Building your own in-house IT team can definitely have its benefits. Large enterprises with complex systems and many users will certainly benefit from an in-house IT department. However in the small business world the argument for an in-house IT team becomes far less clear cut.
In general small business have far less complex systems than large enterprises, far less users to support, and a much lower budget for their IT.
In order to make a sensible decision whether to build a small in-house team, or outsource to an IT service provider it is important to understand the needs of your business and how best to match them.
In-House Team
- Employment and Management
If you are putting together an IT team for your business, it is very likely that IT is not your own profession. In which case you will need to find a way in which to select your employees from your candidates (a service which a IT recruiter will assist you with, for a fee) and then you must manage your IT team including their professional development. - Cost
As a supporting function for the rest of your business that does not directly generate revenue, careful consideration must be taken when building an in-house IT team. It must provide you a return on your investment by empowering and protecting the rest of your business, but without drawing on your financial and management resources any more than your business can support. - Tax/Legal/Holiday/Sickness
When you build your in-house team you are expanding the number of employees your business must support. The implications in terms of holiday pay and cover, sickness pay and cover, their legal rights as an employee and your own business tax liability must be considered when costing an in-house IT team. - Skill Set
The breadth of skills needed to support a business network means you will probably need at least one 1st line engineer and one senior engineer experienced in the systems that you run (be that Microsoft Exchange, Windows Server, Sophos UTM or other technologies). In addition you should have another engineer, preferably an experienced one with in depth understanding of your systems to cover holiday, sickness, training, project work and other periods of high workload. - Tools
In order to look after your IT systems, your in-house team will require tools. This means PCs, laptops, and monitoring & maintenance software; all of which come at a cost. - Training
As with any role within your business, you will need to provide your IT team with training and development. At least one member of your team should be well versed in security, and at least one member of your team should ensure they stay up to date on the latest advances in technology in order to provide strategic advice to senior management. This is doubly important in an IT team when compared to other business areas as your technology often fully supports other business functions, and your vital business data is protected only by the security measures that your IT team manage.
With a well-structured and well managed in-house IT team you will have people in your office with in depth knowledge of your systems. They will build close relationships with your other employees at all levels, and develop a deep understanding of the business, its processes, systems and strategy. When implemented properly an in-house IT team will be a hugely valuable asset to your business. The challenge is the cost and understanding required to build and run such a team.
Outsourcing your IT
In many cases developing a long term relationship with a good IT service provider will not only be more cost effective, but also provide you a better service than having a small in-house team.
- Cost
In most cases you will have one monthly bill to pay for your IT services, you no longer need to worry about recruiting costs, salaries, employers national insurance, holiday, sickness, continuous development costs (training and certification, bonuses), office desk space, software, car, phone, legal, and HR costs. - Tax/Legal/Holiday/Sickness
Are no longer your problems J You will have an contract with your provider with predetermined service level agreements, terms, and conditions. - Skill Set
An IT service provider will have a team of engineers and consultants including 1st and 2nd line support technicians, senior engineers, network administrators, system designers/architects, security consultants and account managers. Together they will provide you a vast range of services as and when you need them without the need to selectively recruit or contract people internally. - Training
A good IT service provider will be affiliated to the major software houses, partnered with major hardware vendors and ensure that their engineers and consultants are trained on the latest technologies. It is their responsibility to train their employees without impacting on your service level. - Tools
A good IT service provider will use industry leading tools to monitor and maintain your systems that would otherwise be very costly to implement internally. - Increased Knowledge
A good IT service provider will have extensive knowledge of available technologies, and how they work in different business scenarios. By applying past experience to your business they can help you make informed strategic decisions without expensive trials or risky gambles on technology.
Over time, your outsourced IT provider will develop the same in depth understanding of your business and its processes and goals, working with your account manager you will have access to strategic advice backed by a wide understanding of many different businesses and many different technologies, products, and services.
Your Business
Whether you are a big business, a small business, or somewhere in between; it is important to understand your systems as they currently stand and your needs as a business in order to make a well informed decision whether you outsource your IT or build an in-house team.
At First Stop IT, we can look at your business and provide you with impartial advice as to the options best suited to you.
If outsourcing is the option best suited to your business then our Unlimited IT Support Agreement is likely to be of interest to you.
If your business requirements mean that an in-house team is the best option for you, we can assist you in putting together the right team of people to meet your needs, and if necessary we can work alongside your in-house team to make sure you have all of your bases covered. For example an in-house team backed up by an IT Support Agreement from First Stop IT could reduce your need for senior engineers, and would assist with holiday and sickness cover.
If you are interested in speaking to us about any issues raised by this article please request a call-back and one of our consultants will be in touch shortly.