IT Model Comparison — Melbourne
In-House IT vs Managed IT Services
For Melbourne businesses with 10–200 staff, the real cost of in-house IT is rarely just the salary. This comparison covers total cost of ownership, security coverage, Essential Eight maturity, and what happens when your IT person leaves.
In-house IT means hiring one or more full-time staff to manage your technology environment. Managed IT services outsources that responsibility to a specialist MSP under a fixed monthly fee. For Melbourne SMBs with 10–200 staff, managed IT typically delivers broader coverage — including 24/7 monitoring, Essential Eight uplift (ML1–ML2), and data sovereignty controls — at a lower total cost than a single IT hire.
Side-by-side comparison
| Category | In-House IT | Managed IT (Prexiam) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | $85K–$110K+ per IT person (salary, super, leave, tools, training). One person covers one discipline. | Fixed monthly fee. Entire team of specialists across helpdesk, security, cloud, and compliance. |
| After-hours cover | No coverage when IT staff are sick, on leave, or have resigned. | SLA-backed coverage continues regardless of individual staff changes. |
| Security expertise | One generalist rarely covers MDR, Essential Eight, Entra PIM, and cloud security simultaneously. | 24/7 MDR, Essential Eight ML1–ML2 uplift, and JIT privileged access via Microsoft Entra PIM. |
| Essential Eight | Depends entirely on individual skill level. Maturity rarely maintained post-implementation. | Continuous drift detection and remediation. Maturity sustained between audits, not just during them. |
| Data sovereignty | No formal policy on logs, metadata, or tool-chain data residency unless specifically designed. | Sovereign-Sync: Australia-resident operational telemetry, AU-based engineer access only. |
| Scalability | Scaling up requires recruiting, onboarding, and training — 3–6 month lag. | Scales with your headcount immediately. No recruitment risk. |
| Internal knowledge | Deep knowledge of your specific environment and business context. | Documented environment from day one. No single-person dependency. |
| Co-managed option | Works well alongside a managed service in a co-managed arrangement. | Prexiam offers co-managed IT — your internal person handles strategy, we handle operations and security. |
Hidden costs of in-house IT most Melbourne businesses miss
Recruitment and retention
IT recruitment in Melbourne takes 6–12 weeks on average and costs $8K–$15K in recruiter fees. High turnover in tech means this cost repeats every 18–24 months on average.
Skills gap at scale
One IT generalist cannot simultaneously cover helpdesk, Essential Eight compliance, MDR, Microsoft 365 security hardening, Azure cloud operations, and disaster recovery testing. Gaps mean risk.
Single-person dependency
When your IT person is sick, on leave, or resigns, coverage stops. Environment documentation is typically in their head. A managed service maintains full documentation and continuous coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Is in-house IT cheaper than managed IT services?
Rarely, once all costs are included. A single IT hire in Melbourne costs $85K–$110K+ per year including salary, superannuation, leave entitlements, training, and tooling. An MSP delivers a full team of specialists across helpdesk, security, and cloud at a fraction of that cost per user.
What happens when our internal IT person leaves?
Internal IT creates a single-person dependency. When that person resigns or is on leave, support stops and undocumented knowledge walks out the door. A managed service provider maintains full environment documentation and coverage regardless of individual staff changes.
Can we keep our internal IT person and use Prexiam?
Yes. Prexiam offers co-managed IT where your internal IT person handles strategic decisions and internal relationships while Prexiam provides 24/7 monitoring, security operations, Essential Eight uplift, and overflow helpdesk. It's the most common arrangement for businesses with 50–200 staff.
Can one internal IT person handle Essential Eight compliance?
It's very difficult. Essential Eight maturity requires ongoing patching automation, JIT privileged access management, immutable backup governance, and continuous drift monitoring — across eight distinct control areas. Most generalist IT staff lack the specialised depth across all eight controls simultaneously.
What is co-managed IT?
Co-managed IT is a hybrid model where a business keeps an internal IT resource or team and supplements them with a managed service provider. The MSP typically handles 24/7 monitoring, security operations, Essential Eight uplift, and specialised skills — while the internal person focuses on business relationships and project work.
Want to see what managed IT would cost vs your current setup?
Book a free IT assessment. We'll compare your current IT cost against what Prexiam would deliver for your team size.