A Cost Comparison of Consultancy versus an Internal IT Department

Having an internal IT department is a large commitment that may not be right for everyone.

Having an internal IT department can be a major advantage for companies.

One of the biggest strengths of an internal IT team is the ability to own the process, end-to-end. From ideation through to implementation and maintenance, they have complete control over the entire technology stack.

However, owning the entire process is a costly investment in terms of time, effort, and overall cost.

Companies often don’t realise the true cost of their investment and lament afterward whether the price for owning the whole process was worth it.


See below for a comparison in costs between having your own IT department versus using Intrepid, a consultancy:

Recruitment Time - The Search Time to Find Team Members

  • Doing it Yourself - 4 to 12 weeks

  • Using Intrepid - 1 to 8 weeks

In most cases, we at Intrepid have staff on hand to work on your project which can make this timeline even shorter!

Recruitment Cost - Search/Acquisition Costs (one-off)

  • Doing it Yourself - 15% - 20% Salary

  • Using Intrepid - None

By using consultants, it means you by-pass recruitment frees.

Delivery Time - Time to Kick-off a Project (from scratch)

  • Doing it Yourself - 4 to 16 weeks

  • Using Intrepid - 1 to 8 weeks

At Intrepid, we have a seamless project kick-off and an efficient onboarding process to ensure we get things moving even faster.

Recurring Costs - Training, Benefits, PAYE, etc.

  • Doing it Yourself - 15% - 20% Salary

  • Using Intrepid - None

Consultants have one all-in cost, meaning you only pay the daily rate with no additional recurring costs.

Management Time - Team Member External Support

  • Doing it Yourself - For you to arrange

  • Using Intrepid - Yes

At Intrepid, our team members can access our experienced experts for training, advice, and opinions (including your employees).

Termination Costs - Removing a Team Member

  • Doing it Yourself - High (depending on tenure)

  • Using Intrepid - None

There are typically no additional costs when terminating/removing consultants from an engagement.


Conclusion

While internal IT departments give you ultimate long-term control, they require a significant investment. The costs associated with the investment aren’t always apparent up front, and in many cases, this costly investment isn’t worth it. Therefore, in a lot of scenarios, going with Intrepid makes a lot more sense to cut down or mitigate the time, effort, and financial costs of running your technology initiative.

If you’d like to hear more about our services and how we can help you with your technology initiatives, please reach out to sales@beintrepid.co.uk