The honest case for outsourcing IT

Outsourced IT is not always the right answer. Sometimes the right answer is a senior internal hire. Sometimes it is the two of those, working together. Here is how we think about the choice.

Outsource when

• The breadth of expertise needed exceeds what one or two internal people can credibly cover.
• IT is critical but not core to the business — you sell furniture, not infrastructure.
• You need 24/7 coverage that a small internal team cannot sustain without burning out.
• You want capped, predictable cost and a real SLA.

Keep internal when

• IT is part of the product (a SaaS company, a fintech).
• You have a stable, growing team with a senior leader who owns the roadmap.
• You need someone in the room every day for cultural or pace reasons.

Co-source when

• You have an internal lead who handles strategy and tier-1, and you want a partner for tier-2/3, after-hours, projects, and specialist work.

This is the most common shape we see for companies between 50 and 300 people.

What a good MSP contract has

1. Defined scope. What is in the subscription, what is project work.
2. A real SLA. First response targets, on-site triggers, escalation path.
3. A clear price model. Per user, per device, per site — explained.
4. A monthly report and a quarterly review. With KPIs you both agree on.
5. An exit clause. Documentation handover, password vault transfer, no hostage data.

If a vendor will not put any of those in writing, walk.

Red flags

• “We will figure it out as we go.”
• No documentation of your environment after three months.
• Tickets that close without a written cause and fix.
• A “managed” service with no monitoring under it.

We are happy to send our own contract template as a benchmark — even if you do not work with us.