One IT person or a managed IT provider? A guide for New Jersey owners
- One IT hire gives you one person's skills and hours. A managed provider gives you a team, tools and cover when someone is away.
- For many offices under a few dozen people, a managed provider or a hybrid is a better fit.
- Whatever you choose, you should own the admin passwords and have the setup written down.
- A hybrid, with an in-house person for daily help and a provider for security and projects, works well for growing teams.
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You have outgrown "my nephew knows computers". Now what? Most New Jersey owners face the same choice: hire an IT person, or hire a managed provider.
Neither is always right. Here is how to think it through, with no sales pitch.
What does one IT hire give you?
- Someone who knows your office and your people.
- Fast help in person.
- One person to own the details.
What to plan for: they take holidays, get sick and leave. One person has one set of skills, and security, cloud, networks and help desk are all different skills.
What does a managed provider give you?
- A team with different skills.
- Tools for monitoring, patching and security.
- Cover when someone is away.
- A steady monthly fee.
What to plan for: they are not in your office all day, and they may not know your people as well. Ask how they handle that.
Side by side
| Area | One IT hire | Managed provider | Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skills | One person's | A team's | Both |
| Cover on holidays and sick days | Gaps | Built in | Built in |
| Day to day help | In person | Mostly remote | In person |
| Security tools | You buy them | Often included | Provider covers |
| Cost shape | Salary and benefits | Monthly fee | Both |
| Risk if they leave | High | Low | Medium |
Signs it is time for a provider
- Your one IT person is a single point of failure.
- An outage took too long to fix.
- An insurer, bank or customer is asking for proof of security. See the FTC's note on cyber insurance.
- You have no written list of systems and passwords.
- Nobody is watching security, only fixing problems.
Whichever you choose
- You own the admin accounts. Not the IT person. Not the provider.
- Write it down. A shared document of systems, vendors and who to call.
- Check the backups. Ask when the last restore test was.
- Review access every quarter. Old accounts should go.
- Ask for a short report on what was done and what is next.
How does a hybrid work?
Your in-house person handles daily requests, new staff and the printer. The provider handles monitoring, security, backups and bigger projects, and covers for your person when they are out. It is often the best of both for a team that has grown but is not big enough for a full IT department.
Cost: think in total, not in price
Compare the full cost of each path, not just the fee. Add pay and benefits, tools, training and the cost of a gap. For managed IT ranges, read our New Jersey pricing guide and managed IT vs break-fix.
Is it cheaper to hire an IT person or use managed IT?
It depends on what you count. A hire costs pay, benefits, tools, training and the cost of a gap when they are away. A provider charges a fee for a team and tools. Compare the full cost, and the risk, not only the monthly number.
What happens when your one IT person is on vacation?
Nothing, unless you planned for it. A single person means a single point of failure. A provider can cover those days, or you can use a hybrid: your own person for day-to-day needs, and a provider for security, backups and backup coverage.
A quick way to decide
- How many people and computers do we have?
- Do we need after-hours help?
- Who covers sick days and vacations?
- Who handles security and backups, and can we show that they are done?
- What would a long outage cost us?
If your answers point to gaps, read our 10 questions to ask an IT provider and what good IT support includes.
How we can help
We work as the full IT team for some New Jersey offices, and as the back-up and security layer for others. Book a free 30-minute review, and we will tell you which fits, even if that is not us. Learn about switching providers too.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to hire an IT person or use a managed provider?
It depends on your size and needs. Compare the real total for a hire, including pay, benefits, tools and training, against a provider's fee. Also count the cost of a gap when your one person is away.
What is a hybrid IT model?
It means you have someone in-house for daily help and a provider that handles security, monitoring and projects.
What is the biggest risk of having one IT person?
Everything depends on them. If they leave or are out sick, nobody knows the passwords or the setup. Write it all down and share access with the business.
When should I move to a managed provider?
Common triggers are growth, an insurer or customer asking for proof of security, an outage that took too long to fix, or your IT person leaving.
Is it cheaper to hire an IT person or use managed IT?
It depends. Count pay, benefits, tools, training and the cost of gaps for a hire, and the full fee for a provider. Compare risk too.
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