11 Signs That Shows a Company Should Outsource IT Services
By 2022, the contract value of the global IT outsourcing market will reach over $409 billion. It’s a statistic that clearly shows the surging demand for outsourced IT worldwide.
There are many reasons why more businesses are opting to outsource IT operations. Not only does this move lead to faster tech integration, but it also helps reduce overhead costs. Outsourcing is also one of the best ways to meet unusual requirements in your company.
But what is outsourcing, and how do you know it’s time to outsource IT services? More importantly, how will outsourcing benefit your business?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll attempt to answer these questions. Read on to learn more.
What Is Outsourcing?
Simply put, outsourcing means going out of your business to find the source of a service or product you need. The primary reason businesses outsource is to meet the needs of their internal and customers. External customers are the entities who ultimately purchase your products or services, while internal customers are your employees and shareholders.
Signs You Need to Outsource IT
IT is among the most outsourced services in the world, with over 53% of companies opting to use an outsource company for at least one of their IT functions. But why outsource IT?
Well, we already pointed out that outsourcing can cut your overhead and boost IT integration. But there are plenty of other reasons why outsourcing IT makes a lot of sense for small businesses. We’ll explain some of these reasons in the next section.
So how can you tell that your company needs to outsource IT? Look out for the following signs:
1. You’re Spending Too Much on IT
Approximately 45% of companies who outsource IT projects do so to save money. Running an in-house IT department can be quite expensive.
As a result of the shortage of IT skills, IT personally typically demands higher pay than most other workers in a company. If an employee has a certain specialization such as data management or cybersecurity, they’ll negotiate for even high remuneration. Besides the high salaries, there are high costs that come with creating and implementing IT infrastructure, particularly IT hardware and software.
So how does outsourcing IT help reduce these costs? Well, first of all, you get to pay a predetermined price for the service package you need instead of paying a team of full-time IT employees. Besides, you avoid the high cost of acquiring IT infrastructure.
2. You Don’t Continuously Train Your In-House IT Staff
Employees in most departments in your company require to be upskilled periodically. You want to make sure that your staff stays up to date with the latest developments in their area of specialization.
With the rapid development that goes on in the IT industry, it can be challenging for your small business to keep up. There are endless training options available at the moment, and you may not know where to begin. That’s why some small businesses choose to ignore most of the latest developments in IT.
Unfortunately, not providing your IT staff with the appropriate training so they can stay updated in current IT trends can lead to ineffectiveness over time. The best solution is to consult with an IT company to provide the best training for your IT team. IT consulting firms always possess vast knowledge of what’s happening in the industry at any moment.
3. Your IT Is Clearly Lagging Behind
We mentioned earlier that IT is always evolving at a rapid pace. Digitization has resulted in most mid-office and back-office functions moving online. Unless your company can quickly update existing software and adjust configurations to accommodate these changes, your performance will be impaired.
By working with a reputable IT consulting firm, you get access to the latest and greatest technology on IT infrastructure, collaborative tools, data management, VoIP systems, and so on. This way, you can implement the ideal solutions for your business.
4. You’re Vulnerable to Security Threats
Cybercrime is a genuine threat in today’s business world. Companies that don’t continuously update their security systems are vulnerable to all sorts of cybersecurity threats, including ransomware and zero-day attacks. Such attacks can cause massive and sometimes irreversible damage to companies.
If you feel that your business isn’t sufficiently prepared for a cyberattack, then outsourcing IT can make a huge difference. A specialized IT firm will usually have the latest technology and know-how to provide security solutions that are perfect for your business.
IT firms can also integrate the latest features in technology, including AI and self-learning into your IT system to enable your security system to develop protections autonomously.
5. You Want to Meet Compliance Requirements
Depending on the kind of business you run, you’ll probably need to comply with both national and international regulations when it comes to data protection. Failure to do this can result in huge fines and significant reputational damage.
To stay compliant, you must have the capability to audit your IT infrastructure and security system. Furthermore, you should be able to generate accurate reports of the audits you conduct.
The easiest way to meet all these requirements is to let a managed IT service firm handle the job for you. Such a firm will have the necessary resources to ensure that your network and cybersecurity measures comply with all required regulations. They’ll also have the expertise to quickly and efficiently conduct audits and generate the appropriate reports.
6. Your Business Has Grown
As an entrepreneur, you want your business to grow over time. But with growth comes an increased demand for greater IT support.
As you expand, you’ll need more complex and secure IT infrastructure than you did in previous years. Your current IT staff may not possess the skill set required to meet your IT support requirements. If you don’t have the time or resources to train your current staff and recruiting new IT employees isn’t an option, outsourcing is your most viable option.
7. Your Business Requires New Ideas
While you want to retain your current IT staff for as long as possible, working with the same team can make it difficult to get new ideas.
By outsourcing IT, you immediately get access to fresh minds that can offer a different perspective on your operations. Besides providing convenience, an IT firm can provide you with some practical ideas that help you improve your workflow. You may even get fresh inspiration on how to restructure your entire processes to boost your operations.
8. Your IT Project Requires Niche Expertise
The true worth of outsourcing comes when you’re involved in projects that require niche expertise. These projects include artificial intelligence, mobile, or cybersecurity.
You may think of challenging your in-house IT staff to handle these projects, but you’ll most likely get results that are not satisfactory. Hiring a full set of specialists could work, but that can prove very expensive. The best move is to outsource these operations, so you achieve proficiency while saving money.
9. Your IT Department is Experiencing High Turnover
One of the last things you want as a business is to have a high staff turnover in any department. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens, and the reasons could be many and varied.
IT experts are often in high demand, and you may not have the ability to meet their salary demands. That may lead to a high turnover rate in your IT department. One practical way to deal with this problem is to start outsourcing your IT functions until your business is profitable enough to comfortably higher full-time employees.
10. IT is Negatively Affecting Your Core Business Operations
In today’s fast-paced business world, time is literally money. You want to make sure that you’re spending as much time as possible on your core business operations.
Given the amount of time needed to set up, operate, and maintain IT infrastructure in your business, you may find that you aren’t giving enough attention to your primary business operations. Achieving your business objectives thus becomes difficult.
The most practical way to ensure that IT doesn’t take up much of your time is to outsource it. When you do, you usually get an entire team of experts with a variety of skills to handle your IT functions. This way, you have sufficient time to focus on your business.
11. Outsourcing IT Makes Sense Strategically for Your Business
Lacking enough IT resources or having a small budget aren’t the only reasons to push you to outsource IT. The truth is that outsourcing IT could be a strategic move for your business, especially if you’re just starting out.
First of all, a specialized IT firm will usually have vast experience, sufficient resources, and highly knowledgeable staff that can take your new business to the next level.
Outsourcing It Has Huge Benefits for Your Business
Managing the day-to-day operations of your company can be a daunting challenge on its own. Adding IT support to your list of responsibilities can make your job an overwhelming one and compromise the quality of your services or products. By opting to outsource IT, you can get the best IT support while saving both time and money in the process.
Are you looking for reliable IT services for your business? Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
