At some point, every growing organization asks: Should we hire an in-house IT technician, or is there a better solution? This decision often stems from two challenges: increased IT demands due to business growth and the rising complexity of technology.
Small and midsize businesses face mounting decisions about on-premises systems, cloud platforms, and SaaS tools—all while staying ahead of cyberthreats and managing IT upkeep. These responsibilities often fall to employees with little IT expertise, such as engineers or financial officers, pulling focus from their actual roles. The result? Limited resources and frustrated staff.
So, what’s the solution? For many companies, the answer is a Managed Service Provider (MSP).
What Is an MSP in Information Technology?
An MSP is a technology partner that handles a company’s IT needs, typically under a contractual agreement. These agreements often outline specific services, measurable results, and a predictable monthly cost. The role of an MSP is to ensure seamless IT operations, allowing your team to focus on core business objectives.
Why Not Just Hire IT Staff?
Hiring or expanding an internal IT team may seem like the obvious choice, but there are significant drawbacks:
- Limited Bandwidth: A single IT technician offers 40 hours of weekly capacity. However, IT demands don’t always happen one task at a time. Multiple user issues or urgent projects can easily create bottlenecks, delaying proposals, shipments, or critical deliverables.
- Knowledge Gaps: IT requires expertise across diverse areas—network security, backups, email systems, and more. One or two technicians cannot match the depth of knowledge provided by a full MSP team. How do you ensure nothing gets overlooked? You can’t.
- Budget Risks: Without proper oversight, in-house IT staff may propose expensive equipment or unnecessary software. Many business leaders lack the technical expertise to evaluate these decisions, potentially leading to overspending.
Why Hire an MSP?
Partnering with an MSP delivers distinct advantages over in-house IT staffing:
- Comprehensive Expertise: An MSP provides a team with deep knowledge across multiple IT domains, including cybersecurity, cloud management, and more. With an MSP, you gain access to specialized professionals without hiring multiple full-time employees.
- Scalable Bandwidth: Need to roll out a new system or migrate to the cloud? An MSP can allocate additional resources to complete projects quickly—like upgrading all your PCs to a new software version in days rather than months.
- Predictable Costs: Most MSPs, like Keystone Technology Consultants, offer fixed monthly pricing for a set of defined services. This allows businesses to budget reliably without surprise costs.
- Improved Accountability: MSPs are contractually obligated to meet specific Service Level Agreements (SLAs). These SLAs ensure prompt responses to issues and measurable results.
- Access to Tools and Technology: MSPs often include advanced tools, such as help desk software, monitoring systems, and offsite backups, in their service packages—tools that would be costly to procure independently.
I Currently Handle All of My Company’s IT and I’m Doing OK. Why Do I Need a Co-Managed IT Team?
So…you’re going it alone. We salute your dedication! It’s not easy to have the whole company counting on you for all their IT needs.
Whether you’re a trained IT professional or an executive who has taken on the role by default, there are major benefits to having a team of IT experts to co-manage your IT solutions.
Defined Roles. Using our unique “checkerboard” process, we determine the roles that are required to manage your IT needs. Then we work with you to decide which roles you’ll continue to serve in and which ones we can perform for you.
Business Continuity. The world is unpredictable. If you were out of the office for a while, who would handle your company’s IT? What if you were needed on a big project? What if your company hits your ambitious growth goals this year? Whatever challenges the future throws at you, having a co-managed IT partner is a great way to be ready for the unexpected. We are experts at maintaining business continuity through the ups and downs of running a business.
Flexibility. Need more help in a hurry? Or less? Hiring (or firing) can be a real headache. A co-managed IT partner can quickly scale up or down to suit your current needs.
Working Together. We like making new friends. We also like working together with them to get through challenges as they come up. Our role is to consult with you and other people on your team to find the solution that works best for all of you.
Expertise. We work with lots of companies like yours. And once we’re partnered together, we’ll work to learn everything about your network and tech stack. This deep expertise in your industry and IT for companies like yours allows us to efficiently and effectively improve and maintain your IT operations.
Still want to go it alone? Check out this case study on a client of ours who was just like you – until he partnered with Keystone. We were able to take IT off of his plate so he could turn his attention to big projects that were more in his wheelhouse.
Keystone: Your Trusted MSP
If your business is evaluating whether to hire an IT technician or outsource to an MSP, consider Keystone Technology Consultants. With over 25 years of experience, we specialize in managed IT services tailored to businesses with over 300 users.
Our commitment to proactive IT management ensures your systems stay secure and operational, helping you avoid costly downtime and focus on growth. Contact Keystone today to learn how we can become your trusted MSP partner!
