’t put the same person on more than one account. You want to make sure that you have a team of people that are serving you and you alone. Still, you may lose a little bit in the communication department by using a managed plan.
The Verdict:
To recap what we have covered, the in-house approach offers a more direct and personalized approach with better communication. However, it can really cost a lot more money in the end. When you also consider the difficulty of finding top-tier experts, the in-house approach really is more difficult as well. In general, we maintain that a fully in-house approach is only viable for very large companies whose business is extensive enough to justify such a huge IT budget.
The managed option, on the other hand, offers a more cost-effective option. It is also a much more streamlined approach that offers great flexibility. While it might be a good idea to go with a hybrid approach if you have already invested a lot in your IT department, the managed option is the better choice for most companies.
Conclusion
It should be noted that the needs of every company are unique, so choose carefully. However, most companies do find that the managed approach offers better service at a lower price. If you would like to find out more, you can call PCH Technologies at (856) 754-7500. They offer some of the best managed IT services in the business and are always eager to help a new customer.