Everything You Need To Know About Outsourcing IT Services
It’s 10am and your entire business IT network crashes.
This has happened to nearly every business and sends employees at all levels into a panic and suddenly the IT team has a phone that won’t stop ringing. An entire day of work is delayed and interrupted by this technical issue.
What if you could hire a team of IT professionals to solve this issue? How much time would it save you? Where do you begin the search for a company that specializes in this?
Keep reading to learn all of the ins and outs of outsourcing IT services and finding a trusted provider for those services:
Different Types of IT Outsourcing
When you are looking to outsource your IT services, it is important to know the different types of IT outsourcing that are available. The type of provider you are looking for will depend on which type of outsourcing that you choose.
Nearshore Outsourcing: This form of outsourcing occurs when a company sends their IT projects to a country that borders their own or is within close proximity in a similar time zone.
Onshore Outsourcing: This form of outsourcing occurs when a company keeps its IT services within the country and works with a more local option. This can be remote or in-person, depending on the proximity of the provider.
Offshore Outsourcing: This form of outsourcing occurs when a company sends their IT projects to a foreign country. This is typically done to get lower costs and tax savings for the business.
Managed Services: With the other forms of outsourcing, companies are finding a solution to a specific business need. Managed services focus on providing excellence in technology services for the business across the board. This is the area that we provide IT outsourcing services in.
Pros & Cons of Outsourcing IT Services
Outsourcing IT services have advantages and disadvantages. It is important to consider both when making a decision about who to outsource with.
Pros:
Saving Money
Outsourcing your IT services can save your business money by not having to hire an IT team to handle the operations. Many businesses also save money on the equipment that is needed to operate an in-house IT operation.
Working with Experts
Instead of searching for someone that is highly experienced in IT services to hire for your team, there is access to a wealth of experience through outsourcing your team. You work with professionals that have likely seen similar issues in other businesses and can help resolve any IT problems that arise much quicker. This will help eliminate those dreaded I.T. headaches that your business deals with.
Grow With you
Outsourcing an IT team allows you to scale your business and not worry about if the IT department can handle the growth. You can be flexible with the size of your team and the number of services they are handling at a given time. Any turn of the economy will not be a concern for you when you have a flexible department.
Productivity
Managing IT services can be one of the biggest drains on the day-to-day productivity of a business. Outsourcing these services will allow the business to have more time and resources to focus on other tasks that need to be completed.
Implement Faster
Outsourcing your IT services can open up new possibilities for the tasks that your business is able to do. If you come up with a new concept, it can be implemented within your entire network very quickly and will take no additional time away from other projects that you and your team may be working on.
Better Customer Service
When businesses outsource their IT services, they have a team that is working for them and focused solely on the IT part of the business. This helps to prevent customer service issues that stem from the IT portion of the business. Think of it as having a mechanic riding in the car with you – if the car breaks down, it will be up and running much faster than if you had to call for help.
Improved Security
A big concern in business today is stolen information. You don’t want to be the next company in the news for stolen credit cards or other server hacking issues. Having a team that is monitoring the IT activity within your business will help lower the possibility of having those issues.
Cons:
Hidden Costs
As when working with any company, you must carefully read the contract or terms of agreement when signing on to work with them. There could be hidden costs associated with additional tasks or weekend availability. These costs could cause your business to spend more money than they otherwise would have through an in-house operation.
Confidentiality
Sharing your entire network with another company comes with the risk of them not being secure with the information that is shared. Making sure that the company you are outsourcing IT services to will respect the rules of confidentiality is important. You want to be able to trust them with both the personal and business information that they will have access to.
Reliability
In order for a business to properly function, there needs to be reliability from your business partners. If the company is not performing or suddenly ceases operations, your business would be directly affected. Knowing how reliable an IT service company is prior to working with them is vital to the future of your IT operations.
Quality
Cheaper does not always mean better. Businesses must be careful when they are looking to save costs on outsourcing IT services because the quality of work could be different than what they may expect. Comparing the cost and quality of several companies will help give a better baseline of what you should be paying for the quality of work you are looking for.
Employee Concerns
Some businesses that have an IT department and switch to outsourcing the services may deal with concern from employees. The fear that they may be replaced by an outside service is one issue. Startups do not typically have this issue if they are outsourcing their IT services from the beginning.
Now that you are aware of the pros and cons that come with IT outsourcing, its time to begin the search for a trusted provider for these services.
How to Find a Trusted Provider
There are a few important things to consider when searching for a trusted provider for outsourcing IT services.
Communication: This is a huge part of success in any area of your business and should not be overlooked when you are outsourcing. The ability to communicate at all hours with your IT service provider will be important because not all issues arise in the typical 9-5 workday.
Technical Competence: Can this provider handle the technical workload you will be giving them? This is a question that must be answered before agreeing to outsource your IT services with them. We have listed all of the managed services that we can provide when working with you on our website.
Budget: Does this company provide the right services at a price that works for you? Paying attention to how much you are planning on spending on outsourcing your IT services will help you see any cost savings over having an internal IT team. Know where your money is being spent and why it is important to have specific services.
Do Your Research: Read through the FAQ page on the website to help answer your questions. Call the company to learn more about them. Any reviews and information that you can find on the company will help you make an informed decision on whether or not it is a good idea to work with them.
When you visit our website, you will see information about the clients that we currently work with. There is also information on our team so that you can get familiar with some of the faces you could be working with. We strive to give you the peace of mind needed to make running your business fun.
Contact Us Today!
Please contact us today or schedule a call through our website and we will help answer any questions you may have about outsourcing IT services for your business. You have so many things to worry about every day while running your business, don’t let IT services be one of those worries. Feel free to check out our blog for more content like this.
