The Real Cost of Hiring In-House IT
Let's start with the numbers. The average salary for an IT support technician in Orlando is somewhere between $45,000 and $65,000 per year. Add health insurance, payroll taxes, PTO, and other benefits, and you're looking at $60,000 to $85,000 annually. For a senior IT person or systems administrator, bump that up to $80,000 to $110,000+.
And that's for one person. One person who takes vacations, calls in sick, and might not have expertise in every area you need (networking, cybersecurity, cloud services, phone systems). When they're out, you're on your own.
The Real Cost of Outsourced IT
Managed IT services for a small business (say, 10 users) typically run between $1,000 and $2,500 per month. That's $12,000 to $30,000 per year. For that, you get an entire team of specialists, not just one person. You get monitoring, maintenance, helpdesk support, and usually a guaranteed response time.
The math speaks for itself. But cost isn't everything.
When In-House IT Makes Sense
Some businesses genuinely need someone on-site full time. If you run a medical facility in Lake Nona with HIPAA compliance requirements and dozens of workstations, having a dedicated IT person who's physically there every day has real value. Manufacturing companies, large offices with 50+ employees, and businesses with custom software that needs constant attention are all good candidates for in-house IT.
The key question: do you have enough daily IT work to keep a full-time person busy? If the answer is yes, hiring might make sense.
When Outsourcing Makes More Sense
For most small businesses with 5 to 30 employees, outsourcing is the better deal. Here's why: you get a team of people with different specialties (one person who's great at networking, another who's a cybersecurity expert, another who handles cloud migrations) for less than the cost of one generalist.
A dental practice near East Colonial Drive doesn't need a full-time IT person sitting around waiting for something to break. They need someone who checks in regularly, keeps things updated and secure, and shows up fast when there's a problem. That's exactly what an outsourced IT provider does.
The Hybrid Approach
Some businesses find that the best option is a mix. You might have one in-house person who handles day-to-day user support and simple fixes, backed by an outsourced IT team that manages the network, handles security, runs backups, and deals with bigger projects. This gives you the best of both worlds: someone on-site for immediate needs and a full team for everything else.
Making the Decision
Ask yourself three questions. First, do you have enough IT work for a full-time hire? Second, can one person cover all the areas you need (networking, security, cloud, phones, user support)? Third, what happens when that person is on vacation or quits? If the answers make you uncomfortable, outsourcing might be the better path.
Want to talk through the options? Check out our managed IT services and see if it's a good fit.