Managed IT Support vs an In-House IT Team

Growing businesses often ask whether to hire an IT person or use an outside provider. Both are valid. The better question is what you need covered.

Where an in-house team fits

• Daily, hands-on support for staff
• Knowledge of how your business works
• Quick response to small, local issues

The limits are cover for holidays and sickness, and the range of skills one or two people can hold across networks, security and cloud.

Where managed support fits

• Access to a wider range of skills
• Monitoring and planned maintenance
• Cover that does not depend on one person
• A defined scope in a written agreement

The limits are that an outside provider needs time to learn your business, and the scope must be clear so nothing falls between the gaps.

A mix is common

Many organisations keep one internal contact and use a provider for monitoring, security and projects. Agree who does what in writing.

Questions to settle first

1. Which systems must be supported, and at what hours?
2. Who decides when something is urgent?
3. What documentation do we keep, and who owns it?
4. How will we review the arrangement each year?

Next step

NetworkAE provides Managed IT Support & AMC once the scope is agreed. Also see what an AMC covers.