Outsourced IT Support for Small Businesses: What You Get, What It Costs and How to Choose

"IT support" covers everything from a phone number to ring when the printer breaks to a fully managed service that runs your technology, security and roadmap. The useful distinction is between three models:

A proper managed service should include, at minimum:

• A helpdesk with published hours and response targets, reachable by phone as well as email.
• Proactive monitoring and maintenance: patching, device health, backups checked, not just "call us when it breaks".
• Security as standard: MFA, endpoint protection, email security, and a clear line on what is monitored out of hours.
• Device and account lifecycle: joiners, leavers, new laptops, lost phones.
• Licensing and vendor management: Microsoft 365, backup, connectivity, hardware, with the provider dealing with the vendors.
• Reporting you can understand: tickets, response times, patch status, security posture.
• A named contact who knows your business, not just a queue.

Most UK providers price managed support per user per month, some per device, and a few by a blended figure. What moves the price:

1. What is included. A quote that bundles Microsoft 365 licences, backup, email security and endpoint protection will look more expensive than one that does not, and be cheaper overall. Compare the whole stack, not the headline.
2. Hours and response. Business hours only, extended hours, or 24/7 monitoring with out-of-hours response.
3. On-site. Whether visits are included, chargeable, or capped.
4. Complexity. Servers, multiple sites, line-of-business applications, compliance requirements such as CQC, Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO 27001.
5. Security depth. Basic protection versus managed detection and response with a Security Operations Centre.

We do not publish a per-user figure on this page because a number without the list above is meaningless, and it is the reason quotes "do not line up". We quote after a discovery call, with everything itemised. A good provider will do the same and will tell you what you are paying for that you do not need.

Comparing quotes

Put each quote into the same table: helpdesk hours, response targets, monitoring, patching, security tooling (named products), backup (what, how often, retention), licences included, on-site policy, reporting, contract length and exit terms. The cheapest headline is frequently the most expensive once the gaps are filled.

An in-house IT person is a real option above a certain size, and the honest comparison is not "one salary versus one contract":

• Coverage. One person is one person: holidays, sickness, evenings and the day they resign. A provider is a team.
• Breadth. Networking, Microsoft 365, security, backup, telephony, hardware and compliance are different specialisms. A generalist is stretched; a provider has all of them on call.
• Tooling. Monitoring, patching, security and ticketing platforms are expensive per seat for one business and cheap for a provider spreading them across many.
• Cost. A mid-level IT salary plus on-costs, tooling and training usually exceeds a managed service for a business under 100 people, and buys less coverage.

The combination that works well: an in-house IT manager or office manager who owns priorities and knows the business, and a provider that does the engineering, security and out-of-hours. We work in that model with several clients.

1. What is your response and resolution target, and what happened last month? Ask for the real figures, not the contractual ones.
2. What do you do proactively? Patching cadence, monitoring, backup checks, security reviews. If the answer is vague, it is break-fix with a monthly fee.
3. What is monitored out of hours, and who responds? "Alerts go to an inbox" is not monitoring.
4. Which security products, exactly? Named tools, and whether they are configured or just installed.
5. How do you handle a leaver? The answer reveals whether they have a process.
6. What happens if we want to leave? Notice period, who owns the admin accounts and documentation, and whether they help with the handover. Beware of providers who hold your domain, licences or admin credentials in their own name.
7. Who will we actually talk to? A named engineer or account manager, and how often you will hear from them without raising a ticket.
8. Can we talk to a client like us? Same size, similar sector.

Switching is routine when it is planned. The sequence:

1. Audit before notice. Find out what you have: domains, licences, admin accounts, backups, documentation, and what the current provider owns on your behalf.
2. Fix ownership. Domains, Microsoft 365 tenant and licences in your business's name, with your own break-glass admin account.
3. Give notice with a handover plan, not just a date.
4. Parallel running for a short period if the contract allows: the new provider onboarding devices and monitoring while the old one is still on call.
5. Day one on the new service: a communication to staff on how to get help, and a quiet first week while the new team learns the estate.

Most switches take four to eight weeks from decision to completion. The disruption staff notice is usually limited to a new helpdesk number and some MFA and device enrolment prompts.

We are a Brighton-based managed IT support and cyber security provider for 10 to 250-person businesses across Sussex and the UK. Our model is the managed service described above with security built in as the baseline: Microsoft 365 configured and monitored, devices managed, backups tested, and 24/7 monitoring. No lock-in contracts, real prices, and engineers rather than salespeople on the discovery call.

If you are in Brighton or Hove, our IT support in Brighton page covers the local side. To see what your current setup looks like from the outside, run the free IT Health Check; it takes a few minutes and tells you where you stand before anyone talks to you.