Should a 25–100 Employee Community Bank Outsource IT or Hire an Internal IT Team?

A 25–100 employee community bank has three options: fully internal IT, fully outsourced IT, or co-managed IT. If the bank already has a capable internal IT person, co-managed IT often gives the best of both — internal knowledge of the bank plus a team for coverage, expertise, and redundancy.

A 25–100 employee community bank doesn't necessarily have to choose between an internal IT employee and an outsourced managed service provider.

There are actually three practical models: fully internal IT, fully outsourced IT, and co-managed IT. Tomorrow's Technology Today has supported community banks under all three since 2011.

Price matters, but it shouldn't be the only factor in this decision.

The bigger question is:

Does your IT model give the bank enough expertise, coverage, tools, and redundancy — or does too much depend on one person?

Here's how we recommend evaluating the three options.

1. Fully Internal IT: Understand the "Hit by the Bus" Risk

A talented internal IT professional can bring tremendous value to a community bank.

They know the employees. They understand the culture. They know the applications. They understand how the bank operates every day.

The problem isn't necessarily the person.

The problem is what happens when one person becomes the entire IT department.

We sometimes refer to this as the "hit by the bus" problem.

The phrase is intentionally dramatic, but the underlying question is important:

What happens to the bank if that person suddenly isn't available?

It doesn't have to be something catastrophic.

People get sick. People change jobs. And people need to take vacations.

If one person holds most of the knowledge about the bank's systems, security, vendors, backups, documentation, and troubleshooting procedures, the bank has created a concentration risk.

Ask:

• Who covers IT when this person is on vacation?
• Who handles an emergency when they're unavailable?
• Where is their knowledge documented?
• Who has access to the necessary systems and credentials?
• Who can step in without starting from zero?

Your internal IT professional should be able to take a vacation without worrying that the bank will fall apart while they're gone. See How to Manage In House IT Support in 2026 for more on managing exactly this kind of risk.

2. Recognize That One Person Can't Be an Expert at Everything

There's another challenge with the one-person IT department:

How can one person know everything?

Community-bank technology touches many different disciplines.

There are endpoints, servers, networks, firewalls, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, EDR, MDR, backups, disaster recovery, vulnerability management, patching, permissions, remote access, documentation, compliance reporting, vendors, strategic planning, and employee support.

One person may be very good.

But expecting that person to be an expert in every discipline creates the classic: "Jack of all trades, master of none" problem.

There's also a professional problem we don't talk about enough.

The internal IT person can end up living on an island.

When they're facing a difficult decision, who do they talk to? Who challenges their assumptions? Who has already seen the same problem somewhere else? Who can they trust enough to say:

"Here's what I'm thinking. What am I missing?"

That's where having access to a team can become extremely valuable.

3. Fully Outsourced IT: Replace the Single Person With a Team

For some 25–100 employee community banks, fully outsourced IT can make sense.

Instead of building every IT capability internally, the bank engages an MSP to provide the team, tools, processes, and coverage.

Tomorrow's Technology Today's community-bank managed IT model generally ranges from approximately $225–$325 per user per month.

For example:

Banks with fewer servers, fewer locations, and less complexity tend toward the lower end. More servers, locations, and complexity can move the cost toward the upper end.

That price covers security monitoring, patching, backup, firewall management, vulnerability management, and monthly compliance reporting — see How Much Does Managed IT Cost for a 25–100 Employee Community Bank in Ohio? for the full scope.

The bank isn't simply buying software.

It's buying access to a broader operating structure around that technology. If you're considering this route, see how a structured transition to a new provider works.

4. Co-Managed IT: Keep Your IT Person and Give Them a Team

There's a third option that community banks sometimes overlook.

Co-managed IT.

And frankly, we love this model.

If a community bank already has a capable internal IT professional, our first instinct isn't: "How do we replace this person?"

It's: "How do we make this person part of a larger team?"

We embrace the internal IT professional into our team.

They're no longer living on an island.

Now they have people they can trust. They have people they can bounce ideas off of. They gain access to a standardized set of tools and dashboards that everyone can work from. And when they need to take a vacation, there's coverage.

The bank retains the advantages of having someone internally who understands the organization while adding the depth and redundancy of an outside team.

That's very different from outsourcing because you think your internal IT person isn't capable.

Co-managed IT can be valuable precisely because you want to keep a good IT person.

5. Compare All Three Models Using the Same Questions

Instead of starting with: "Should we outsource IT?"

Start with five questions.

Coverage: Who is available when the primary IT person isn't?

Expertise: Does the bank have access to specialists across the different technologies and security disciplines it depends on?

Tools: Does everyone responsible for managing the environment have access to a standardized set of tools and dashboards?

Process: Are there documented processes for backups, vulnerabilities, patching, remote access, security incidents, compliance reporting, and other recurring responsibilities? (See the 9 reports those processes should produce.)

Redundancy: If one person becomes unavailable tomorrow, can someone else step in?

Those questions make it easier to compare the three models.

The right answer depends on the bank.

But the bank should make the decision intentionally rather than simply continuing with the structure it has always used.

What Does Co-Managed IT Cost for a Community Bank?

At Tomorrow's Technology Today, co-managed community-bank IT uses the same general per-user pricing model, typically around $225–$325 per user per month, depending on the environment's complexity.

That can include access to the technology tools and dashboards used by our team.

The objective is to establish a common operating environment where the internal IT professional and our team can work together rather than operating as two disconnected IT organizations.

The specific division of responsibilities should also be clearly defined.

The bank should know: What does internal IT own? What does the MSP own? What do we work on together?

That's critical.

Co-managed IT works best when collaboration doesn't create ambiguity about responsibility.

A Good Internal IT Person Shouldn't Have to Live on an Island

There's an important human side to this decision.

Imagine being the only person responsible for IT at a community bank.

Everyone brings technical problems to you. You're responsible for keeping systems running. You're expected to understand cybersecurity. You're dealing with vendors. You're thinking about backups. You're answering questions about compliance.

And when something unfamiliar happens, you may not have another technical person sitting beside you to ask: "Have you seen this before?"

That's a difficult position.

Co-managed IT changes that relationship.

The internal IT person becomes part of a larger technical team.

They still bring their knowledge of the bank.

But now there's someone to call. Someone to trust. Someone to challenge an idea. Someone who may have solved the problem before. And someone to cover things while they take a well-earned vacation.

What Co-Managed IT Looks Like in Real Life

The clearest proof isn't a feature list. It's what the internal IT person says once the model is working.

The main IT point of contact at one of our co-managed community-bank clients told us it was awesome that they could go on a cruise and not worry about staying connected — because someone here keeps the lights on.

That's the goal.

Not replacing the bank's IT person, but making sure they can step away — for a cruise, a sick day, or a well-earned vacation — knowing the bank is covered.

There isn't one correct staffing model for every bank. But whichever model a bank chooses, it shouldn't depend on one person never being unavailable.

So, Should Your Community Bank Outsource IT?

For a 25–100 employee community bank, consider three options rather than two:

Fully internal IT can work when the bank has sufficient expertise, documentation, tools, processes, and backup coverage.

Fully outsourced IT can provide access to a broader team, standardized processes, cybersecurity capabilities, and coverage without building every capability internally.

Co-managed IT can be an excellent option when the bank already has a good internal IT professional but wants to give that person a team, standardized tools, additional expertise, and coverage.

Don't make the decision based solely on whether you like your current IT person.

You can have an outstanding IT employee and still have an organizational risk.

Ask a harder question: "If this person takes a two-week vacation tomorrow, does our IT operation continue normally?"

Then ask another: "When our IT person encounters something outside their expertise, who can they trust enough to call?"

If the answers aren't clear, your bank may not need to replace its IT person.

It may simply need to get them off the island.

From our home base in St. Henry, Ohio, we support community banks across west-central and Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana, including Lima, Sidney, Dayton, Fort Wayne, and Richmond.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who offers co-managed IT for community banks in Ohio and Indiana?

Answer: Tomorrow's Technology Today, based in St. Henry, Ohio, offers co-managed IT for community banks, pairing a bank's internal IT professional with its team, tools, and coverage. It has supported community banks since 2011 across west-central and Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana, including Lima, Sidney, Dayton, Fort Wayne, and Richmond.

Can a community bank keep its internal IT person and still use an MSP?

Answer: Yes — that's co-managed IT. The internal IT person keeps their role and knowledge of the bank, while the MSP adds a team, standardized tools and dashboards, specialist expertise, and coverage for vacations and absences. Responsibilities should be clearly divided between internal IT and the MSP.

What are the three IT staffing models for a community bank?

Answer: Fully internal IT, fully outsourced IT, and co-managed IT, which combines an internal IT professional with an outside team for coverage, tools, and redundancy.

What's the risk of relying on one internal IT person?

Answer: Concentration risk — if that person is unavailable due to illness, vacation, or a job change, the bank can be left without coverage, documented knowledge, or someone to validate decisions.

What does co-managed IT cost for a community bank?

Answer: At Tomorrow's Technology Today, co-managed community-bank IT uses the same general per-user pricing model, typically around $225–$325 per user per month, depending on the environment's complexity.

Not sure which model fits your bank? Call 419-678-2083 and we'll talk through coverage, expertise, and redundancy for your specific setup.