May 5, 2022
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When you run a business, especially a bigger one, the idea of outsourcing any aspects of the work that needs to be done might seem a bit off. This is a conversation that comes up a lot when companies are thinking about their IT needs.
Sometimes, though, your internal team needs extra help or they get a project that’s a little outside of their expertise. It’s not that they couldn’t do the work, but it could be months before they can start or they may not be properly equipped to handle things.
That’s why it can sometimes be a good idea to outsource some aspects of your IT team, if not the whole thing. In this post, we take a look at why you might want to outsource IT and what that can look like for your organization.
What does managing IT look like in your business?
The big thing that you often need to consider is what is the current state of tech management in your organization. Do you have a team already in place? Are non-technical staff trying to solve technical problems? The problem here is that even when you have a team, they’re probably pretty busy. You’ve got large strategic initiatives that you’ve got them working on or they could be busy building new features or upgrading infrastructure. Most internal teams have a backlog of work and don’t necessarily have time to handle the daily tasks, like helpdesk.
Worse, is when you have non-technical staff dealing with tech problems. We’ve talked before about how the average non-tech employee can spend up to 8 hours a month dealing with IT issues. That’s one full day a month that’s lost. This isn’t just limited to businesses that don’t have an internal team, either. If you have a team, but they’re too busy, this same thing can happen and you put yourself in a position to lose a day a month for each employee in your organization (which adds up fast for bigger companies).
Challenges of IT management and how outsourcing can help
We’ve touched on this a bit, but often what happens is that your in-house team gets too busy or just can’t respond to issues in a timely manner. You end up with a situation where non-technical people are trying to solve problems outside of their areas of expertise (which either leads to more problems or lost time).
Outsourcing at least some aspect of your IT management can help this. Managed Service Providers (MSP) can take the burden from your teams and provide top-quality service that keeps your business running smoothly. With an MSP, you can get help however you need it. It could be you’re outsourcing your helpdesk needs, which means that when tech problems come up, not only are they being solved quickly, but they’re being done by people who know what they’re doing. You’re not losing a day of productivity a month (per employee). Instead, they’re focused on doing what they do best, which is why you hired them.
MSPs can also help your internal team push through large, strategic projects by providing people and experience to get the work done faster. This could be anything from moving to new offices (and making sure they’re set up properly) to provisioning and maintaining new servers for your business.
On-site or off?
When most people think about outsourcing something, they picture everything happening remotely, possibly even from a different part of the world. This can lead people to feel like they’re not dealing with someone who doesn’t care as deeply as they would if they were an employee.
The thing is, though, MSPs don’t always work remotely. It’s a big part of what we do, and remote tech folks are great at solving a lot of problems. But, when you need someone on-site to solve an issue, we have people who can help.
Same goes for large strategic projects. If you need extra help on-site to get the work done while your internal team coordinates everything, that’s also doable. With an MSP, you’re basically getting the best of both worlds, with on-site and remote work available to get the job done, as needed.
The cost of hiring
Cost is where a lot of people get hung up. Hiring often seems like the best approach because you get people who learn your business inside and out, but when you think about it, even a low-level tech employee isn’t cheap and the bigger the organization, the more staff you’re going to need to ensure that things operate as they should.
MSPs help solve this problem by providing you with an entire tech support team for around the same amount of money you’d pay a single in-house employee. This means that you’re not just getting one person who can make sure things work, you’re getting a team to help with technical support, you’re getting a team that can help with strategy, you’re getting a team that can implement, and so on. The value increases as your business grows and your MSP agreement grows with you, adding support and services as the need arises. In-house IT teams can grow in a similar way, what often happens, as we’ve mentioned, is that they get busy and can’t quite keep up with the demands of growth.
Think outsourcing is right for you?
Sometimes, you might think you’re in a good position with your IT needs, but you end up learning the hard way that there’s a gap in your support. If you’d like to get ahead of any potential issues, we’re here to help.
Our experts can help you manage low-level tasks like helpdesk, but can also take large tasks like network monitoring and security off your plate. You can get 24/7 monitoring and support to ensure that small issues are noticed before they become huge problems.
We can also help plan strategic tech initiatives, support and drive digital transformation in your business, create custom software solutions that fit the way your business operates, and more.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you grow your business.
