Securafy vs In-House IT
vs Hiring a CISO
These are the real alternatives Ohio businesses weigh. Here's the honest, fully-loaded cost comparison — and what each option actually gets you.
Annual Cost Comparison — 50-User Ohio Business
At 50 users, Securafy Secure-CARE costs $93,000/year. A comparable in-house IT team costs $234,000+. Adding a CISO to that team pushes the total past $620,000. Securafy delivers more capability — 24/7 SOC, compliance documentation, Zero Trust architecture, 10-minute response guarantee — for less than the cost of one mid-level IT hire.
What You're Actually Buying
| Capability | Securafy Secure-CARE | In-House IT Team | IT Team + CISO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help desk 24/7/365 | ✓ Contractual | Business hours only | Business hours only |
| 10-minute response guarantee | ✓ Binding SLA | ✗ | ✗ |
| 24/7 Human SOC monitoring | ✓ Included | ✗ Extra cost | Often outsourced |
| Zero Trust / ransomware prevention | ✓ ThreatLocker | ✗ Separate vendor | Depends on CISO |
| EDR & email security | ✓ Included | ✗ Extra cost | Extra cost |
| Compliance documentation (HIPAA, CMMC, etc.) | ✓ Secure-CARE+ | ✗ | CISO builds it |
| Quarterly board risk report | ✓ Included | ✗ | ✓ CISO deliverable |
| Incident response plan + tabletop | ✓ Comply-CARE | ✗ | ✓ |
| Coverage during staff vacation/illness | ✓ Always covered | ✗ Single point of failure | ✗ |
| Scales with headcount | ✓ Per user | ✗ Must rehire | ✗ |
| 30-day risk-free trial | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
The Hidden Costs In-House Teams Don't Show Up Front
The average IT professional stays 2.5 years before leaving. Recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding a replacement costs 50–75% of annual salary — $42,500–$63,750 for a mid-level IT manager. Securafy has zero turnover risk: your team of engineers never changes from your perspective.
Ransomware doesn't attack at 2pm on a Tuesday. It attacks at 2am on a Friday before a long weekend. Your in-house team is asleep. Securafy's SOC is watching. That single incident gap can cost more than three years of managed service fees.
Enterprise-grade security tools — ThreatLocker Zero Trust, enterprise EDR, email security, dark web monitoring, SIEM — cost $35,000–$75,000 per year at SMB scale. Securafy buys these tools for thousands of clients, passes the volume pricing benefit to you, and manages them so your team doesn't have to.
HIPAA requires documented risk analyses, business associate agreements, and training records. CMMC requires 110 security practices with evidence. A CJIS audit requires specific controls with proof. Your IT Manager manages computers — not compliance frameworks. That gap costs $25,000–$100,000 when it surfaces during an audit or after a breach.
When In-House IT Makes Sense
We'll be direct: there are scenarios where an internal IT hire is the right choice.
- You have 300+ employees and need someone on-site 8 hours/day
- You have proprietary systems that require specialized knowledge to maintain
- You have a compliance requirement for dedicated on-premise staff
- You want an internal IT Director to manage the vendor relationship with your MSP
For most Ohio businesses with 15–200 employees, none of those conditions apply. And even when they do, a co-managed IT arrangement — where Securafy partners with your internal team — typically delivers better outcomes than going fully internal.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it cheaper to hire in-house IT or use an MSP?
- For most Ohio businesses with 20–150 employees, a managed IT provider is significantly less expensive than equivalent in-house staff when you account for total cost: salary, benefits, training, turnover, tool licensing, and 24/7 availability. A two-person IT team costs $280,000+ per year — before any security tooling or compliance work.
- Do I need a CISO if I have an MSP?
- Most SMBs do not need a full-time CISO. The risk oversight, policy development, and board-level reporting a CISO provides can be delivered through a vCISO service — which is included in Securafy's Comply-CARE tier at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire ($220,000–$320,000/year).
- Can Securafy work alongside my existing IT staff?
- Yes — co-managed IT is a common arrangement. Your internal IT Director or manager focuses on strategic projects and business-specific systems. Securafy handles the security stack, 24/7 monitoring, compliance, and tier-1/2 support. Your team gets enterprise-grade security capabilities without managing the tools.
See What the Right Option Costs for Your Business
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