When to Outsource your IT Support?
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Businesses know that technology is critical for day to day operations but also vital in enabling the business to meet its strategic goals. However, many businesses struggle to identify the best time to outsource their IT management, often leaving it too late.
By outsourcing your IT management to a Managed Service Provider, you can access a team of experts with the specific skills you need to support your business. An outsourced IT service provider can also improve your IT operations by introducing best practices and streamlining processes, removing the burden from your management team.
If your internal IT department has become overly expensive, outdated, inefficient, or if you're managing IT while also doing your real job, you're potentially holding your business back. It’s time to consider working with an outsourced IT service provider.
Outsourcing your IT management, to streamline the technology operations allows you to focus your attention on growth and development.
In this overview, we’ll share 6 key drivers that clearly indicate when it’s time to outsource your IT services. If any of these issues sound pertinent to your business, now’s the time to shake things up and restructure your business’s IT systems.
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Should You Outsource Your IT Support?
Many businesses find that outsourcing IT services to a Managed Services Provider is the most efficient and cost-effective way to manage their IT needs. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to outsource IT services should be based on the specific needs of your business.
Small to medium-sized businesses can benefit from outsourcing their IT services, if outsourcing reduces their business operation costs, improves efficiency, tightens cyber security, and frees up corporate attention to focus on new product and service development and growth.
By eliminating much of the worry, smaller companies are free to grow on their own. Larger businesses with greater resources and oversight may have success maintaining their own IT department but, having a trusted service provider can provide access to specialist skills for complex projects, cyber security, operational efficiencies and strategic alignment.
Spending Too Much Money and Time on IT?
Combined costs of technology investment and operational management can quickly spiral and become difficult to control requiring significant time investment to maintain. Businesses often end up with separate systems that don't integrate and a reactionary approach to investment rather than a strategic outlook.
Businesses then assign the IT duties to an internal resource who ends up spending much of their time coordinating IT issues and questions, ranging from cyber insurance, renewals, infrastructure approvals etc. Very quickly this ends up distracting from the original role they were hired for.
Outsourcing IT services can remove this headache from your team by shifting responsibilities to a dedicated team of IT specialists. When you work with a qualified provider, they can help you to control support costs, while improving the business operations
By outsourcing IT services, a company can reduce or eliminate the need for in-house IT staff and reduce labour costs. By outsourcing IT services, a company can take advantage of lower rates for services than what they might get if they were to hire an in-house IT staff.
Additionally, by outsourcing IT services, companies can take advantage of the experience and expertise of the service provider.
Not Managing Cyber Security Properly?
Cyber security is a critical issue for all businesses. Without suitable protection in place, businesses can fall victim to data breaches, leading to the theft of sensitive information, financial losses, reputational damage and even lawsuits. Unfortunately, many businesses do not have an in-house resource trained to handle cyber security. As a result, these businesses are at a higher risk of being attacked.
PwC's 2022 Global Digital Trust Insights study said more than 60 per cent of Irish businesses expect cybercrime to increase this year. This number is concerning considering that such breaches put businesses and their clients at risk of identity theft and financial loss.
Outsourcing your IT helps protect your company’s cyber security by providing expert knowledge together with required policies and specialist cyber security tools. Addressing IT security across People, Processes & Technology is crucial for effective and efficient protection from cyber attacks. Often poorly managed cyber security is a leading contributor to breaches as there is no coordinated strategy or standards in place.
The Business is Growing/Changing?
As the business grows, so too does the technology and the complexity. We're now consuming IT systems from the cloud, on-premise and as SaaS products. Throw in the widespread adoption of remote working, IT has spread far beyond the corporate office and as such, we're supporting more devices, new cyber security risk and compliance challenges
By outsourcing IT services, businesses can free up internal resources to focus on other areas of the business. Additionally, businesses can often get access to better and more innovative technology by working with a Managed Services Provider. Your IT partner can help develop your IT strategy which if executed correctly will help support the business goals and ultimately give you a competitive advantage.
In the modern world, the business is the technology and the technology is the business. Don’t let your current IT systems hold you back. Engage with a professional Managed Services Provider and propel your business.
Technology is holding the Business Back
If you don’t invest in IT, you're failing to invest in your business. In years past, IT was a tool that assisted businesses to be more efficient. If it didn’t work, the business could continue without too much impact. Over the last couple of decades, technology has crept in to underpin every aspect of daily operations. Since the pandemic, there has been a further acceleration with businesses moving online, improving the client experience and the mass adoption of remote working. Sub-par IT only gives your competition the advantage
For businesses to grow, they require the latest skills and technologies to innovate and expand. Without innovation, a business can stagnate and get stuck in a rut. Providing the tools and systems to staff to enable them to be more efficient and productive should not be seen as an expense but rather an investment.
Interestingly, staff are leaving companies that don’t offer the right technology. Businesses are using their investment in technology to lure top talent away from competitors. Offering better remote working experiences and access to technology means they can be more efficient and productive, and not spend time trying to access information or connect to the office.
Unfortunately, in-house IT teams often fail to keep up with the latest technology and while good intentioned, end up stalling the business growth.
Unable to Hire or Retain IT Staff
Talented IT staff are very hard to find and retain. Does your business want to trust their entire IT eco-system to someone who just has an interest in IT or to a specialist team of dedicated professionals?
Internal IT staff have limited exposure to the latest trends and technology and often feel trapped with the limited in-house systems. This can result in very limited value to the business other than some technical support.
With more attractive options and the opportunity to further develop skills, they leave and a knowledge gap is left behind. This often exposes significant shortcomings with the technology, cyber security and daily operations.
Hiring skilled IT staff is a significant challenge as one resource won't be enough. The business requires someone who can direct the path of technology and contribute on a strategic level. This resource is unlikely to also want to resolve day to day help desk issues and if they do, then you must ask yourself, is that value for money?
There is a saying, “you never hire an IT person, you hire an IT department”. A better option is to speak to a Managed Service Provider who has the required skills, accreditation and certification to assist your business in making sure technology is an innovator, not a distractor.
IT Projects are Not Being Completed
The number one reason why IT projects are not completed on time is inefficiency and poor organisation. Many IT projects suffer from unrealistic deadlines, a lack of understanding between the IT department and the business, and are plagued by poor communication and budget overruns.
In-house IT teams can struggle to predict the demands of a certain project, making it harder to plan and organise the necessary resources. They tend to get caught up with IT Infrastructure and not see the new and emerging technologies that are powering the growing businesses.
Alternatively, an outsourced IT Partner has the talent and communicative abilities to quickly and effectively complete projects according to your needs. It’s their responsibility to meet your deadlines, rather than relying on an internal support team.
Conclusion
Overall, working with a Managed Service Partner (MSP) can be a great way to save money and improve your company's IT eco-system. Partnering with an MSP will help your business thrive, from the day to day IT support management to strategic alignment, to efficient and on-budget projects to reducing costs and providing industry-leading cyber security protection.