One of the most important decisions that a modern company must make is whether or not to outsource its IT services. There are good arguments for both positions, and the result will probably depend on the circumstances of your particular business. In order to decide which way to go, you will need to evaluate a number of different factors. Let’s go over just a few of the situations in which you might think about outsourcing your IT services.
IT Department Has Become A Money Pit
Most technical problems require money to solve, and this can lead to a lot of losses over time. These losses are not just felt in terms of the budget, as they can also waste a lot of time. Network downtime can cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars (maybe more), but that’s not the only aspect of the issue.
When your IT department is such that it requires constant attention, it will take away time and money from other projects. Those resources, which are just being used to maintain the normal working of the company, could be going to things that advance your interests. Since time is money (from a business perspective), you should consider outsourcing if your IT department has become more trouble than it’s worth.
IT Department Can’t Keep Up With Demand
When a company is in the initial stages of growth, it will often be able to hire IT professionals that are not up to the highest standards. Of course, a smaller company doesn’t need the very best, but you can run into some serious issues as you start to scale the business upward.
There are two factors that play into this situation: Competence and time. If you are dealing with an IT department that doesn’t seem competent enough to keep things running, outsourcing is something to consider. On the other hand, if your IT department is simply suffering from lack of time, you might think about hiring some additional staff instead of outsourcing. In the end, you have to look at the circumstances of your business and make a judgment call.
IT Department Has A High Turnover Rate
For a variety of reasons, you might have trouble retaining the right in-house staff for the job. You might simply be unable to pay them the wages that they feel they deserve, causing them to go elsewhere. If your systems are particularly buggy or hard to fix, you might even see some people quit out of frustration.
Either way, an IT department with a high turnover rate is not acceptable. You need your technicians to have a deep and thorough understanding of how things work and how to fix common problems. If they aren’t staying around for more than a few months, they will not have time to learn all the ins and outs of your system. That translates to poor service and increased downtime.
Company Funds Are Very Tight
This is probably the most common reason for which companies choose to outsource their IT needs. If your company is on a tight budget, or if it has suffered some financial setbacks, there is probably a need to tighten the budget and eliminate as many extra expenses as possible. Unfortunately, your in-house IT team might have to be cut in a situation like this.
A managed service provider tends to be cheaper in the long run, even if their monthly fees might not make that fact obvious. When you consider all the money you save on computers and related equipment, however, they become the cheaper option overall. Thus, switching to an outsourced IT model can be a way to trim the fat from your budget and get through a monetary crisis more smoothly.
Your Company Isn’t Tech-Oriented
When we talk about companies using IT services, most people are probably thinking of a corporate setting. However, blue-collar businesses must also use IT services. At the same time, those companies are less likely to have competent computer technicians in their employ.
For instance, let’s say you own a landscaping company. Your employees (hopefully) know the business of landscaping, but you can’t reasonably expect them to be computer experts as well. Some of them may, in fact, have knowledge of IT matters, but you shouldn’t count on that. Thus, a business of that sort would do well to consider outsourcing those tech services to a company that is more focused on that sort of thing.
Conclusion
There are many reasons to consider outsourcing your IT services, and these are only five of them. Still, these are probably the five most common reasons, so they warrant some consideration. We urge you to think carefully about this matter and consider all the needs of your business. By outsourcing your IT services, you can potentially bring a higher level of efficiency to your operations, but some businesses will benefit more than others. We hope that this short article has given you some things to think about and that you will be able to make the best decision for your company. If so, please fill out the contact form.