Pros and Cons of Outsourcing it

A challenging decision for a company is whether to have an in-house IT department or whether to outsource it. There are different advantages and disadvantages to each decision, and the characteristics of the company will dictate the best decision. Consider the following pros and cons when making this choice.
Pros of outsourcing IT
It may be cheaper
Not everyone needs a full time person working IT. Especially for a small company that may only have a few people on the payroll, an extra employee may simply not be in the budget. You can utilize the services of an IT company for much less than the full time cost of an employee, especially if your needs are low.
You will get the benefits of their training and resources
Even if you can afford to hire an IT professional, you may not have all of the resources to do the training or give them the tools that a company dedicated to IT would. They may have people who specialize in certain services such as a data recovery specialist, for instance. They may have a clean room to repair systems instead of just using an office where equipment might get damaged by static or dust. These resources may be out of the reach of even a larger company.
A lot of things can be done remotely
Just because an IT person might not be on site all the time does not mean that they will not necessarily be able to address an IT problem right away. Many problems can be solved remotely. Even if they are not there in person, they may still meet your needs much or most of the time.
Can have a backup if someone is sick
If your IT professional is sick or away on vacation, you may be out of luck when you have a problem. If you have outsourced this work to a big company, then they will usually offer someone as a backup plan if your normal person is sick. This may avoid a lot of pressure on that one person.
Can work with your needs
You will have your choice of many different companies to which to outsource. These range in the scope of services as well as price. You can hire the one that meets your needs. You also will not need to worry about hiring such a person if you are unfamiliar with computers and really have no idea of what to look for in a candidate.
Cons of outsourcing IT
You may not have someone there right away
When you have your own IT department you know that someone will be there if the system goes down and all business comes to a halt. If the task is outsourced, there may not be someone on site. You may have to wait for them to travel to you, precious time that could lose you money.
Security
Many companies have very sensitive information on their computers. Although you can find a very secure IT company, some people want to have complete control over the information.
You won’t have as much control over the hiring
Many companies want to do all of the hiring of employees within their company. You may feel more comfortable. You may want to be able to choose the best people who will do the best for your company. In many instances, when you hire an IT company you just get whom they assign you.
There is no right or wrong in the decision on whether to outsource IT. Consider all of the elements above to see which of the sides outweighs the other in your decision.