The hidden cost of managing company phones in-house

Managing company phones in-house costs more than most businesses expect, and much of that cost never appears on an invoice.

From your IT team’s time to costly upgrades, this article breaks down the hidden device management costs businesses don’t anticipate.

What does managing company phones in-house involve?

Managing company phones in-house means that your IT team is responsible for the full device lifecycle, from procurement and setup to deciding what to do with the phone when an employee leaves.

This includes tasks like choosing and managing contracts and handsets, installing apps, managing security policies, pushing out updates, responding to security incidents, wiping devices and recycling.

With outsourced managed device services (sometimes referred to as Device as a Service or DaaS), a third-party provider takes on those responsibilities on your behalf.

The cost of managing company mobile phones

Managing company phones in-house and outsourcing to a managed device services provider both come with ongoing costs, but what’s included with each is very different.

When you use a device leasing service, there’s a predictable monthly fee. This typically covers procurement, configuration, security updates, support and end-of-life. When you manage devices in-house, you’ll have to cover each of those costs separately.

Managing company phones in-house: 6 hidden costs

Managing phones in-house may seem like the more cost-effective option, but several costs tend to catch businesses off guard.

High pressure on IT teams

A business with 250 employees requires an IT-to-device ratio of just 1:220 to manage their smartphone programme.

That means a single IT person is responsible for over 200 devices. The burden of device management falls on IT staff who are already managing other responsibilities. Device management therefore may compete with other high priority tasks or may get deprioritised completely.

Security risks

When IT teams are stretched, it’s easy to let security updates and policy enforcement slip, leaving devices exposed

The average total cost of a cyber attack for SMEs is $254,445.

Consistent security management matters, even for small fleets. For businesses managing their company devices in-house without dedicated security resources, a single incident can easily cost more than an outsourced managed device service contract.

Lost productivity

When devices aren’t properly managed, employees lose time to technical issues, slow response times from IT, and disruption during maintenance and this cost can add up.

Employees lose 1.6 hours of lost productivity per employee per month due to tech issues.

Without a managed service provider handling updates and maintenance, these interruptions fall to an already-busy IT team to resolve.

Costly upgrades

Mobile devices need to be updated on a regular basis to ensure they stay secure and functional. Without a structured upgrade cycle, businesses may find themselves having to replace multiple devices at once, which is a significant unplanned cost.

With a device leasing service, refresh cycles are built into the cost. That means there’s a predictable monthly cost and no risk of unplanned bulk replacements.

Travel costs

67% of organisations manage and maintain mobile devices on-site all or part of the time.

For businesses with remote or hybrid workers, on-site management means either employees travel to IT or IT travels to them. Both options add cost and reduce productivity, which could be eliminated by the use of remote management tools.

Over-purchasing

Optimising device spend requires someone to actively monitor usage and flag inefficiencies. If you don’t have dedicated resources to do that, you may end up paying for data allowances that aren’t being used, devices of employees who’ve left the business, or storage plans that aren’t being utilised.

When to outsource your device management

Outsourcing to a managed device service makes sense when the hidden costs of managing in-house[3] start to outweigh the monthly per-device fee.

If this sounds like you, consider outsourcing.

Your IT team is spending significant time on device management (and this comes at the expense of other IT priorities).

You’re concerned about your security risk.

Your business is growing and you need specialist support to scale up your fleet.

You’re paying for devices, data allowances or storage that isn’t being fully used.

Your team lacks specialist cybersecurity expertise.

Key takeaways

The upfront cost of company phones doesn’t paint the full picture for businesses – IT resources, security concerns, lost productivity and unplanned upgrades all add to the true cost of in-house management.

Managed device services come with a predictable monthly fee, but in-house management carries hidden costs that are harder to quantify.

If your IT team is stretched, your device fleet is growing or you have security concerns, it’s worth calculating whether outsourcing would be more cost-effective.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is outsourcing device management expensive?

The cost of outsourcing device management depends on the provider and the size of your fleet. With a device leasing service, there's a predictable monthly fee that covers the full device lifecycle. That includes procurement, configuration, security, support, and end-of-life. While there is an ongoing cost, it's worth weighing against the hidden costs of managing devices in-house.

How much does managing company phones cost?

The cost of managing company phones varies depending on whether you handle it in-house or outsource to a managed device service. In-house management involves multiple separate costs including IT resource, software, upgrades, and support, many of which are hard to quantify. A managed device service replaces those individual costs with a single predictable monthly fee per device.