How Much Should Your Business Spend on IT?
One of the most common questions Fusion Computing hears from business owners: Am I spending too much — or too little — on IT? The answer depends on your user count, industry, risk tolerance, and what “IT” actually includes. This video walks you through how to think about IT spend, and how Fusion’s free online calculator gives you a data-driven comparison in under two minutes.
The Real Cost of In-House IT vs. Managed Services
Hiring a full-time IT technician in Canada costs $55,000–$80,000 per year in salary alone — before benefits, training, tools, software licenses, and the coverage gaps during evenings, weekends, and vacation. For businesses under 50 users, that math rarely works.
Fusion Computing’s managed IT services typically cost $100–$250 per user per month — predictable, all-in pricing that includes 24/7 monitoring, help desk support, security tools, patching, and backup management. For most Canadian businesses with 35–100 users, that’s materially less than the fully-loaded cost of an internal hire.
What Should IT Spending Actually Cover?
A complete IT budget for a Canadian business includes more than just support costs:
- Help desk and on-site support
- Endpoint protection and EDR (Huntress, Defender)
- Microsoft 365 licensing and management
- Backup and disaster recovery
- Network infrastructure and firewall management
- Security awareness training
- vCIO / strategic IT planning
Most break-fix IT relationships cover only the first item. Fusion’s managed IT model covers all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does managed IT services cost per month in Canada?
Most Canadian MSPs price managed IT services at $100–$250 per user per month, depending on the service tier and included tools. Fusion Computing’s pricing falls in this range and includes security tooling, 24/7 monitoring, and strategic IT planning.
Is it cheaper to hire an IT person or use a managed service provider?
For businesses under 75 users, managed services are almost always less expensive on a fully-loaded basis. A single IT hire in Canada costs $70,000–$100,000 all-in per year, covers limited hours, and has no redundancy. An MSP at $150/user/month for 50 users costs $90,000/year — and includes 24/7 coverage, multiple specialists, and enterprise tooling.
What is a reasonable IT budget for a small business in Canada?
Industry benchmarks suggest 4–6% of revenue for SMBs in standard industries, rising to 8–12% for regulated sectors like finance and legal. For a business with $3M in revenue, that’s $120,000–$180,000/year — covering managed IT, security, software, and hardware refresh.
See how your current IT spend compares. Book a free 30-minute IT assessment — we’ll review your current environment and give you an honest cost comparison.
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