Build Alternative

Ironback.ai vs. Building an In-House Tech Team

Building an in-house AI team means hiring developers, data engineers, and project managers — $300K–$500K/year in payroll before a single automation is deployed. AI Staff provides the same capability as a fractional service starting in days.

✓ Where Ironback.ai Wins

  • No hiring — skip the 3–6 month recruiting cycle for AI/ML engineers in a market where they command $150K–$250K salaries
  • Producing results in weeks, not months — your first automation is live before an in-house team finishes onboarding
  • Industry expertise included — your developers would need 6–12 months to learn what we already know about your vertical
  • 80% lower year-one cost — $50K–$70K vs. $300K–$500K in salaries, benefits, tools, and infrastructure
  • Zero management overhead — no standups, no sprint planning, no performance reviews, no PTO coverage

Where Building an In-House Tech Team May Win

  • Full control over technology decisions, code ownership, and development priorities
  • Builds internal capability and institutional knowledge that compounds over years
  • Can handle custom software development beyond automation — internal tools, customer-facing products, proprietary algorithms

Best fit: Ironback.ai

Service businesses that need AI operations capability now without the $400K+ commitment or 6–12 month ramp time of building a technical team from scratch.

Best fit: Building an In-House Tech Team

Companies with $20M+ revenue and complex, unique technical needs that require dedicated developers — custom product development, proprietary data pipelines, or technology as a core competitive advantage.

Real Cost Comparison

Year-one total cost of ownership — including setup, ongoing fees, and hidden management costs.

Ironback.ai

$7,500 assessment + $3,500–5,500/month implementation + $2,500–3,500/month ongoing. Year one: $49,500–85,500.

Building an In-House Tech Team

Senior AI/ML engineer: $150K–$250K salary + 25% burden = $187K–$312K. Junior developer: $80K–$120K + burden = $100K–$150K. Project manager: $90K–$130K + burden = $112K–$162K. Tooling and infrastructure: $12K–$36K/year. Total for a minimal 3-person team: $400K–$660K year one.

Year-One TCO Summary

AI Staff: $49,500–85,500, deployed in weeks with industry expertise included. In-house team: $400,000–660,000, with first meaningful output at month 6–9 after hiring and onboarding. You pay 5–8x more and wait 6x longer. In-house makes sense at scale — but not until your automation needs justify $400K+/year in dedicated headcount.

Common Questions

What if we want to bring AI operations in-house eventually?

Smart long-term play. We build the infrastructure now, document everything, and when you're ready to hire, your new team inherits working systems instead of starting from zero. Most clients find that a hybrid works best — in-house team for custom development, AI Staff for ongoing operational automation.

Can't we just hire one developer to handle this?

One developer can build automations. But one developer can't design an industry-specific AI operations strategy, build the infrastructure, manage integrations across 5–10 systems, monitor everything 24/7, and keep it all running when they're on vacation. That takes a team — which is what you're getting fractionally.

We have a developer on staff already. Can they work with AI Staff?

Ideal setup. Your developer handles internal tools and custom projects. We handle AI operations — phone answering, scheduling automation, follow-up sequences, CRM integration. Your developer focuses on what requires custom code. We handle what requires operational expertise. No overlap, no waste.

See if Ironback.ai is the right fit for your business

Book a free 30-minute call. We'll ask about your situation and give you an honest answer — including if a different approach would serve you better.

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