Key Takeaways
- ›There are three common ways to handle business IT: break-fix, in-house staff, and managed IT (an MSP).
- ›Break-fix is reactive and hourly — cheap until downtime and surprise bills add up.
- ›In-house gives you control but is expensive and hard to staff for 24/7 coverage and every specialty.
- ›Managed IT gives most small and mid-sized businesses the best mix of coverage, predictability, and cost — and co-managed IT blends it with your existing staff.
When something IT-related goes wrong, who handles it? For a brand-new business the answer is often “whoever is closest to the problem.” But as you grow, the cost of an ad-hoc approach — downtime, security gaps, lost time — starts to hurt. There are three established models, and the right one depends on your size, your risk, and your budget.
Option 1: Break-Fix IT
Break-fix is the traditional model: you call a technician when something breaks and pay by the hour. There is no contract, no monitoring, and no one watching your systems between calls.
Good for: very small businesses with simple, low-stakes setups. The catch: costs are unpredictable, nothing is being prevented, security is an afterthought, and you re-explain your environment to a different tech every time. Downtime is on you. Most businesses outgrow break-fix the first time a one-day outage costs more than a year of proactive support would have.
Option 2: In-House IT
Hiring your own IT person (or team) gives you someone on staff who knows your business intimately and is always “in the building.”
Good for: larger organizations with constant, complex IT needs. The catch: a single hire is expensive (salary, benefits, training, tools) and cannot realistically cover everything — 24/7 monitoring, cybersecurity, networking, cloud, and backups are different specialties. One person also means no coverage when they are sick, on vacation, or leave. For most small businesses, a full-time hire is more capacity than the budget allows.
Option 3: Managed IT (an MSP)
With managed IT, an MSP takes responsibility for your technology for a flat monthly fee. You get a whole team and toolset — monitoring, helpdesk, security, patching, backups, and strategy — for less than the cost of a single senior hire.
Good for: most small and mid-sized businesses. The trade-off: you are trusting an outside partner, so the partner matters — response time, local vs. offshore helpdesk, and security depth vary a lot between providers. Done right, managed IT is the most predictable and complete option: proactive prevention, flat budgeting, and broad expertise on call.
The Hybrid: Co-Managed IT
It is not strictly either/or. Co-managed IT pairs your in-house staffer with an MSP: your person handles the day-to-day they know best, and the MSP adds 24/7 monitoring, after-hours coverage, cybersecurity, specialized projects, and backup — the things one person cannot cover alone. It is a popular fit for Las Vegas businesses that have one capable but overloaded IT employee.
Which Is Right for Your Las Vegas Business?
- A few employees, simple needs, rare issues? Break-fix may still be fine — for now.
- Roughly 5–75 employees who depend on technology daily? Managed IT almost always wins on cost and coverage.
- Have one IT person who is stretched thin? Co-managed IT extends them without a second hire.
- Large, complex, highly regulated? A blend of in-house leadership and an MSP for depth is common.
If you are weighing the move, our guide on how to choose a managed IT provider in Las Vegas covers the questions worth asking before you sign anything.
Talk to Brydan
Not Sure Which Model Fits?
Tell us how your business runs and we will give you a straight answer — even if that answer is “you are fine on break-fix for now.” Brydan has helped Las Vegas businesses make this call since 2002.
About the Author
Brydan Solutions is a veteran-owned, minority-owned managed IT and cybersecurity provider based in Las Vegas, serving Nevada businesses since 2002. We manage IT, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, and business continuity for small and mid-sized organizations across the Las Vegas Valley and remotely nationwide. Learn about our team or talk to a real person.
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