How Much Does It Cost To Outsource IT: Typical Price Ranges

In a world with so many cyber threats, businesses of every size need professional IT services. The decision you need to make is not if you need IT services but whether to hire IT staff or outsource to a professional firm. What is the cost to outsource IT services?

THE AVERAGE COST TO OUTSOURCE IT IN NORTH AMERICA
On average, you can expect to pay $100 to $250 per user per month for the majority of managed IT services. Keep in mind that IT outsourcing costs vary by region, so what you see locally may not be the same as in other cities. That said, we’ve done our best to present price ranges that reflect IT costs in most of the country.

Monthly Pricing
If your firm has about 50 employees, you can expect to spend $5,000 to $7,000 a month for managed IT services. This means that the third-party provider handles virtually everything, from network monitoring to hardware maintenance.

For a break-fix service model, which involves paying for IT services only when something goes wrong, the average costs are lower, usually $40 to $50 per user. That adds up to $2,500 a month for 50 users.

Per Device
Some IT providers break down outsourcing costs on a per-device basis instead. The cost differences are due to varying levels of complexity and maintenance requirements of the different devices. Prices are usually in the range of:

• $50 to $150 per desktop or laptop
• $20 per mobile device
• $300 to $500 per server

There are also different prices for different types of infrastructure, such as legacy equipment, on-prem servers, or cloud migration services.

Project-specific Pricing
How much does it cost to outsource IT if you need help with internal projects? For short-term projects, you should request a custom bid. For long-term development, IT professionals generally charge by the hour. It’s common to pay $125 to $250 per hour for IT consulting services, in addition to any software or hardware the project requires.

Help Desk Services
If you mainly need help with password resets or troubleshooting assistance, help desk services may be the perfect fit. They usually cost $85 to $150 per user.

WHAT FACTORS DETERMINE HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO OUTSOURCE IT?
The services you select have a significant impact on total IT outsourcing costs. Proactive services such as continuous monitoring and network management cost more than reactive break-fix services, but they also provide better cybersecurity protection.  IT professionals can handle everything from project management and web hosting to technical support and data backups.

Cybersecurity services include endpoint security, mobile device management, application integration, and even InfoSec training for your staff. Hiring an IT specialist or virtual CISO always increases outsourcing costs, but the expertise provided is worth it. These professionals can assist with regulatory compliance, such as HIPAA for healthcare or NIST 800-171 for defense contractors.

IS THE COST TO OUTSOURCE IT WORTH IT?
In reality, $5,000 to $7,000 a month is nothing compared to the salary of in-house IT staff. Just one network security engineer makes $105,000 a year on average. Add the tremendous cost of data breaches, which can average $4.45 million per incident, and it becomes obvious that outsourcing IT is one of the best decisions you can make.

When you outsource, you have complete flexibility to choose the services you need. This helps you keep the cost of outsourcing IT within your budget. Contact our team at TSP to get a detailed quote for IT services right away.