Every modern business depends on strong IT support to keep its operations competitive. If you’re in the process of evaluating your long-term IT infrastructure plans, the initial thought might be to build out your existing internal IT department or start a new one from scratch. However, just a cursory assessment of the costs associated with hiring and training skilled technicians during a widespread IT labor shortage, not to mention acquiring the necessary hardware, should tell you that outsourcing your business IT is the way to go.
The cost savings you’ll realize after outsourcing your IT requirements to a managed service provider (MSP) are usually pretty significant. This is especially the case if you’re launching a start-up company or own a small to medium-sized business in a stage of rapid growth. This article explores a few primary advantages of third-party IT providers and why you should give their services strong consideration before assembling an in-house technology department on your own.
Outsourcing IT operations invariably comes with a unique set of complications and concerns. Managed IT services entail a more advanced delivery model, security and privacy questions, and whether or not the provider’s IT infrastructure is suitable for meeting your needs. Subsequently, many business owners may find it difficult to confidently assess the deliverables of a specific managed IT service product. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the primary advantages of outsourcing your IT and how a trusted provider can help you accomplish your strategic objectives in these increasingly lean economic times.
What are outsourced IT services?
Whenever a business externalizes its technology requirements to a third party, it’s effectively engaging the services of an IT outsourcer. This third party, most commonly referred to as a managed service provider (MSP), can deliver all your IT-enabled business processes under a fully-managed subscription. Alternately, the provider may handle them in part through a co-managed subscription. The outsourcer provides utility services, software as a service (SaaS), cloud server and storage solutions, and cybersecurity protection.
An in-house IT department might seem intuitive. But as your company grows, managing it entirely on your own quickly gets expensive and time-consuming. On the one hand, an internal team ensures you have onsite IT support with an intimate familiarity with your company and its culture. On the other hand, you might find that your in-house team lacks the appropriate skills to deliver the specialized support required to keep your operations flowing uninterruptedly.
In-house support might make sense for large corporations with high budgets and profound recruiting capabilities. Internal IT teams may feel as if they are more invested in the company and can even be quicker to respond in some instances. But when the inevitable problem arises that causes your in-house staff to hit a wall, and you’re facing a prolonged stretch of unplanned downtime, an outsourced IT solution starts to look considerably more attractive.
What are the main advantages of outsourcing IT operations?
Above all, the two primary reasons you should consider collaborating with an IT outsourcer are to cut costs and boost productivity. Aside from the revenue and efficiency gains, security and regulatory concerns also top the list of reasons that motivate business owners to opt for managed IT services. Here are a few more advantages you’ll gain after partnering with a third-party IT service provider.
24/7 IT coverage
Your trusted outsourcer will provide around-the-clock monitoring of your systems and a dedicated support team to address any network anomalies or observable faults immediately. Even if you retain highly skilled technicians in-house, these employees can’t work through the night, need breaks, take vacations, are subject to illness, and eventually move on to other opportunities.
Outsourced IT solutions eliminate potential disruptions to maximize business uptime. Reputable service providers like PCH Technologies also work 24/7/365 to protect your IT infrastructure and data from the latest cyber threats.
Specialized support
On-premises IT departments might have a keen understanding of your business. But however valuable generalized industry knowledge might be, it’s scarcely enough to deal with all the headaches associated with a growing business. Leading managed service providers bring unparalleled breadth and depth of experience to your organization that a small internal support team may not.
And while outsourcers might fail to immediately understand the concise nature of your business, the technology challenges they haven’t previously encountered are few. Should a problem ever arise that the MSP can’t solve straight away, your service level agreement will establish a clear escalation process that pushes the issue up the chain until it’s eliminated.
Fixed monthly costs
If your business is still relatively small and doesn’t require much IT support, keeping your department in-house might seem like the most cost-effective solution. However, the hidden expenses associated with running your IT department onsite can be expensive and are almost always impossible to predict.
The chance of an unexpected IT disaster you can’t resolve carries substantial financial risk. When your mission-critical systems fail, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to recruit someone off the street in a pinch to handle the problems that you can’t solve yourself. In fact, this approach of working from behind is the best way to drain your time and resources. Investing in a proven IT outsourcer like PCH Technologies is the most effective means of protecting yourself from technology failures that lead to expensive downtime or worse.
The advantages of outsourcing IT services are too many to count. Ultimately, only you know what’s right for your business. If you’re in search of an experienced and dependable IT outsourcer, consider partnering with PCH Technologies. To book your free discovery call today, complete our request for contact form online or give us a call now at (856) 754-7500.