Around the 15–25 staff mark, most Australian businesses hit the same inflection point. Things have grown to the point where IT is a real operational concern — someone is always having trouble with something — but hiring a full-time IT person feels like a big commitment. The question is: do you bring someone in-house, or do you engage a managed IT provider?

There's no universally correct answer. But there are some clear frameworks for thinking about it, and most 20-person businesses in Perth and Melbourne arrive at the same conclusion once they run the numbers honestly.

The Case for In-House IT

An in-house IT person offers immediacy. When something breaks, they're there. They know the office layout, the people, the quirks of specific machines, and the context behind why things are set up the way they are. For businesses with very bespoke or industry-specific software, having someone on the ground who truly understands that system can be genuinely valuable.

In-house IT also works well when your business has complex, custom-built infrastructure that requires constant management — think manufacturing control systems, specialised databases, or high-availability environments where deep institutional knowledge is more valuable than breadth of expertise.

But for a typical 20-person professional services firm, construction business, or retail operation? The case gets harder to make quickly.

The Real Cost of an In-House IT Person

A competent IT support person in Perth with two to three years of experience will cost you $65,000–$85,000 per year in salary. Add superannuation, leave entitlements, payroll tax, and the cost of onboarding, and the real cost is typically 20–25% higher — so $78,000–$106,000 per year in fully-loaded employment cost.

Now consider what you're getting. One person. One set of skills. Constrained to business hours unless you're paying overtime. Unable to cover their own leave. No redundancy if they resign. And crucially: the depth and breadth of expertise you need in 2026 — cloud management, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 administration, networking, backup management, compliance — is far beyond what a single generalist can reasonably cover.

When your IT person is sick, on leave, or has resigned, you're back to square one. No documentation, no continuity, and a crisis you have to solve urgently.

What Managed IT Actually Provides

A managed IT provider gives you a team — not a person. That team includes engineers with specialisations across networking, cloud, security, Microsoft 365, and end-user support. They operate across documented systems, follow consistent processes, and provide continuity that isn't dependent on any individual.

For a 20-person business, managed IT typically costs $4,000–$8,000 per month depending on scope — which is $48,000–$96,000 per year. At first glance that looks comparable to an in-house hire. But you're getting a team, not a person. You're getting 24/7 monitoring, proactive patching, security tools, vendor management, and documented processes. And you're eliminating the overheads, the leave cover problem, and the single point of failure.

More importantly: you're getting expertise that a single junior-to-mid-level IT person simply cannot provide. Cybersecurity alone has become a specialist discipline. Expecting one generalist to handle helpdesk support and also be your security operations centre is unrealistic.

The Hybrid Model

Some businesses arrive at a hybrid model: a managed IT provider handles the strategic, proactive, and security-focused work, while a part-time or office-based IT coordinator handles the day-to-day logistics — asset management, printer paper, setting up new starters. This works well for businesses around the 40–60 staff mark.

At 20 staff, you typically don't have enough IT logistics volume to justify even a part-time internal role alongside a managed IT engagement. The provider's helpdesk handles end-user issues directly, and the overhead isn't there yet.

Questions to Help You Decide

  • Do you have highly bespoke systems that require deep institutional knowledge to support? If yes, in-house might make more sense.
  • Is your primary concern day-to-day helpdesk support, or is it the strategic management of your IT environment (security, cloud, compliance, continuity)? If the latter, managed IT wins on depth.
  • Can your business afford a six-week gap in IT support while you recruit a replacement if your IT person leaves? If not, the single-point-of-failure risk of in-house IT is a real concern.
  • Do you have the time and expertise to manage an IT employee effectively — to set their priorities, evaluate their work, and hold them accountable? Many business owners underestimate this overhead.

For the majority of Perth and Melbourne SMBs at the 15–30 staff range, managed IT delivers better value, better coverage, and better security outcomes than a single in-house hire. The key is finding the right provider — one who operates as a genuine technology partner rather than just a helpdesk ticket-taker.