A single tech, or small IT department presents significant limitations.
First, there is limited time. Let’s assume you have one IT Tech; that provides roughly 40 hours a week (or less of services). But the problem is one of bandwidth, not capacity. You may have only 40 hours of needs per week, or even less. But what if the needs are simultaneous? Multiple users have a need at once, or a project must be completed that will be take longer than reasonable. The impact of delays in these areas is delays in business deliverables like proposals and shipments, and a slow down on business growth momentum – it is a bottleneck.
The second limitation is in knowledge. IT is a diverse area of skills – no one person can adequately do all the support needed. They may be strong in email but very weak in backups, capable in desktop support, but weak in security. There are actually at least nine distinct technology areas every small business needs skills in, and one person, or even two, cannot meet the needs. You may even think you are getting adequate expertise, but how do you know it was all done correctly and no issues will arise tomorrow? There will invariably be a failure in a key area.
And finally, related to the inability to know if the skills are adequate, there is a limitation of ability for the business to know what is happening in IT. For the average business leader, the ability to understand IT is limited, and you will pay for this when you must accept the single view of your one IT Tech. You cannot manage to a result, or even a budget. We have seen countless times where the single IT Tech told the business they need litany of very expensive equipment and software, but they are building a technology candy store – not an IT function sized to the needs of the business. But how can you know? You cannot.