The Question Every Growing Business Faces
At some point, every small business with more than a handful of employees reaches the same crossroads: do we hire a full-time IT person, or do we outsource?
The answer depends on three factors: cost, coverage, and capability. Let us break each one down.
Cost: The Numbers
A full-time IT support specialist in the US earns an average of $55,000 to $75,000 per year, not including benefits, payroll taxes, training, and equipment. Add 25-30% for benefits, and you are looking at $70,000 to $100,000 in total cost.
Outsourced IT support for the same business typically costs $199 to $299 per month — roughly $2,400 to $3,600 per year. That is 3-5% of the cost of a full-time hire.
The cost difference is dramatic, but it is not the whole story. The real question is what you get for that money.
Coverage: Who Is Available and When
A single in-house IT person can only be in one place at a time. When they are on vacation, out sick, or overwhelmed with tickets, your support coverage drops to zero. If a critical issue hits at 4:55 PM on a Friday, you are on your own until Monday.
With outsourced IT, you get a team — not one person. At NetrixIT, we provide 15-minute response times during business hours (9 AM to 8 PM Eastern, Monday through Friday) with full documentation of every ticket. When one technician is unavailable, another picks up immediately because your environment is documented in our system.
Capability: Breadth of Skills
IT is not a single skill. It encompasses:
- Endpoint management (laptops, desktops, mobile devices)
- Network infrastructure (firewalls, switches, Wi-Fi)
- Cloud services (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS)
- Security (endpoint protection, patching, vulnerability assessments)
- Helpdesk (password resets, VPN troubleshooting, software installation)
- Strategic planning (disaster recovery, compliance, scaling)
No single hire excels at all of these. An outsourced team brings multiple specialists who can handle the full breadth of IT needs — from resetting a password to conducting a network audit.
When In-House Makes Sense
Hiring in-house IT makes sense when:
- Your company has 100+ employees and IT needs are constant and complex
- You need someone physically on-site for specialized hardware (manufacturing, medical devices, etc.)
- You have compliance requirements that mandate an internal IT team
- You are building technology products and need developers, not support
When Outsourcing Wins
Outsourced IT is the better choice when:
- You have 1 to 50 employees and IT needs are intermittent, not constant
- You want predictable monthly costs with no surprises
- You need coverage during all business hours, not just when one person is available
- You want institutional knowledge that does not walk out the door when an employee leaves
For most small businesses in the 1-50 employee range, outsourced IT provides better coverage, broader skills, and lower cost than a full-time hire.
The Bottom Line
You do not need a full-time IT person to get reliable IT support. You need a team that responds in 15 minutes, documents your environment, and covers the full range of IT needs — from helpdesk to network security. That is what NetrixIT provides. Book a free consultation to see if outsourced IT is right for your business.