Compare outsourced IT support vs in-house IT for UK SMEs. See typical costs, SLA differences and when each model makes sense, plus a simple TCO framework to guide your decision.

Do we keep IT in-house, or outsource to a managed IT support provider?

On paper, in-house IT can feel safer and more controllable. In reality, once you factor in salaries, tools, training, holidays, sickness cover and 24/7 expectations, outsourced IT support is often more cost‑effective, more resilient, and easier to scale.

This article walks through:

A simple cost comparison between in-house and outsourced IT
The real differences in SLAs and coverage
When each model makes sense for SMEs in London, Manchester and the surrounding regions
How to use this to make a clear decision—not just “go with your gut”

1. Cost comparison: in-house IT vs outsourced IT support

Every business is different, but the cost patterns are similar. Below is a simplified example for a 50‑user SME.

In-house IT (UK example)

Typical costs for a single mid‑level IT engineer:

Salary: £40,000–£55,000
Employer NI & pension: ~£6,000–£8,000
Training & certifications: £1,000–£3,000 per year
Tools (RMM, security, backup, ticketing): £300–£600 per month
Hardware, software, licences, recruitment, holiday/sickness cover: hidden but real

Even conservatively, you’re often at £55,000–£70,000 per year for one person—who still can’t cover every skill (cloud, security, networking, projects) and can’t be available 24/7.

Outsourced IT support (managed service)

A typical managed IT support service for 50 users might look like:

Per‑user fee: £40–£70 per user per month (depending on scope)
Approx annual cost at £50/user/month:
- 50 users × £50 × 12 = £30,000 per year

That usually includes:

A full support team (helpdesk, senior engineers, project specialists)
Monitoring, patching and security tooling
Ticketing, reporting and account management
Holiday and sickness cover baked in

Even at the higher end of the range, many SMEs find outsourced IT support is cheaper or similar in cost to one internal hire—but with more coverage and expertise.

2. SLA comparison: who actually picks up the phone?

Cost is only half the story. Service level agreements (SLAs) and coverage are where the models really diverge.

In-house IT

Pros:

On‑site presence (if they’re in the office)
Direct relationship with internal teams

Limitations:

One person can only handle so many tickets at once
No formal SLA unless you create one internally
Holidays, sickness, training days and out‑of‑hours leave gaps
Specialist work (security, cloud, complex networking) often needs external help anyway

Outsourced IT support

A mature managed service provider will offer:

Defined SLAs for response and resolution (e.g. critical issues responded to within 1 hour)
Team-based support – multiple engineers, so you’re not reliant on one person
Extended hours or 24/7 options if required
Escalation paths for complex issues and projects
Regular reporting on tickets, trends and performance

For a London or Manchester SME, this can mean the difference between:

A critical outage dragging on because your one IT person is already firefighting
Versus a support team triaging, escalating and resolving within agreed timeframes

3. Risks and benefits of each model

When in-house IT makes sense

In‑house can work well if:

You’re a larger organisation with 100+ users and can justify a small internal team
You have very specific, niche systems that need deep, daily hands‑on expertise
You’re prepared to invest in ongoing training, tools and additional hires as you grow

Even then, many larger SMEs still use a hybrid model: a small internal IT function plus an outsourced provider for projects, security and overflow.

When outsourced IT support is the better fit

Outsourced IT support is usually the best option when:

You’re an SME (say 20–200 users) needing broad coverage and predictable costs
You want access to multiple skills (cloud, Microsoft 365, networking, security) without hiring a full team
You operate across locations (e.g. London HQ with a Manchester office) and need consistent support
You want clear SLAs and reporting rather than informal expectations

The biggest risk with outsourcing is choosing the wrong provider—one that over‑promises and under‑delivers. That’s why SLAs, references, and clear onboarding plans matter.

4. Simple TCO thought experiment

Here’s a quick way to think about total cost of ownership (TCO):

Take your in‑house cost: salary + on‑costs + tools + training + recruitment.
Add the risk cost: what does one major outage or security incident cost in lost revenue and reputation?
Compare that to a fixed monthly fee with defined SLAs and a broader team.

For many SMEs, once you factor in risk, coverage and scalability, outsourced IT support comes out ahead—especially when you’re trying to grow without adding headcount too quickly.

5. How to decide: a simple framework

When you’re weighing outsourced IT vs in‑house IT, ask:

Do we need 24/7 or extended hours coverage?
Do we need multiple skillsets (cloud, security, networking, projects)?
Are we comfortable managing IT staff, training and retention internally?
How fast are we growing, and across how many locations?
What’s our risk tolerance around downtime and cyber security?

If you answer “yes” to needing broad skills, extended coverage and low risk, outsourced IT support is usually the more sensible option—especially for SMEs in London, Manchester, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.

6. How Amazing Support fits into this decision

At Amazing Support, we’ve built our managed IT support service specifically around the needs of UK SMEs in London, Hertfordshire and Manchester.

A few ways we bridge the gap between in‑house and outsourced IT:

Full managed IT support team, for a predictable per‑user fee
Instead of relying on one internal IT person, you get access to a team of engineers, consultants and project specialists—covering day‑to‑day support, Microsoft 365, networking, security and cloud.
Clear SLAs and “The Amazing Way®” service approach
We operate with defined response and resolution times (for critical, high, medium and low‑priority tickets) and a simple principle: we take ownership of issues until they’re resolved. No buck‑passing, no grey areas.
Award Winning Microsoft Partner & Cyber Essentials certified
We are a multi-award winning Managed IT Support Company, together with our Microsoft credentials and Cyber Essentials certification means you’re working with a provider that follows recognised best practice for security, patching, cloud management and operational services.
Local presence in London, Hertfordshire and Manchester
Many of our clients have a London HQ with additional offices or remote staff in Hertfordshire, Essex or Manchester. We’re set up to support multi‑site, hybrid and fully remote environments with consistent standards.
Proactive monitoring, security and backups baked in
We use industry‑standard RMM, email security and backup tools to monitor and protect your environment—so you’re not just “hoping” things are working in the background.

For many SMEs, this model delivers the best of both worlds: the strategic partnership and breadth of skills you’d expect from a larger internal IT team, without the cost and complexity of building that team yourself.

If you’re weighing up outsourced IT vs in‑house IT and want a clear, numbers‑based view, we can walk you through a tailored TCO comparison based on your current setup, user count and growth plans.

Build your Outsourced Quote right now
Get a simple quote to compare your current in‑house IT costs with our Managed IT Support services. See your true total cost, including risk and coverage, in under 10 minutes by building your quote here.

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