Consider outsourcing IT when support demand, specialist skills or planning needs exceed the capacity you want to maintain internally. Start by defining what needs to improve, then compare providers against the same written requirements.

An MSP, or managed service provider, can take responsibility for agreed IT services. The right arrangement depends on your users, systems, risks and internal team, not a universal ranking or a promise that outsourcing always costs less.

Do not assume that monitoring, security, licences, projects or out-of-hours support are included. Ask each provider to describe its scope, exclusions and responsibilities in the proposal.

Use this guide to compare reactive, managed and co-managed support, then check service fit, security, governance, onboarding, evidence, total costs and exit arrangements.

Compare reactive, managed and co-managed support

Reactive support focuses on help when an issue is raised. Check how requests are charged, when help is available and who remains responsible for maintenance, monitoring and longer-term planning.

Managed support covers an agreed set of ongoing services. Compare the actual support, maintenance, monitoring, reporting and escalation responsibilities rather than relying on the label alone.

Co-managed support shares work with an internal IT team. Agree which team owns each system, queue, security activity and project, including handovers and escalation when responsibilities meet.

None of these models is automatically the best choice. Compare the work you want to retain internally with the coverage, skills and accountability you need from a provider.

Signs that indicate it is time to outsource your IT

• Unclear IT costs: List current support, licences, infrastructure and project spending. Ask providers to price the same scope and explain exclusions rather than assuming outsourcing will reduce the total.

• Specialist skills gaps: Identify the systems and tasks your team needs help with. Ask who would deliver that work and what evidence demonstrates relevant experience.

• Recurring issues: Review your support history and critical services. Ask how the proposed arrangement would handle incidents, recurring problems and out-of-hours escalation.

• Security concerns: Set out the data, systems and access a provider would handle. Ask how privileged access, incident communication, backup responsibilities and supplier dependencies would be controlled.

• Change is difficult to plan: Identify upcoming changes and the technical knowledge needed. Check whether advice and project delivery are included or separately commissioned.

• Internal capacity is stretched: Describe where support or projects compete for attention. Decide which responsibilities to retain and which to delegate before requesting proposals.

Check scope, fit and governance

Give shortlisted providers the same brief. Ask for written answers to these checks so you can compare like for like:

• Scope: Which users, devices, locations, applications and cloud services are covered? What is excluded, and how are changes to scope agreed?

• Fit: Who will support your environment, and what experience do they have with your platforms, operating needs and internal team?

• Governance: Who is accountable for service delivery? Ask how reviews, reporting, priorities and escalation work, and who authorises changes.

• Security: Ask for evidence of relevant controls and any claimed certification, including its scope and validity. Clarify privileged access, data handling and third-party responsibilities.

• Service levels: Check support hours, severity definitions, response targets and escalation routes. Distinguish acknowledgement from investigation, restoration and resolution.

• Evidence: Request relevant case studies and customer references where permission allows. Ask what was delivered and how outcomes were evidenced; do not treat a testimonial as a service guarantee.

Check onboarding, costs and exit terms

Review transition and commercial details before choosing a provider. These are questions to resolve in a proposal and contract, not promises that every service includes them:

• Onboarding: Who will gather inventories, document systems, arrange access and transfer knowledge? Ask about dependencies, responsibilities, milestones and how the transition is accepted.

• Total costs: Compare recurring support, onboarding, licences, tools, projects, out-of-hours work, travel and any exit charges. Identify assumptions and what would change the price.

• Contract terms: Check the term, notice period, renewal process, price-review provisions and treatment of changes. Do not assume flexibility that is not written down.

• Exit and ownership: Ask who controls accounts, credentials, licences, documentation and data. Agree the handover format, assistance, timescales, charges and access removal process.

• Recovery responsibilities: Clarify who owns backup configuration, recovery testing, incident decisions and communications. Ask for the evidence behind any proposed recovery targets.

• Decision record: Record the evidence, unresolved questions, exclusions and trade-offs for each option. Involve the people who own business operations, security, finance and internal IT.

Use independent supplier-security guidance

The National Cyber Security Centre’s supply-chain security guidance sets out 12 principles to help organisations establish control and oversight of their suppliers. Use it as a reference when reviewing security responsibilities, not as an endorsement of any provider.

Discuss your requirements with Aura

Aura’s existing Managed IT, Co-Managed IT and Outsourced IT service pages describe different ways to organise support. Compare their scope with the responsibilities you want to retain, then discuss the fit for your organisation.

Contact Aura to discuss your users, environment, support needs and priorities.

How do I compare what is included in IT support?

Ask each provider to set out covered users, devices, locations, systems, support hours and responsibilities in writing. Check exclusions and which work needs a separate agreement before comparing proposals.

What should I check when comparing costs?

Compare the same scope, including recurring support, onboarding, licences, projects, out-of-hours work and any transition or exit charges. Ask which assumptions affect the quote rather than treating a headline fee as the whole cost.

How can I discuss a proposal with Aura?

Use Aura’s contact page to discuss your environment, users, current support arrangements and priorities. Ask for the proposed scope, exclusions and commercial terms in writing before deciding. Contact Aura.

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