Short answer: somewhere between 10 and 50 employees. That’s where managed IT starts making more financial sense than hiring in-house. It also beats relying on a part-time fix-it person. Below 10 employees, technology needs are usually simple enough to outsource as needed. Above 50, many businesses can support at least one full-time IT hire or have a Managed IT Provider for support.
The 10-to-50 range sits in the gap between those two options. That gap isn’t a guess. It comes from how IT staffing scales.
Why 10 to 50 employees is the tipping point
Most IT staffing benchmarks call for one IT staff member per 50 to 75 employees in a typical office. A business with 20 or 30 people doesn’t generate enough IT work to keep one full-time hire busy.
But that same business generates more IT work than a shared drive and good intentions can handle. That’s the trap. You’ve outgrown asking a coworker to fix it. You haven’t grown into a full IT department.
An MSP fills that gap. It delivers the coverage a larger company would build in-house, sized to what a 10-to-50-person business needs.
What it really costs to build this in-house
Say you decide to hire your own IT person instead. A network and computer systems administrator earns a median of $99,130 a year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure is current as of May 2025.
A help desk-level hire costs less. Computer support specialists earn a median of $61,860, per the same BLS data. Neither number includes payroll taxes, benefits, training, or coverage for vacations and sick days.
And neither role covers the full job alone. Systems administrators handle networks and servers. Help desk staff handle day-to-day user problems. Cybersecurity, backups, and technology planning are separate skills again.
A 10-to-50-person business rarely needs three or four specialists. It also rarely has enough work to keep them all busy full time. An MSP spreads that expertise across many clients. You get a full team, without paying for one.
The risk of waiting too long
Growing businesses often delay this decision. They wait until something breaks. That’s an expensive way to learn the lesson.
Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report tracked breach data across company sizes. Small businesses suffered nearly four times as many confirmed breaches as large organizations. Ransomware showed up in 88% of those small business breaches, compared to 39% for large companies.
The median ransomware payment was $115,000. Most victims, 64%, refused to pay and dealt with the fallout anyway.
Attackers don’t skip a company because it only has 25 employees. They often prefer it. Smaller businesses are less likely to have security monitoring, patching schedules, or tested backups in place.
What an MSP covers at this size
A managed service provider does what an internal IT department would do. It delivers that work as a service instead of a headcount. For a business with 10 to 50 employees, that typically includes:
- Help desk support for day-to-day user issues
- Network and server monitoring and maintenance
- Cybersecurity tools like endpoint protection and email filtering
- Patch management and software updates
- Backup and disaster recovery planning
- Guidance on technology budgeting and upgrades
The exact mix depends on the provider and the plan. Some businesses want everything outsourced. Others keep one internal person for daily tasks and bring in an MSP for specialized work. That approach is often called co-managed IT.
Signs your business has already reached this point
A few signs tend to show up before the decision becomes obvious.
- You’ve had a security incident, or a close call, in the past year
- One person handles IT as a side task, not their main job
- You’re bidding on contracts that require security documentation you don’t have
- Employees lose real work time waiting on tech problems
- You don’t know when your backups were last tested
If two or three of these sound familiar, the math has likely already shifted toward managed IT.
Frequently asked questions
How many employees does a business need before hiring an MSP?
There’s no fixed number. But most businesses reach the point where managed IT makes financial sense somewhere between 10 and 50 employees. Below that range, IT needs are usually simple. Above it, many businesses can justify a full-time hire.
Is a 10-person company too small for managed IT services?
No. Many MSPs work with businesses this size. Most bill per user, per month, so cost scales with headcount. A 10-person company can outsource cybersecurity and help desk support without hiring anyone internally.
What does an MSP cost for a 30-person business?
Managed IT services generally run $100 to $400 per user, per month. The range depends on the scope of support and the security tools included. For a 30-person business, that works out to roughly $3,000 to $12,000 a month. Actual pricing varies by provider and by need.
What’s the difference between co-managed IT and fully outsourced IT?
Co-managed IT pairs an MSP with an existing internal IT employee. The two split responsibilities. Fully outsourced IT means the MSP handles everything, with no internal IT hire required.
When should a business move from an informal “IT person” to a managed service provider?
When technology problems start affecting revenue, compliance, or client trust. That point usually arrives well before a business reaches 50 employees.
and Finally…
There’s no rule that says 27 employees means you need an MSP and 26 doesn’t. But the range holds up because it matches how IT workloads scale.
Your business has 10 to 50 employees. IT already eats more of your time than it should. That’s the signal worth acting on.
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