Freelancers VS MSPs: Who Should You Work With?
2019-10-16
Every business has its own IT department that can manage your digital assets on a daily basis. And thanks to telecommunication innovations, IT departments can also consist of remote workers from all over the world. The question that follows is who you will trust in managing your business’s IT department. Between these two, you will be challenged to weigh in the pros and cons and look closely at the benefits that either of the two choices will bring. Depending on who you choose to work with, Managed Service Providers VS Freelancers can have their own areas they excel at. But before that, you need to understand how flexible your business is and which of the two can bring the most efficiency.
Freelancers VS MSPs (Managed Service Providers)
• What are freelancers?
Freelancers, as the term suggests, are certain individuals that have specific skill sets you can hire. In this case, they can be web developers, software engineers, or call-appointment setters. Freelancers are usually not part of the organization itself. And most organizations consider them as a third party.
They can provide their service within the organization without being a part of the main administration, as they only work for that specific task. Depending on the task, there are different kinds of freelancers that can be hired in order to get the job done. Freelancers are usually hired so companies can consult them about a certain aspect of a business. Freelancers are also considered more than MSPs because of their flexibility in terms of how long they will be working on a company. Since freelancers do not require or obliged to stay within the company even if their task or project is done.
• What are MSPs?
MSPs (Managed Service Provider) on the other hand is a smaller company that specializes in structuring departments of bigger organizations. While most MSPs focus on managing the IT infrastructure of some companies, others focus on other vertical markets such as the financial and legal departments. MSPs can work remotely, much like freelancers.
They have their own protocol to follow in terms of dealing with the IT department. MSPs are mostly partnered with medium-to-large businesses as they have a wider range of services that can be offered to those companies compared to freelancers. It is not that freelancers cannot fulfill the task, but since medium-to-large companies already have their own system and data to manage, it will be much better to have MSPs working alongside those companies.
What’s it like working with freelancers?
Freelancers are perfect for short projects, both for small and small-to-medium businesses. There are a lot of highly skilled freelancers that could easily get the job done. Moreover, freelancers can be flexible with the shift they take to fulfill their job specifications. They can work during the hours you need them to or they can work during the hours your client is most likely to need their expertise.
As for the cost, most freelancers are paid by the hour. You can choose to hire them part-time or full-time and pay them for the hours they worked on the project or tasks. Clients have the freedom to tell freelancers what needs to be done, and how it should be done. While there are lots of pros that can be considered, there are still quite a few cons that is worth looking into.
First would be their potential. Since freelancers are utilized for short projects by small and medium businesses, they tend to work with a number of clients. And if they are juggling with a lot of clients, things could get mixed up and the service level will not be as what you expected. Second would be their commitment to the project. As freelancers are flexible with their time and usually dealing with other clients, it’s difficult to find out how committed they are to your needs. Lastly, they might lack initiative. Due to the ability to have more clients in one workday, freelancers might lack the initiative to go beyond what you ask them to and stick to what they know. If you’re expecting your new employee to bring new suggestions, ideas, and structure into the company, freelancers might not be the way to go. Of course, not all freelancers juggle clients.
It’s important that you screen freelancers and ask them just how much effort they’re willing to put into the job to make things work.
What’s it like working with MSPs?
MSPs often work well with medium and large companies. Since Managed Service Providers in itself is also a company, they have their own protocol to follow, as well as specific lines of services to offer. They can provide different services to cater to a much larger scale of business.
MSPs can work with less supervision compared to freelancers and do not need to be monitored. This is because there are teams within that organization that specifically works for your company or project. As for the financial side of things, MSPs can be the more costly choice since they are a third-party service provider that will do all the work, from monitoring and managing IT, all the way down to data reporting and security. While MSPs are more expensive than getting freelancers, the difference in the output and results are highly significant. MSPs can deal with a wider scope on the departments you need to manage and come with different skillsets and services you can leverage on. However, clients will have limited control over how MSPs work. In case you choose to work with MSPs, make sure to track certain key performance indicators to identify if your hired Managed Service Provider is performing to the best of their abilities.
There is no clear winner between Freelancers VS MSPs. This is because both these service providers excel within a certain work environment and job specifications. In order to find out which provider works well within your company, find out what your department lacks and who you need to fill that gap. The Freelancers VS MSPs debate has long been going on due to the similarities they might uphold. However, both these providers have different expertise and use within an organization. Bottom line, choose between a freelancer or an MSP depending on your organization, the project at hand, and the tools you work with.