IT support for small companies: what to outsource and what to keep in-house

The awkward middle size

Under ten people, someone technical usually handles IT on the side. Over fifty, a full-time hire pays for itself. Between those points most Estonian companies muddle through: passwords in a spreadsheet, one laptop nobody dares to update, and a backup that has never been tested.

Keep in-house

• Access discipline. Who joins, who leaves, who gets which system. This is a management habit, not a technical skill.
• Everyday tools. Someone internal should own your document setup, shared drives and naming conventions.
• Knowing your own processes. No external partner can describe how your quotes, invoices or field work actually flow.

Buy in

• Security baseline. MFA everywhere, device encryption, tested backups, a written incident routine.
• Integrations and automation. Connecting ERP, CRM and e-commerce is a specialist job that pays back fastest.
• Architecture and vendor decisions. A few hours of independent advice before a five-year contract is the cheapest money you will spend.

What it costs

A realistic pattern for a 25-person company: a small monthly retainer for support and monitoring, plus a few advisory days per quarter, plus project budgets when something is actually built. That is usually a fraction of one full-time salary and gives you a wider skill set.

A quick self-check

1. Can you restore a deleted file from three weeks ago?
2. Does every employee use multi-factor authentication?
3. When someone leaves, is there a checklist of accounts to close?
4. Do you know which system holds your customer data of record?
5. Is there anyone besides one person who can access critical accounts?

Two or more "no" answers means the risk is bigger than the cost of fixing it. Talk to us — the first conversation is free and usually shortens the list.