IT outages or data breaches can lead to devastating consequences for marketing agencies, such as lost client trust, regulatory fines, or campaign delays that cost thousands in revenue.
With this in mind, the question arises: should your marketing agency invest in an in-house IT team or outsource to a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP)?
This guide will detail both options, their pros and cons, and practical factors to consider when making your decision.
Overview of Managed IT Support vs. In-House IT
Before weighing their differences, it's important to define each solution.
- Managed IT Support: Managed IT involves outsourcing your IT services to an external provider. Providers oversee your IT infrastructure and security remotely. Services usually include reactive support (often by phone or by remoting on to your system) but can also include proactive maintenance, 24/7 monitoring, backup management, cyber security measures, software updates, and compliance management. You typically pay a fixed subscription fee tailored to your agency's needs.
- In-House IT: An in-house IT team consists of employees who work directly for your marketing agency. They handle day-to-day IT issues, oversee projects such as assessing, selecting and onboarding new software. Depending on their skill set, scope of function and the available time, they may also maintain and monitor systems. Unlike managed services, they are on-site, allowing immediate responses to emergencies.
Managed IT Support vs. In-House IT: A Comprehensive Overview
Both options offer distinct advantages and challenges for marketing agencies. Understanding how they compare across key operational areas will help you make an informed decision based on your business needs, budget constraints, and growth plans.
Let's examine each critical aspect.
Response Time and Availability
In-House IT teams can provide immediate hands-on support during critical client presentations or campaigns. Team members develop an intimate knowledge of your business and systems, and can prioritise urgent issues based on business impact rather than ticket queues.
Managed IT Support typically includes 24/7 monitoring and support with guaranteed response times through Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Many issues are resolved proactively before they impact operations, with remote resolution often faster than waiting for in-house staff to troubleshoot. An MSP’s support team will be larger than an inhouse team meaning access to them may be faster, and this will not be impacted by holidays or sickness which can impact a small inhouse team.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. With 24/7 coverage, proactive monitoring, and guaranteed response times through SLAs, managed services typically provide more comprehensive availability than in-house teams.
Cost Structure
In-House IT comes with predictable staffing costs and the ability to directly manage resource allocation. In-house teams can be strategically built around your agency's specific technical requirements without paying for unused services or capabilities.
Managed IT Support accounts for holidays and sickness, has lower management overheads and offers predictable monthly fees with no surprise expenses.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. The subscription-based model with predictable monthly costs makes managed services more cost-effective for most marketing agencies.
Expertise and Knowledge
In-House IT teams develop deep expertise in your specific technology stack and client requirements. Internal training programs can build institutional knowledge about your unique technical environment.
Managed IT Support provides access to a diverse team of specialists with expertise across multiple domains, including cloud services, cybersecurity, compliance, and marketing-specific technologies. MSPs continuously train their teams on emerging technologies and threats.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. The breadth of specialised expertise across multiple domains gives managed services the edge, especially for agencies needing access to a wide range of technical skills.
Scalability and Growth
In-House IT provides complete control over hiring decisions and team structure, allowing for strategic growth aligned with business objectives. In-house teams can develop specialised domain knowledge that becomes a competitive advantage for your agency.
Managed IT Support offers seamlessly scalable services that grow with your agency. Resources can be adjusted quickly during busy periods or new client acquisitions without recruitment costs and delays, or additional infrastructure investments.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. The ability to rapidly scale services up or down without hiring delays or infrastructure investments makes managed services more adaptable to changing business needs.
Communication and Collaboration
In-House IT enables direct face-to-face collaboration with team members who understand your business culture. IT staff can participate in creative meetings to provide a technical perspective on campaign feasibility and innovative technical solutions.
Managed IT Support providers typically assign dedicated account managers who develop a solid understanding of your business needs. These managers communicate through multiple channels, including regular strategy meetings and performance reviews.
- Advantage: In-House IT. The direct integration with your team and immersion in company culture give in-house IT an advantage in collaborative work environments where technical input on creative projects is valuable.
Business Focus
In-House IT leadership can be strategically aligned with your business direction, potentially creating technical intellectual property and methodologies unique to your agency that competitors cannot easily replicate.
Managed IT Support frees your team to focus entirely on client work and business growth while IT infrastructure runs smoothly in the background, potentially increasing billable hours and client satisfaction.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. By handling technical concerns behind the scenes, managed services allow marketing agencies to concentrate on their core business of serving clients and delivering campaigns.
Control and Customisation
In-House IT provides direct control over day-to-day operations, allowing for custom solutions precisely aligned with your agency's unique workflows. IT staff can be directly integrated into project teams for specialised technical input on client deliverables.
Managed IT Support offers strategic oversight with professional implementation. Modern MSPs provide customisable service packages tailored to your agency's requirements while managing routine maintenance behind the scenes.
- Advantage: In-House IT. When absolute control and deep customisation are priorities, in-house teams offer unmatched ability to create bespoke solutions tailored to your specific business processes. If this isn’t a specific requirement then the advantage sways back in favour of Managed IT Support.
Business Continuity Planning
In-House IT gives complete ownership of disaster recovery and business continuity planning, allowing for tailored approaches specific to your agency's risk tolerance and client requirements. Documentation and processes remain entirely under your control.
Managed IT Support typically includes enterprise-grade disaster recovery and business continuity solutions that might otherwise be unaffordable. Redundant staffing ensures technical support remains available regardless of individual availability.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. Enterprise-level redundancy and recovery solutions provide better protection against disruptions, with dedicated resources for business continuity that small to medium agencies would struggle to match internally.
Technology Access and Innovation
In-House IT allows for the implementation of cutting-edge technologies without approval processes from external providers. In-house teams can develop proprietary tools and systems specifically designed for your agency's unique workflow and client needs.
Managed IT Support offers access to enterprise-grade tools and solutions at a fraction of the retail cost through MSP partnerships and licensing agreements. This includes regular technology refreshes without capital expenditure.
- Advantage: Tie. Both approaches offer distinct advantages: in-house teams provide freedom to create proprietary solutions, while managed services provide cost-effective access to enterprise-grade tools that might otherwise be unaffordable.
Compliance and Security Management
In-House IT allows security and compliance approaches to be completely customised to your specific client requirements with direct accountability to agency leadership. Intellectual property and sensitive client information remains entirely under your control and oversight.
Managed IT Support provides proactive regulatory compliance management with regular cyber security audits, vulnerability testing, and up-to-date protection against threats specific to marketing agencies handling sensitive client data. Also, in-house IT teams are rarely given the budget and bandwidth to proactively focus on maintaining compliance.
- Advantage: Managed IT Support. With dedicated security specialists and established compliance frameworks, managed services typically offer more robust protection against threats and regulatory requirements.
Factors to Consider for Marketing Agencies
When deciding between in-house IT and managed IT support, here are the key factors to weigh:
Budget
Can your agency afford the ongoing cost of hiring a full-time IT team (including cover for illness and holidays)? Or does the predictability of a subscription-based MSP fit your financial model better? Maintaining an in-house IT infrastructure requires regular investments in systems and software (such as network monitoring, cyber-security, documentation, etc) that are often included as part of an outsourced managed service provision, so this also needs to be factored in.
Complexity of IT Needs
Does your agency require IT specialists who understand niche tools like marketing automation platforms, CRMs, or compliance technologies? Agencies requiring specialised tools often face skill gaps when relying on in-house teams.
Size and Scalability
If your marketing agency is expanding, consider which option is better suited to adapt to additional clients, employees, and campaigns. In-house teams can sometimes struggle to scale quickly without significant investment in recruitment and infrastructure.
Current Expertise
Evaluate the gaps in your current team's skills. The UK faces a persistent digital skills gap. In 2024, 88% of businesses reported challenges finding qualified individuals with up-to-date digital skills. Would you need to hire or train extensively to fill those gaps? Or does managed IT support already offer the expertise you lack?
Empower Your Agency with the Right IT Support
The debate between Managed IT Support and an in-house IT team ultimately comes down to your agency's unique needs.
Looking at our comparison, Managed IT Support wins in seven categories, and In-House IT wins in two categories, with one tie.
If you value complete control and deep customisation and have the budget, in-house IT might be a good option. However, managed IT support offers significant advantages for cost-effectiveness, access to diverse expertise, and scalability.
Choose the option that aligns with your agency's goals, budget, and future growth plans to ensure your IT infrastructure supports rather than hinders your success. Get in touch to discuss your unique needs today!