The Case for In-Sourcing IT

Over the years, I've encountered a common scenario. Often the company I am sitting down with is growing and maturing beyond their current IT support. Small businesses typically rely on IT Consulting firms (MSPs, or Managed Services Provider) or part-time contractors to provide IT services to the company. Telephones, internet services, networking equipment and personal computers provided and supported by an entity external to the company.

This normally starts out as a very reasonable solution. However as the company continues to grow and add staff and complexity, the costs associated with this external IT service can skyrocket. Conversely the quality and timeliness of the support function often degrades quite severely. It's a bad combination – most of the companies I've interviewed with over the years are quite unhappy with these MSP provided services by the time I am sitting down with them.

The complaints are also common: Slow response times to support issues. Unanswered tickets, emails, and phone calls. Recurring technical problems being given a quick-fix, band-aid solution rather than a long-term solution. Abysmally slow and unstable PCs and laptops. Unstable VPN connections making remote access painful. Connectivity issues even inside of the office. Big deadspots in warehouses where smart scanners cannot connect. Crashing and instability in core business software. Data loss. Phishing attacks leading to financial losses and law enforcement involvement.

I have observed an inverse relationship between the size of a company and the quality of IT service they receive from external partners. Meanwhile the monthly costs associated with these services can be quite high, and most companies do not even realize when they are paying an exorbitant amount for a particular service or contract within that partnership. In one case a midsize business I worked for was paying almost four times the typical cost for dedicated fiber internet services to their main and branch office locations. In another case, a company was being quoted mid six figures for server hardware and network infrastructure as part of an ERP software project – a project requirement I implemented for less than $60,000.

My IT Philosophy

One of the issues I see when it comes to peoples' relationship with technical support is frustration with a perceived lack of urgency. I also see a problem with "bureaucracy", the imposed "jumping through hoops" that someone must undergo to get some help. This problem gets particularly bad as a company grows and its systems and processes become more complicated – responsibilities more siloed – and problem ownership more diffused. The core of my philosophy is in eliminating these frustrations. Eliminating the perception of IT as a roadblock to conducting the business of the company.

IT is often seen by executive leadership as a necessary evil – a cost center – and essentially a glorified maintenance department. Wherever I go I aim to fix that perception. I believe that the IT function is a potential value-add to almost any business in almost any industry if properly led, financed, and staffed with high quality individuals.

Clear, straightforward support channels and escalation paths are important. No issue should sit for longer than an hour without at least an acknowledgement and response. Responsibility must be shared across all IT disciplines, and open communication between subject matter experts is paramount. End users should never be left wondering how to get help, or worried that they aren't asking for help in the "right way." I've heard technicians at large organizations browbeat end users for not putting in a ticket, or sending an email to the "wrong" address. These are artificial obstacles that must be cleared away. A healthy IT department empathizes with their end users and takes up their support issue as a cause to see through to a satisfactory end. Adversarial relationships between IT and end users is unfortunately all too common in many businesses, particularly large ones.