MSP, in-house or self-serve IT: how to choose

Managed service provider (MSP)

An outside company runs your IT for a monthly fee, usually priced per person or per device. You get a team and a helpdesk without hiring. The trade-off is visibility: it can be hard to tell what's configured and whether it's done well, and cost grows with headcount.

In-house IT

A dedicated hire knows your business and is there when you need them. It's the most control and the highest fixed cost, and a single person can't cover everything or be on call around the clock.

Self-serve IT

Someone already in the business runs IT with a platform that checks the setup, explains what's wrong and makes changes safely. It's the lowest cost and keeps control in-house. It works best for companies on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace without complex on-premises systems, and for people willing to spend a little time each week.

Combining them

• Self-serve plus an MSP for the helpdesk: you keep an independent view of security and configuration
• In-house plus a platform: one person gets baselines, monitoring and safe changes so they can cover more
• An MSP using a platform across clients, with reports clients can read

Where TenantWard fits

TenantWard is a self-serve IT platform. Companies use it to run IT themselves or to check their provider's work, in-house IT leads use it to cover more with less, and providers use the Partner plan to manage clients.