SHOULD I HIRE AN IT PERSON OR OUTSOURCE TO A PROFESSIONAL IT OR MSP?

In order to decide if you should hire a managed service provider in Orlando or Jacksonville or hire an IT person, you need to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.  The average cost of a Full-Time Senior Network Engineer in Jacksonville or Orlando to support a company with 50 users including benefits such as health insurance, 401k, paid time off is around $100,000 per year per Indeed. This will vary per city and does not include training or support.

Managed service providers in Orlando or Jacksonville usually charge a flat monthly fee based on either the number of users or the number of devices in your organization. Normally there is a one-time onboarding fee as well. The industry average fee for a managed service provider is $150 per user.

This means if you have 50 employees and hire an in-house Senior Network Engineer instead of hiring a Managed IT services company you would spend $10,000 a year more and have only one person to hold accountable.

Prices vary depending on location, these are rough numbers to give you an idea of how to compare costs. It’s best to reach out to an IT Support company near you and ask for a free assessment to see what they can offer you.

Pros Of Hiring A Full-Time Employee

You control the hiring process and can make sure they fit your company culture.

You have a dedicated IT professional on-site and dedicated to only your needs that you can call on during your business hours.

Cons Of Hiring A Full-Time Employee

As you can see in the cost comparison above it is normally more expensive to hire a full-time employee.

You have to recruit and hire this person which can take a lot of time and energy.

Lack of diversity in knowledge. Having only one person limits the ability to collaborate with other IT professionals on their team. Your IT guy may be an expert in one area of IT support but not others.

Pros Of Outsourcing IT Support

Lower cost. As seen in the example above it is typically cheaper to outsource your IT services.

The ability to save on tools to manage your network. Because your IT support company can spread this cost over multiple clients and lower the cost to you.

Diverse knowledge base. Manage service providers typically have multiple technicians that specialize in different areas of IT support. This gives you the ability to capitalize on a wide array of talent. They also have better processes and systems to help you quickly and efficiently to get your office running.

Strategic planning. Any reputable managed services provider in Orlando or Jacksonville has an account manager or vCIO that is dedicated to your account. This person should meet with your leadership team quarterly to strategically plan your IT support needs for the coming months. This helps with budgeting and taking your IT infrastructure to the next level.

Cons Of IT Support Outsourcing

Proximity/location. By hiring an in-house IT professional you will have somebody in your office building that can walk down the hall and help you with your IT problems. With a managed service provider you will typically submit a support ticket and many issues would be fixed remotely but if you need someone onsite you would have to wait for them to drive to your office.

If you hire a managed service provider you will have to give them access to your network, so it is important that you can trust them.

Although rare, not all businesses survive. If your managed service IT provider goes out of business you will have to find a new provider.

Download our IT Buyers Guide to help you choose the Managed Service Provider in Orlando or Jacksonville.  If you would like us to provide you with a free assessment to outsource your IT services feel free to give us a call (904) 443-6046.