6 Benefits of Outsourcing IT

As the leader of a thriving business, it makes sense to keep everyone in-house and develop your teams internally. It helps with building employee camaraderie, tracking everyone’s progress, and staying on top of projects. However, there is one aspect of your business that could be improved if you outsourced it — Information Technology, IT for short.

In this article, we want to help you understand the benefits of outsourced IT support, specifically how it can help businesses:

• Reduce costs
• Increase efficiency
• Improve performance

In fact, partnering with an experienced IT outsourcing company might be the right decision for every company, regardless of your size.

What is IT Outsourcing?

Without using technical jargon, outsourced IT support can be defined as “hiring an external company of experts to take care of all your technology needs.”

While not every IT outsourcing firm offers the same services, they all focus on these five things:

• Hardware – desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and more
• Software – the suites offered by leading companies
• Integration – ensuring software and hardware work together seamlessly across devices, users, and situations
• Cybersecurity – the protection of your company’s resources, documents, data, and hardware from digital crimes
• Infrastructure – cloud computing, databases, technology stacks, and more

As the client, you are the “boss” of the IT firm. You’ll still direct the efforts and work for your company, even if your IT partner is on the other side of the world. In other words, IT outsourcing does not equal a lack of control or due diligence on the part of your business.

How Can I Benefit from IT Outsourcing?

No matter what your business does, you need IT support because everything in our world uses technology. So, unless you plan to keep your business a one-person operation that bakes cookies for a few local coffee shops, you will need to find an IT company that can grow with you.

To prove our point, we’ve assembled six key benefits your business will receive by placing all of your outsourced IT needs in the hands of a Managed Services Provider (MSP) – another name for a company that remotely handles IT infrastructure and systems.

1. Lowered Costs

   According to recent research, the average IT manager’s salary is nearly $90,000 — and that’s just for one experienced person on your staff to handle all of your IT issues. That single person literally cannot be available for your company’s needs on a 24/7/365 basis like a quality IT outsourcing company can be.

   Hence, if you are a small startup or even mid-sized business, the monthly cost for outsourcing your technology needs helps you save money on salaries that you can then allocate in different directions.

2. Concentrated Business Focus

   Unless you are a technology company, you’re probably not an expert in the sort of IT services your company needs to thrive. And even if you are, you should spend your time growing your company by improving your products, leading your staff, and connecting with your customers.

   IT outsourcing gives you the freedom to focus your attention on your core competencies and what matters in the day-to-day operations of your company. Moreover, it gives you the peace of mind that your problems will be expertly solved whenever they arise.

3. Improved Management and Staffing

   Remember that solo IT manager we mentioned earlier? Imagine if you did hire that person and they wanted to take any sort of vacation. You’d be left without help for possibly weeks at a time. Working with a certified MSP means you’d have a complete team of people always available to proactively detect and fix any issue you might have with your technology stack. You’d also rest easy knowing that you didn’t have to learn tech-speak yourself to ensure that your company’s IT needs are met.

4. Increased Experience and Knowledge

   Being a digital native who can troubleshoot some issues with Microsoft Outlook isn’t the same as ensuring that your software and hardware are synced so they can work across multiple devices. And it’s definitely not an indication you can provide the level of cybersecurity protection your company and customers deserve from your products and services. Working with an IT outsourcing services provider guarantees that you’ll always have access to the right people at the right time to correct any concerns that might arrive.

5. Enhanced Technology

   You should be focused on growing your company. That means you might not pay enough attention to an aging technology stack. Contracting an outsourced IT company means you’re paying them to keep your infrastructure in top-notch condition with the latest and greatest tech. This is especially true when it comes to keeping tabs on developments and improvements that could deliver increased efficiencies for your company.

6. Decreased Risk

   You might think it’s risky to put all of your IT issues in the hands of a third party company working hundreds of miles away from you. But experienced IT companies will tell you that partnering with an MSP lowers risk because it’s distributed amongst a larger team of workers instead of putting everything on your much smaller in-house team.

What Should I Look for in an IT Outsourcing Company?

Not every company is created equal, and even the best IT company might not be a good fit for your business needs. Thus, while we can’t dictate the outsourced IT firm that’s right for you, we can recommend that you look for one that fits the following criteria:

• Matches Your Growth Rate – Can they scale quickly with their internal people and technology if your company develops rapidly?
• Provides Strategy – Do they provide insights and analysis that reflect an understanding of what you do, or do they try to implement a “one size fits all” approach?
• Active Partnership – Do they give you clear direction and open communication about what they’re doing and how your companies can work together more effectively to meet your needs?
• Leadership-Minded – Do they want to lead the conversation in information technology or are they mere followers?
• Cybersecurity Focus – Do they pay increasing attention to developments in the cybersecurity space to protect you and your customers?

Ultimately, successful IT outsourcing means that you’ve found a company that truly has your best interests at heart — almost as if they’re one of your employees sitting on the other side of the office.