Managed IT service providers or internal hires: pros and cons

The choice between opting for a managed IT service provider and relying on internal hires is vital to ensure your business benefits from crucial information technology security services in a timely, effective, and agile way.

From cyber security to software asset management, there are countless IT services that businesses must account for.

A managed IT service provider would provide an organisation with all the IT services they require for operational efficiency and robust approaches to security. For example, we provide:

• Tech consulting including transformation strategies for business-critical systems
• Cyber security services such as exposure management, cyber security consultancy, and incident response and detection
• Data security services such as fully managed backup and back up as service
• Software services such as software licensing and software asset management
• Cloud optimisation and data centre optimisation solutions

If an organisation decided not to opt for managed IT services, they would need to rely on internal teams to carry out these crucial services to protect their business and help teams embrace technology that unlocks better ways of working. This is challenging as internal teams often don’t have the resources or skills to carry out all necessary operations- plus hiring and maintaining large internal teams has high costs associated.

Why is choosing between managed service providers or internal hires so important?

Your organisation’s cyber security, in particular, is not something you should ever leave to chance, as:

The average cost of a data breach was $4.88 million in 2024

Half of all UK businesses reported a data breach in 2023-24

There were approximately 7.78 million cyber-crimes committed against UK businesses in 2023-2024

Cyber security isn’t the only consideration, however. Having inefficient IT processes and mismanaged software can incur significant costs to businesses, reduce operational efficiency, and impede productivity due to using outdated systems.

The cost of getting your IT infrastructure wrong can be significant and alter the trajectory of your organisation, so the decision between managed IT service providers and internal hires is business critical.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of hiring internally and enlisting the services of a managed IT service provider.

Hiring Internally- pros and cons

Pros:

• They’re close to the business

Internal IT staff work exclusively for your company, so will have an in-depth knowledge of company policy and the inner workings of the business such as processes and you can access them immediately. Having someone onsite means you can get faster responses to any urgent tasks or incidents.

Cons:

• They’re expensive

It’s not just the salaries of internal hires that are so costly. Their training, any bonuses, and even their expenses are also costs to consider. The actual process of recruitment is cost-heavy in terms of resources also, especially due to the specialised nature of IT roles, meaning good hires can be hard to find. IT roles are in demand, so this can lead to significant churn due to employees changing roles. If the hire doesn’t work out, this expensive process has to start all over again.

• Expertise is limited

Even the best internal teams cannot have knowledge of all areas in IT. A single team may struggle to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies, cyber threats, and industry updates.

• They’re slow to scale

If your business grows, then your IT systems and processes must grow as well. This can be a slow and expensive process if you only have internal resources to utilise.

Managed IT service providers- Pros and cons

Pros

• They are far more cost efficient

They operate on a retainer basis, where organisations pay a fixed fee for access to managed IT services, tech consultancy, and cyber security expertise all delivered in line with an agreed SLA (Service Level Agreement). This gives companies access to expert regular IT resources without having to continually spend money on recruitment and training costs. Plus, organisations who use IT managed services don't have to budget for the overheads associated with hiring and maintaining full-time staff.

Internal teams also get access to opportunities to upskill and develop their capabilities by learning from the experts!

• You benefit from 24/7 protection against threats

They offer 24/7 monitoring, ensuring issues are detected and resolved rapidly to prevent cyber-attacks and minimise downtime.

• You get access to more experts

They have teams of IT specialists in all the crucial areas your business needs to cover- from cybersecurity to cloud infrastructure. This means you have access to a broader skillset and dedicated experts, who are fully up to date with all industry updates.

• Faster time to value

There’s no need to upskill your managed service provider as you would an internal employee. The experts can get straight to work.

• Managed IT services are scalable and flexible

Through growth or downsizing, IT managed services can be tailored to match budgets and requirements- without needing to hire more people or reduce team numbers.

• You get peace of mind

Internal teams get peace of mind that complex issues relating to compliance and data protection are being managed. We leverage AI in our threat detection services, so our clients can trust that human error and ‘alert fatigue’ is not putting their business at risk. Your internal teams can concentrate on productive and strategic activities, safe in the knowledge that all IT issues and threats are being addressed.

Cons

• They aren’t onsite all the time

While IT managed services can be carried out remotely, some businesses prefer to have an internal team immediately accessible and physically on site.

• You have to trust them

Handing over such an important business operation to an external provider can feel intimidating to any organisation. You must be able to trust your managed service provider, so it’s essential to check their track records, case studies, and processes.

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While internal hires can be suitable for organisations with a lot of resources, most organisations find that managed IT services provide the optimal balance of cost-efficiency, expertise, and scalability.

By partnering with a managed IT service provider like us, you gain access to an entire team of IT experts at a fraction of the cost of hiring them internally. Not only this, but we have extensive expertise as strategic IT partners, committed to futureproofing your organisation for success.

At Celerity, we work closely with organisations to streamline their operations, improve their cyber security posture, and reduce their IT costs with IT managed services. Find out more about who we work with here.