The DevOps Dilemma Every Growing Company Faces
Your application is gaining traction. Deployments are getting riskier. The AWS bill is climbing. Your developers are spending too much time on infrastructure instead of features. You need DevOps—but should you build a team or buy the service?
This isn't a simple decision. Both approaches have significant trade-offs in cost, control, expertise, and scalability. The right choice depends on your specific situation: company stage, budget, growth trajectory, and how critical DevOps is to your core business.
We've worked with hundreds of companies navigating this decision. Some started with managed services and later built in-house teams. Others tried to build internally first and switched to managed after realizing the true costs. This guide shares what we've learned to help you make an informed choice.
Quick Comparison: In-House vs Managed
| Factor | In-House DevOps | Managed DevOps |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Cost (3-person team equivalent) | $500K - $1M+ | $150K - $400K |
| Time to Full Productivity | 6-12 months | 2-4 weeks |
| 24/7 Coverage | Requires 5+ engineers | Included by default |
| Expertise Breadth | Limited by team size | Access to full team specialties |
| Scalability | Slow (hiring takes months) | Fast (scale up/down as needed) |
| Tribal Knowledge Risk | High (key person dependency) | Low (documented processes) |
| Control & Customization | Full control | Collaborative (you set direction) |
| Best For | DevOps as core competency, large scale | Focus on product, cost efficiency |
The True Cost of In-House DevOps
Most companies underestimate what it really takes to build and maintain an effective DevOps function.
Senior Engineer Salary
$150,000 - $250,000+ per engineer (US rates). Add 25-40% for benefits, taxes, and equity. One engineer isn't enough for 24/7 coverage.
Recruiting Costs
DevOps hiring is brutally competitive. Expect 3-6 months to fill a senior role. Recruiter fees run 20-25% of first-year salary ($30-50K per hire).
Ramp-Up Time
New hires need 3-6 months to become productive in your specific environment. Knowledge transfer, documentation, and context building take time.
Tooling & Infrastructure
Monitoring, CI/CD, security tools, and cloud costs add $50-150K+ annually on top of salaries.
Management Overhead
Someone needs to manage the DevOps team, handle on-call schedules, run retrospectives, and align with engineering. That's a leadership tax.
Turnover Risk
DevOps engineers have ~2-year average tenure. When your senior engineer leaves, their tribal knowledge leaves too. Backfill takes months.
When In-House DevOps Makes Sense
DevOps is Your Core Competency
If you're building developer tools, infrastructure products, or your competitive advantage depends on DevOps innovation, you need in-house expertise to push boundaries.
Examples
PaaS companies, developer tools startups, infrastructure vendors building novel deployment systems.
Extreme Scale Requirements
At massive scale (thousands of services, millions of deployments), you may need dedicated teams for specific domains: networking, security, platform engineering.
Examples
FAANG-scale companies, major financial institutions, large e-commerce platforms with unique requirements.
Strict Security/Compliance
Some regulated industries or government contracts require all operations to be handled by direct employees with specific clearances or certifications.
Examples
Defense contractors, certain government agencies, highly regulated financial services with specific requirements.
When Managed DevOps Makes Sense
Focus on Product, Not Infrastructure
Your engineering team should be building features that differentiate your product, not becoming experts in Kubernetes networking or CI/CD optimization.
Best For
SaaS companies, startups, and any business where infrastructure is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Need 24/7 Without 5+ Engineers
True 24/7 coverage requires 5+ people minimum for sustainable on-call rotations. With managed DevOps, you get round-the-clock support included.
Best For
Companies that need always-on reliability but can't justify a large DevOps team. Most Series A-C startups.
Faster Time-to-Value
A managed provider brings proven playbooks and experienced engineers. You skip the 6-12 month ramp-up and get results in weeks, not quarters.
Best For
Fast-growing companies, those with aggressive timelines, or teams recovering from DevOps attrition.
Not sure which path is right for you?
Let's discuss your specific situation. We'll give you an honest assessment—even if the answer is to build in-house.
Get Expert AdviceThe Hybrid Approach: Best of Both Worlds
Many successful organizations combine in-house and managed DevOps strategically.
The choice isn't always binary. Here are proven hybrid models we've seen work well.
Start Managed, Build Later
Use managed DevOps in early stages to move fast. As you scale and DevOps becomes more strategic, gradually hire in-house while the managed team handles knowledge transfer.
In-House Strategy, Managed Execution
Hire 1-2 senior DevOps engineers to own strategy, architecture, and vendor management. Augment with managed services for 24/7 operations, implementation, and surge capacity.
Managed 24/7, In-House Daytime
Your in-house team handles business-hours work and strategic projects. Managed SRE covers nights, weekends, and on-call—eliminating burnout and attrition.
Specialized Augmentation
Use managed services for specialized needs: security assessments, cost optimization, migrations. Keep general operations in-house.
Platform Engineering Model
Partner with a managed provider to build your Internal Developer Platform. Once stable, your smaller in-house team maintains and evolves it.
What to Look for in a Managed DevOps Provider
If you decide managed DevOps is right for you, here's how to evaluate providers.
Proven Track Record
Look for case studies, client references, and experience with your tech stack. Ask about companies similar to yours in size and industry.
Infrastructure as Code Approach
Ensure they use Terraform or similar IaC. You should own your infrastructure code—no vendor lock-in to proprietary systems.
True 24/7 SRE Capability
Verify they have actual follow-the-sun teams or dedicated night coverage—not just "we'll respond within 4 hours." Ask about their on-call structure.
Knowledge Transfer & Documentation
Good providers create runbooks, architecture docs, and train your team. You should be able to bring operations in-house later if you choose.
Transparent Pricing
Understand exactly what's included. Avoid providers with hidden fees for incidents, after-hours support, or "extra" services that should be standard.
Decision Framework
Use this framework to guide your decision based on your specific situation.
Budget Under $500K/year?
At this budget, managed DevOps typically delivers more value. A $500K in-house team is 2-3 engineers—not enough for 24/7 or broad expertise.
Need Results in <3 Months?
Hiring and ramping an in-house team takes 6-12 months minimum. Managed providers can be productive in weeks with proven playbooks.
Is DevOps Your Core Business?
If you're building infrastructure products or DevOps innovation is your competitive edge, in-house makes sense. Otherwise, it's overhead.
