IT outsourcing cost is the first question every owner asks, and the honest answer depends on how the contract is priced. Here are the models providers use, what drives the number, and how it compares with hiring in-house.
When a business in Egypt starts looking at outsourcing its IT, the first question is always the same: what will it cost? Any provider that quotes a single number before understanding your environment is guessing. But the way pricing works is predictable, and once you understand the models you can compare offers properly and avoid surprises.
The three pricing models you will see
- Per user: a fixed monthly fee for each member of staff covered. The most common model, and the easiest to budget as you grow.
- Per device: a fee for each computer, server or network device under management. Suits businesses with shared workstations or a lot of equipment per person, such as factories.
- Flat monthly: one agreed fee for a defined scope. Simple and predictable, but make sure the scope is written down precisely so both sides know what is included.
Some providers also quote project work, a migration or an office fit-out for example, separately from the monthly agreement. That is normal, and usually better than stretching a support contract to cover one-off projects.
What actually drives the price
- Headcount and number of sites, including any factory or warehouse locations
- Coverage hours: business hours only, extended, or round the clock
- Response targets: tighter SLAs cost more because they require more capacity
- Scope of security: monitoring, backups and awareness training add real work
- The state of your current environment, since a neglected network takes effort to stabilise
How it compares with hiring in-house
A capable internal department is never one salary. First-line support, an infrastructure engineer, security expertise and senior direction, plus recruitment, training, tooling and cover for absence, add up quickly. For a small or mid-sized company that stack typically costs a multiple of a managed contract covering the same ground, which is why industry surveys consistently put the savings from outsourcing somewhere between 30 and 70 percent depending on the starting point.
What a fair contract should include
- A helpdesk with written response and resolution targets
- Proactive monitoring and patching, not just break-fix
- Onboarding and offboarding of staff and devices
- Security basics: backups, endpoint protection and identity management
- Regular reporting so you can see what you are paying for
The right question is not what does IT outsourcing cost, but what does it cost compared with the downtime, hiring and management burden it replaces.
PluginZ provides outsourced IT for companies and factories across Egypt and the GCC on clear monthly agreements. If you want a real number for your situation, we will scope it with you, no obligation.
