In-house IT vs outsourced IT for a small team

Verdict: for most small teams under about 30 staff, outsourced IT delivers broader skills, better security and lower total cost than a single in-house hire. An in-house person makes sense once you are large enough to keep them busy and need someone on-site every day.

The instinct when IT gets painful is to hire someone. Sometimes that is right, but for a small team, one person rarely covers everything you need, and costs more than it looks. Here is the honest comparison.

Best practice: Before you hire, list every skill you actually need covered, from networking to security to planning, then ask whether one salary can realistically cover them all.

What does an in-house IT hire give you?

An in-house hire gives you someone dedicated to your business, on-site and immediately familiar with your people and systems. For some businesses, that presence is worth a lot.

The catch is coverage. One person cannot be expert in networking, security, cloud and strategy all at once, cannot answer tickets while on leave, and comes with a full salary, superannuation, tools and training. A single hire is a single point of failure. Salary benchmarks from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show how quickly a technical wage adds up once on-costs are included.

Warning: Remember the on-costs, superannuation, tools, training and leave cover can add well over a third to the headline salary.

What does outsourced IT give you?

Outsourced IT gives you a whole team's range of skills, security cover and continuity for a predictable monthly fee. When one person is away, the service continues.

You also get accountability written into an agreement, and a vCIO for the planning most solo hires never have time for. The trade-off is that they are not sitting in your office, though remote support handles the vast majority of issues. See what is a vCIO and the complete guide to managed IT.

Note: A co-managed model is worth weighing before you commit either way, keeping daily requests in-house while a partner handles security and planning.

In-house vs outsourced: side by side

Which is right for your team?

Choose outsourced IT if you have under about 30 staff and want broad skills, security and cover without a big fixed salary. Choose in-house once you are large enough to keep a specialist busy and genuinely need someone on-site daily.

• Under about 15 staff: outsourced almost always wins on cost and coverage.
• 15 to 30 staff: outsourced, or a co-managed mix, usually best.
• 30-plus staff or heavy on-site needs: consider an in-house hire, often alongside an outsourced partner.

Plenty of businesses run a co-managed model, an internal person for daily requests plus an outsourced partner for security, planning and cover. If you are still deciding whether to outsource at all, read when to outsource your IT.

Frequently asked questions

Is outsourced IT cheaper than hiring in-house?

For most small teams, yes. A managed plan usually costs less than a full IT salary with on-costs, and delivers a broader range of skills and cover.

What is co-managed IT?

Co-managed IT is a blend, where an internal person handles day-to-day requests and an external partner covers security, planning, and after-hours or specialist work. It suits teams that want both presence and breadth.

When does an in-house hire make sense?

Usually once you pass around 30 staff, or when you need someone physically on-site every day. Even then, many businesses pair the hire with an outsourced partner for depth.

Can outsourced IT respond fast enough without being on-site?

Yes. Most issues are resolved remotely within minutes, and a good agreement sets response times by priority. On-site visits are scheduled when hardware genuinely needs hands.

Weighing up a hire against outsourcing? See what our managed team covers, then get an honest recommendation from Ryan.