IT plays an important role in any business. An IT department manages most of your operations and administrative work. They are also responsible for inventory systems, customer relationship management, and dealing with technical responsibilities like web hosting.
According to Q10 Systems, a small business should spend between $30,000-$100,000 on their IT department.
As a startup or a small business, dedicating the suggested budget becomes strenuous. Considering the need for the IT department, there’s a workaround: Outsourcing your IT department!
Let’s take a closer look at why outsourcing your IT department is more affordable than you think!
What is Outsourcing
When you hire an outside resource to perform services essential to your business, it’s called outsourcing. In simpler words, it’s when you pay someone to solve a problem for you while it saves you money.
The idea of outsourcing rose to fame in the 1990s, when multinational companies started using third parties for logistics and manufacturing operations. Nevertheless, given the broader economic implications, many countries considered outsourcing a questionable strategy.
While governments worldwide were concerned about reducing the opportunities for domestic jobs, business owners saw outsourcing as an effective method of saving money.
Conclusively, outsourcing is an effective practice for companies looking to cut costs on their expenses.
When Do You Need To Outsource
Not sure when to outsource? The following reasons can help you determine if you need to outsource your IT department:
- Lower Productivity:
When a project completion takes longer and you have unresolved queries, it’s a sign that your company’s productivity is affected. These elements will result in additional downtime, making it difficult for your business to fulfill its commitments.
By outsourcing to a managed service provider, you enable your team to retain their productivity and focus on working on the business’s growth.
Your chosen managed provider will take care of completing the projects, answering customer inquiries, and reducing downtime.
- Compromised Security
With each passing day, the frequency of online attacks has increased significantly. Considering the evolved nature of these threats, it’s tough for a business to defend itself against all of them, which necessitates the need for an IT department.
An outsourced managed service provider will equip your business defenses with the latest security methods, allowing you to fend off any cyberattacks. These security measures will protect your business from getting extensive downtime and ensure that you’re able to continue operating safely.
- Minute Anomalies
Facing constant anomalies or unexpected results will cause a company’s death by a thousand cuts. Such issues usually happen when you have more contracts to deal with than your team can work on.
When you outsource, a managed service provider ensures the delivery of quality results. They also hire resources to work on your projects within the decided budget, mitigating the need and expenses of expanding your team when you can’t afford to.
- Customer Support
Customer support is crucial in running a business. Not only does it help you maintain your rapport with your customers, but it also helps ensure that your customers remain satisfied.
If your customer queries grow significantly to be handled by your team, outsourcing them to a managed service provider is a great strategy. Your chosen managed service provider will ensure that all customer queries are dealt with timely and that they are satisfied with the support they get.
Pros of Outsourcing Your IT Department
- Reduced Operating Costs
Outsourcing originated as a means to save money. Managed service providers offer lowered labor costs, cheaper infrastructure, and operational costs, making them significantly more affordable than hiring an in-house IT team.
Most managed service providers have the assets and capabilities to match your business needs. Their team is equipped with the latest hardware, and software, and is trained to match your business practices.
IT outsourcing will allow you to anticipate your monthly costs better. Flat-fee model-based providers like ITforless.com quote you a fee that you must pay once a month only.
Considering that you have to pay a relatively minimal amount in exchange for better infrastructure and services, outsourcing can be a game-changer for your business.
- Better Security
Outsourcing enables your business to have better access to security services like data monitoring, backup, and protection. Managed service providers can also monitor and flag unusual network activity, keep your systems updated with essential software, and integrate good cybersecurity practices.
Choosing to outsource to a managed service provider mitigates potential intrusions, consequently reducing downtime and other problems.
- Gain Active Support for Your Clients
If you choose to hire an in-house IT department, it will significantly increase your business costs. Even then, you may not have the manpower needed to offer customer support quickly. The delay in response rate will negatively impact your reputation, holding back your business from reaching its potential.
When you outsource an IT department, a trusted managed service provider will constantly monitor your customer support. Active monitoring and diagnostics will improve your customer support while reducing your business’s downtime.
Cons of IT Outsourcing
Choosing the right managed service provider is essential to make outsourcing beneficial for your business. Following are a few cons that you may face if you don’t choose a reliable MSP.
- Less Control
A secondary managed service provider may not manage your business tasks to your standards. Compromising standards will negatively affect your business reputation.
- Communication
Communication is an important aspect of any business. If your managed service provider doesn’t comprehend your business needs aptly, it could be a problem. Communication gaps can also lead to long periods between inquiries, making communication problematic.
How itforless.com Addresses These Problems
Understanding the importance of communication, the itforless.com team has experts at the helm to understand your business needs and concerns. We ensure seamless communication to ensure all your standards are met and you always stay in control.
Let’s connect to discuss itforless.coim can match your needs and help in making outsourcing a beneficial endeavor for your business.
Final Words
Outsourcing your IT department can be a smart move to minimize your business costs. It gives you a way to focus on growing your business while your managed service provider works on ensuring that your business has well-equipped customer service and an up-to-date infrastructure.
Nevertheless, it’s crucial to choose the right managed service provider for your IT needs, and itforless.com is well-equipped to fill in the gap for you.
Hopefully, this guide explains why outsourcing your IT department is more affordable than you think!