At some point, every growing business asks the question: should we hire an IT person or outsource to a managed service provider? The honest answer is that it depends, but here is a framework to think it through.
The Cost Math
A full-time IT generalist in Vancouver costs $70,000-$100,000 in salary plus benefits, equipment, training, and management overhead. That is one person, with one skill set, who takes vacation and calls in sick. An MSP gives you a team (typically 5-20+ engineers) for a fraction of that cost, usually $100-$200 per user per month. For a 30-person company, that is $36,000-$72,000 per year for a full team versus $90,000+ for one person.
What an MSP Provides That One IT Person Cannot
- Coverage: Help desk availability during business hours (or 24/7), not just when your IT person is at their desk
- Depth: Specialists in networking, security, cloud, Apple management. One generalist cannot be expert in all of these.
- Tooling: Enterprise-grade monitoring, MDM, backup, and security tools included in the service. Buying these individually is expensive.
- Continuity: If your sole IT person leaves, you are starting from zero. An MSP has documentation and a team.
When In-House Makes Sense
In-house IT starts to make sense when you have complex, unique systems that require deep institutional knowledge. If you are running custom software, managing a data center, or have regulatory requirements that demand dedicated on-site staff, an in-house hire might be warranted. Typically this applies at 100+ employees or in specialized industries.
The Co-Managed Option
You do not have to choose one or the other. Co-managed IT pairs your internal IT person with an MSP. Your IT hire handles day-to-day, on-site, relationship-driven work. The MSP provides the tooling, monitoring, escalation path, security expertise, and backup coverage. This is often the best of both worlds for mid-size organizations.
Red Flags in the MSP Search
- Long-term contracts with heavy cancellation penalties
- No clear SLA (service level agreement) with response time guarantees
- They do not specialize in your platform (if you are all-Apple, find an MSP that knows Apple)
- No documentation of your environment included in the service
- Reactive-only support with no proactive monitoring or maintenance
The Apple Factor
If your business runs on Mac, this narrows the field significantly. Most MSPs are Windows-first. They will "support" Macs, but their tools, processes, and expertise are built for Windows environments. An Apple-focused MSP understands MDM, macOS patching, Apple Business Manager, and the ecosystem in ways that a generalist shop simply does not.
Our Honest Take
For businesses under 75 employees, an MSP almost always delivers better value, broader expertise, and more reliable coverage than a single IT hire. Above that, co-managed is the sweet spot. Either way, make sure your provider actually understands your technology stack. Talk to us if you want a no-pressure conversation about what makes sense for your situation.