Pros and cons of outsourcing IT support: Is it right for your business?

Outsourcing support might sound like a lifeline when your IT team is underwater. But how do you know if it’s actually the right move for your company? The truth is, it depends.

If you’re figuring out whether to outsource some (or all) of your IT help desk, this guide will help you weigh the pros and cons of outsourcing IT support so you can decide what makes sense for your team.

What IT support outsourcing actually means

Outsourcing IT support means partnering with an external partner to take on some (or all) of your IT help desk responsibilities. The setup depends on your needs. You might hand off Tier 1 tickets, supplement your team with 24/7 coverage, or go fully managed with an outsourced provider.

There are a few different ways this can work:

• Managed services: Your provider owns the help desk end-to-end.
• Co-managed services: You share the work and split responsibilities — maybe by ticket type, hours, or escalation paths.
• Staff augmentation: You bring in outside specialists who work alongside your internal team.

At Fixify, for example, we scale up IT support without adding headcount. We work your tickets by combining AI-powered triage with real humans who care deeply about the people behind the tickets — so your users get answers, not canned responses, and your team gets room to breathe.

Why companies consider outsourcing IT support

Most companies don’t start with outsourcing. 

They usually land there when they hit a wall:

• The queue’s growing faster than your team.
• Tickets are piling up, and resolution times are slipping.
• Your team’s stuck juggling password resets and high-impact projects — and not doing either well.

It might also be a coverage issue. Maybe no one’s around after hours. Or you need skills your current crew just doesn’t have.

Outsourcing gives you breathing room when time, budget, or headcount are in short supply.

The upside: Pros of outsourcing IT support

There are real upsides when you’ve got the right partner. Here’s what makes outsourcing worth considering.

It's more cost-effective than hiring

For small- to mid-sized teams, outsourcing can be a budget-friendly alternative to hiring full-time staff. Instead of recruiting, onboarding, and retaining additional IT staff, you can hand off repeatable tasks for a fraction of the cost. You’re not paying for idle time or running the gauntlet to secure approval for adding additional headcount.

You get access to more tools and expertise

Outsourcing partners often bring their own playbooks, tooling, and specialists. That means you benefit from automation and best practices you might not have in-house.

At Fixify, for instance, our AI Sidekicks handle triage, finds patterns, and give our analysts superpowers — so we work smarter (and faster), not just harder.

Tickets get worked faster

SLAs are the name of the game with most outsourcing providers. That means the provider usually hops right in and works your tickets quickly, consistently, and reliably. If your backlog becomes a bottleneck, outsourcing even part of your support can make a noticeable dent.

It scales when you do

Growth rarely happens in a neat, linear path. Whether you’re onboarding a wave of new hires or rolling out a brand new system, outsourcing gives you the ability to flex up and handle surges without scrambling to hire.

The trade-offs: Cons of outsourcing IT support

Outsourcing isn’t a silver bullet. There are trade-offs that you should weigh carefully up front.

You give up some visibility and control

When work happens outside your four walls, it’s harder to track what’s going on with your IT help desk tickets. Some providers keep reporting vague (ex. a status that just says “In process”) or simply don’t have a great way for you to check in on what they’re doing. That’s why transparency matters — you want a partner who shows you exactly what they see, in real time.

Security can be a concern

Granting access to a third party will always raise questions about security and compliance. The key is to understand the risk and then manage it. Look for providers who are clear about their compliance with standards like SOC 2 or GDPR, and ask how they segment access between customers.

Communication and cultural fit matter

Some providers just won’t get how your team works. A cookie-cutter model might feel clunky or out of touch with your day-to-day reality. That’s why it’s important to ask about onboarding and integrations and how they work with your existing tools and workflows — not just how they work in theory.

Rigid packages don’t work

Traditional managed service providers (MSPs) offer pre-bundled services. But your needs don’t always fit neatly in a box. Those pre-bundled services may or may not be a good fit for what you need. The best partners offer a tailored approach. For example, at Fixify, we build custom playbooks for each customer, so we work your tickets the way your users are already familiar with — just more efficiently.

How to know if outsourcing is right for your business

Still on the fence? Start with a few key questions.

1. Is your team overwhelmed?

Check your ticket volume. If your internal team is drowning in Tier 1 work like account unlocks or software access, it might be time to offload the repetitive stuff and let your team focus on higher-impact projects.

2. Do you know what your current support really costs?

Consider more than just salaries. Include the cost of delays, missed SLAs, and end user downtime. Compare that to the cost of outsourcing — not just in dollars, but in time saved and burnout avoided.

3. What are your biggest gaps?

Need weekend coverage? Falling behind on onboarding support? Spending too much time firefighting? Identifying your pressure points and gaps makes it easier to find the right outsourcing model.

Outsourcing doesn’t mean letting go

Handing off IT support doesn’t mean handing over control — not if you choose the right partner. The best partners feel like an extension of your own team. You get better coverage, more visibility, and faster outcomes without adding overhead or stress.

Want to scale your help desk without the burnout?

Book a demo and see how Fixify can help.