1: Real cost

There are costs involved with outsourcing IT that many do not consider. For example, when you schedule an appointment with your outsourced IT company, you’re going to be charged for the drive time there and back. And what about when that outsourced engineer has no idea how to fix your issue and has to learn on the job? Are you willing to pay for that? It’s one thing if your own employees learn as they go. But it’s a different story when a contracted employee does it. There are other real costs as well, such as when you get recommendations from the outsourced company that aren’t actually needed. Upsales are common and sometimes unnecessary.

CIOFORSMB: The problem with the above argument is that he is assuming that the outsourced IT company is operating in a “break/fix” scenario. Outsourcing your IT department to a “break/fix company is a bad idea! Paying for drive time and on-the-job training is crazy. But if the IT company is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) then those arguments are moot. MSPs charge a small monthly fee for unlimited service. MSPs get paid to make sure the network stays working; MSPs lose money when the network breaks. Bottom Line: Don’t outsource your IT department to  break/fix company.

2: Time factor

When you have an emergency, it will have to wait until your outsourced IT department can get someone there. Drive time strikes again. You’re also subject to the calendar of your outsourced company, and many factors can cause your emergency to be pushed back. At this point, you are at the mercy of your outsourced IT department. Had IT still been in-house, the emergency would be dealt with right away.

CIOforSMB: Again, the author assumes someone is going to have to get in a car and drive to the site to repair the computer. Most MSPs use a monitoring software to provide up-to-the-minute status of the network. They also use software that allows first level technical support to take remote control of the computer and clear problems quickly and efficiently. About 80% of the time we never have to go onsite. Bottom Line: Don’t outsource your IT department to  break/fix company.

3: Familiarity with network and systems

When your IT is in-house, your IT workers (more than likely) know your system and your network really well. They should: They probably built it. So it’s likely that in-house IT workers can keep your systems running more smoothly and solve emergencies much faster. Yes, it is true that even an outsourced IT department can learn your systems and networks. But there will be ramp-up time, as well as the possibility that a lack of documentation can cause serious issues.

CIOforSMB: In a break/fix environment the IT company has no incentive to learn the systems. The IT company gets paid when the systems breaks. For an MSP, the profit comes when the system does not break. So learning the customer’s system and documenting the sytem properly if a top priority for an MSP. Bottom Line: Don’t outsource your IT department to  break/fix company.

4: Employee relationships

Although some may not see this as an issue, I have come across it many times. When employees are in-house, they know one another and know how to interact well with one another. If you are outsourcing your IT, you may or may not get the same engineer showing up every time. That means your employees must get used to different contractors and how they work. With an in-house IT staff, relationships can form and solidify. Of course, that’s not to say relationships with outside staff can’t be built. But bringing in IT from the outside causes a fluctuation. It may not always be a problem, but I have seen it create issues to the point that an engineer was banned from being deployed to a client.

CIOforSMB: The exact opposite is also true. The familiarity of an in house IT staff also leads to inefficiency. Employees think they can call over the IT staff every time their Outlook won’t open and they never take the steps necessary to learn why it won’t open. A highly paid IT staffer is interrupted from a stragtegic project to help Susie open her Outlook, a huge waste of resources. MSPs have help desk staffers ready and willing to help Susie remotely and teach her how to work with technology more efficiently.

5: Liability

There are certain instances where information or situations can become a liability when a third-party is brought in. Security measures may need to be implemented to protect company data, employees, systems… everything can become a liability. You never know when data is accidentally going to walk off on an external hard-drive or be left in a car and stolen. You add another piece to the puzzle, and more things can go wrong. Add to that the fact that no one is going to treat your company data with the care and importance that someone in-house will.

CIOforSMB: Huh? An outsourced IT department won’t treat your company data with importance? I would argue that the MSP will treat the data with more importance simply because they have to manage data for all their customers. Most employees I have seen become somewhat callous to the protection of their data after working there for years and years. And most don’t even know how to protect their data. My company does extremely well with attorneys, doctors, CPAs and any business that is “data dependent”. We take our liability very seriously. Otherwise, no customer would ever trust us.

6: Loss of work

When an employee’s machine goes down, that employee will lose the ability to work until the outsourced IT department can make it in to resolve the issue. That loss of productivity can be costly. The response time and calendar issues you will face with outsourced IT will continually cause a loss of work. With in-house IT, response time is only a matter of walking down the hall. And one other major factor plays into this: priority.

CIOforSMB: See #1and #2 above. Hire and MSP that doesn’t even have to walk down the hall, but can take remote control immediately from the desktop .Bottom Line: Don’t outsource your IT department to  break/fix company.

7: Priority

This is a big one. Your company will most likely be on a long list of companies your outsourced IT company works with. Who gets priority? Honestly? The company that spends the most will get top priority. If that’s not you, that means you’ll get bumped down when that big spender tells the outsourced IT company how high to jump. If you want to remain on top of the priority list, you will either have to spend a lot of cash or keep your IT in-house.

CIOforSMB: I am not sure what to say here. Apparently Jack Wallen thinks all IT companies whore themselves out to the highest bidder. Ouch. In a well managed MSP there should never be changes in the level of service based on volume, time of day or any other factor (including cash!). Assuming the services go to the highest bidder is awfully sinister. I can assure you that does not happen at a well run MSP.

8: Morale

The second you can members of your IT department, everyone else is going to be on the watch for their own pink slips. That kind of deflating of morale takes a long time to recover from. And when employees know they don’t have in-house IT, they know when problems arise, they may be slow to resolve.

CIOforSMB: Firing someone is never pleasant (maybe if you really hate the person). But that is a leadership issue and has nothing to do with and IT decision. What is the alternative? Are you going to keep an in-house IT department just to keep morale up? That’s insane. Do what is best for the company. Outsource the IT department, save money, increase efficiency and give everyone a bonus.

9: Continuity

This takes into consideration many of the previous points. When your IT is outsourced, you’ll constantly need to redirect engineers, retrain people with regard to conduct and security, and deal with a fluctuating IT schedule you have no control over. And when a variety of engineers step in, issues will be resolved differently and setups can be completed without regard to in-house standards.

CIOforSMB: At this point in the article I am starting to wonder if the author has ever seen an MSP or understands the business strategy of an outsourced IT department. Continuity is one of the best things about hiring an MSP. Full time IT employees get sick, take vacations and require benefits. MSP are always on call, never call in sick and don’t take vacations. A good MSP has extensive documentation that doe snot rely on anecdotal data that is mostly inaccurate and resides in teh brain of one of the IT staff.

10: Control

You can’t control an external company. So now you have one more cog in a machine that is already incredibly complex. Why add more layers and pieces, which will only mean you lose more and more control over how your company behaves, performs, and grows? If you are one of those owners, shareholders, or managers who prefers to keep control over the daily workings of your company, it doesn’t make sense to outsource such a critical aspect of a smooth-running system.

CIOforSMB: Again, I completely disagree. Hiring an MSP puts the company leadership in complete control. Don;t like how things are going? Shop your IT business around with out the hassle of hiring and firing employees. Hiring an MSP puts the company leadership in complete control.

For more information about how an MSP can help your small business email caugenstein@eddsa.com.