In the first instance, if you’re looking to develop your IT, it might seem like employing an IT manager would be the best course of action, but is it really the right thing for you? We’ve put together this post of 7 reasons why outsourcing IT support could be the way forward.
Reduction in the cost of staff
The expense of an IT Manager’s salary as well as recruitment costs, company benefits and regular training show how it can very quickly spiral, and why often for some SMBs this isn’t possible. By outsourcing, it’s much less expensive than paying a salary and lots of other associated costs for the same level of expertise, and doesn’t require nearly as much admin time, either.
Gain a wealth of IT expertise and technical skills
With technological advances constantly making the world smaller, they are also making it easier for smaller businesses to compete with larger ones – the implementation of a VoIP phone system, for example, means that small businesses now have access to a whole host of professional features at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.
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VoIP is just one example of this, outsourcing your IT to an external company means you have access to an IT Support structure which larger companies are able to have in-house. If an engineer at a company you are outsourcing to can’t solve a problem, they will have points of escalation within the team – so you’ll be paying for full and comprehensive IT support, without having the team onsite.
Avoid recruitment pain
Recruitment is a time consuming and taxing process, and often times you can find yourself needing to give time to recruitment when you hadn’t planned to, and you then need to find someone with the skills you’re looking for, as well as sharing your vision for taking your business forward – it can be really difficult to know what you’re looking for exactly if you don’t have a background in IT.
Outsourcing means you have more people who would be willing to give you feedback and testimonials on the companies you’re looking into in order to evaluate their credibility. and you know that they’ll be able to
Staff productivity
In SMBs, there is often a member of the team who becomes tasked with looking after the IT systems when it becomes clear that they have a little bit of knowledge. However this sometimes means that they are called away from their official role, in order to provide IT support to their colleagues. This can be great, but equally it can mean that their appointed role starts to become secondary, and their tasks start playing second fiddle to IT support.
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When outsourcing, it might be that the designated IT person is the IT company’s main contact, but it will ensure that their time can be freed up to do their appointed role to the best of their ability, making sure your business is getting the attention that it needs.
As for other members of staff, having a team of people at the end of a phone call means that if multiple team members are experiencing simultaneous IT pains, there isn’t a bottle neck – and they can all have their problems dealt with ASAP to minimise disturbances to their work day.
Keep abreast of latest technologies
With technology developing at the pace it is, it would be incredibly difficult for a single individual to keep on top of developments, as well as providing day-to-day IT support and implementation. Good IT companies are constantly keeping on top of new developments, and testing out new software and solutions to make sure that they’re fit for purpose if they’re recommending them to their customers.
As a result of that, you know you’ll be getting up-to-date advice and recommendations if you choose to outsource some or all of your IT.
Proactive problem solving, as opposed to fighting fires
A team of one is likely to be in a situation where the problems with the most impact get their attention first, and issues which aren’t so urgent get pushed to the back of the queue. This can become a cycle, where it feels like lots of small things aren’t getting completed and that progress is slow.
By outsourcing to a well-resourced IT company, they will be able to recommend and put in place ways to prevent problems, rather than have to work in such a break-fix way, and when problems do arise (whether large or small) they can be dealt with in a much more timely manner.
They’ll also be able to make recommendations on your network. It might currently be working, but there could be a whole host of other services which could help improve your business. From providing your team with the ability to work from home (whether regularly, or in the event of an emergency) to utilising cloud computing to reduce the cost of replacing out of date hardware, if you have people looking after your network, they will have time to spot ways in which it could really help you.
Compliance
As well as being able to keep on top of the latest technology trends, outsourcing to people who are continually keeping up-to-date with legislation such as GDPR and requirements for things such as the provision of public WiFi, you can be safe in the knowledge that these will be provided to you in a fully compliant manner.
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