For many businesses and business owners, IT problems can be incredibly frustrating, not to mention, costly. But by outsourcing IT to experts, you can avoid common technical pitfalls and IT support issues.
And with an outsourced team fully managing your IT processes and services, you can boost productivity and efficiency levels.
In fact, business efficiency has been a key aspect for businesses of late, as the global competition continues to grow. As such, it makes sense that companies are looking to streamline their efforts and focus on their core business processes.
What Does IT Outsourcing Mean?
Outsourcing is a long-term management strategy. And broadly speaking, it’s the process of hiring an external team or company to carry out part or all activities within a business.
For IT outsourcing this may take the form of fully-managed IT services. Or a business may wish to outsource a single area such as cyber security. For instance, an external team with specialist experience and up-to-date knowledge can effortlessly manage your IT security in a way that a generalised, all-rounder IT manager can’t.
And while some business owners find the fully-managed IT solution ensures maximum efficiency. Some businesses opt to outsource different areas of IT to multiple service providers. Each company has their own unique needs that align with their overall strategy and business goals.
However, at its core, outsourcing is a means to cut costs and help businesses to run smoother. So that company directors, managers, stakeholders and employees can focus on their core business without needing to worry.
The Benefits of Effective IT Outsourcing
Years ago, the idea of outsourcing any elements of your business was met with scepticism. Naturally, many companies resisted outsourcing as a strategy, concerned that it could lead to a loss of control.
However, that’s simply not the case. A good outsourced team will work harmoniously with your in-house one providing additional support and expertise. And, having the right expertise is critical for any successful business.
In addition to having a wealth of expertise and blending effortlessly into your company; there are several reasons why you should consider outsourcing your IT:
1. You’ll have the support of an experienced team
A supportive team composed of individuals with valuable IT expertise is surprisingly hard to come by. Which is where letting an experienced team manage your IT processes and systems can be extremely beneficial.
Outsourced employees are often better equipped than their in-house counterparts when it comes to dealing with a wider variety of IT issues or problems.
When you hire employees, you’re only accessing a relatively small (and often local) talent pool.
An outsourced team will ensure your business includes specialists who know their area of expertise inside and out.
That’s not to say an existing employee can’t also be an expert. However, they lack the opportunity to hone their skills as they are often needed to fix more generalised IT problems.
An outsourced team is used to dealing with multiple companies so they have more experience and are able to provide solutions without the learning curve.
2. You can focus on your business
By outsourcing your IT, you and your business can focus on what it does best.
This is because having a reliable IT support team means time can be better spent on your business growth and strategy.
It also eliminates ongoing IT issues and nips bigger problems in the bud quickly.
There’s not a single CEO or Company Director who wants to waste time and money on something that could have been avoided. It’s more likely they want peace of mind and the knowledge that their business is running smoothly.
That’s why specialist IT support is a valuable asset for any business to have. Because outsourcing ensures your IT systems and processes are in the hands of experts.
Which leaves businesses and their employees able to focus on important things like revenue, market stability and growth.
3. It reduces unnecessary risks
From a security perspective, IT outsourcing can provide valuable insight into cyber security.
Having experts in IT security at your disposal can help you to protect your business from harmful cyber attacks or data breaches.
But it’s not just beneficial for IT security. In fact, outsourcing your IT can reduce the risk of high employee turnover too. As employees are less likely to be stressed out over IT problems or turn out to be unfit for their role.
Therefore, outsourcing can reduce the need for repeated, expensive hiring processes. After all, in a recent report on employee engagement, 63.3% of companies say retaining employees is actually harder than hiring them.
4. You’ll be better equipped to overcome common IT problems
Common IT issues and problems plague businesses of all sizes. But with a friendly, helpful, outsourced IT support team this can be remedied.
However, with a fully managed IT team, these nuisances can be eliminated entirely. Or at the very least, cause these things to occur less often.
Working closely with your employees, an outsourced team can provide the necessary expertise and detailed training needed to ensure common IT issues are a thing of the past. Meaning, your business can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
5. Better cost control
According to the financial analysis website Fortunly, around 45% of companies outsourcing IT functions say it’s about cost saving. And it’s unsurprising that this reason is often the one which fuels a companies’ decision to outsource in the first place.
Though an in-house team can provide support on a daily basis, they may be ill-equipped or unable to provide you with detailed strategies and accurate budgets. In addition to this, an outsourced team reduces the need for costly training.
Therefore, outsourcing your IT to an expert team means you can establish a better overall IT and technology strategy.
As a result, your IT strategy will have clearer budgets and projections. Which means no hidden surprises later on. And in turn, will provide your company with a better return on investment (ROI).
Not to mention, you’ll also be saving money on expensive IT infrastructure.
In fact, many businesses that utilise outsourcing funnel the financial resources saved into other avenues. For instance, advertising and marketing – for many companies these are areas that make a huge difference. Especially in terms of attracting more business and beating your competitors.
6. You can get ahead of your competition
Knowledge is power. Don’t underestimate the power of industry knowledge when it comes to beating your rivals.
Investing in IT outsourcing, specifically from a strategy point-of-view, can dramatically increase your business growth.
When it comes to getting ahead of your competition, having the right IT infrastructure and skills behind you is also key.
Your marketing team can’t provide a detailed SEO marketing strategy without the right programs installed and properly updated. And your finance department needs all data sets, Excel spreadsheets and CRM processes running smoothly in order to carry out their everyday tasks too.
And, outsourcing your IT processes and systems will allow you to start making smarter decisions across other departments.
7. Make smarter decisions
With an experienced IT team behind you, helping to guide your overall IT strategy, you can make quicker, smarter decisions.
There’s no need to second guess your IT decisions or “make do” with data analysis lacking in depth or understanding.
In fact, the meaningful analysis an outsourced IT team can bring can inform and elevate your business strategy overall.
As a result, they can provide valuable information and insight, that you may have otherwise missed. Plus, you can avoid making decisions that may have caused problems later down the road.
As a result, you can streamline your existing processes. Which goes a long way to helping to make your business and its employees more productive and efficient.
8. Increased productivity & efficiency
You can reduce the wasted time caused by IT problems and your team can work more efficiently with outsourcing.
Having 24/7 expertise at your disposal will enable your business to be more productive as a result. As any issues can be fixed quickly and dealt with efficiently.
Productivity is one thing but the most successful businesses are usually the most efficient too.
Outsourcing your IT will ensure that your output is always maximised. For instance, with a clearer budget, your finance team will be able to forecast more accurate projections. Meaning, allocations of funds can be better organised or used more efficiently too.
In a recent article written for Thrive Global, Nidhi Jaiswal of Web and Mobile App Development Company, Unified Infotech puts it this way;
“Suppose you are producing and maintaining a high output rate…but your work is full of too many errors and you require additional time to make it right
…productivity is higher here, but it is of no use as you were not efficient enough to meet your target”
And this is exactly why so many business owners are coming around to the idea of outsourcing as a strategy.
9. Reduces multitasking
Being a Jack or Jill of all trades certainly has its benefits. However, according to Bob Schafer, VP of research for brain training app Luminosity, multitasking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be:
“Multitasking can hurt efficiency for a couple of reasons: It takes time to switch between gears, and the process of switching ‘working sets’ of information can lead to errors and mistakes”.
A professional violinist has spent countless hours of their life learning and perfecting their skill. Compared to a violinist who plays their instrument as a hobby, even for many years, the difference in their ability is monumental.
The same can be said for your employees.
Each will have their unique set of skills and specialism. So by outsourcing your IT this means your employees can focus on doing the jobs that matter.
Removing IT issues can lead to smart, considered and more careful thinking from your employees, as they are not focusing on IT hitches or processes.
Dreaming of unsurpassed IT expertise?
Whatever IT problems you face – they can be resolved with the specialist advice and expertise of an outsourced IT support team.
Overall, for a successful business, outsourcing can be the very thing that increases your IT efficiency. And efficiency can be far more beneficial for your business than productivity. After all, any company can be productive but only the most successful are both productive and efficient.
So whether you’re looking to outsource all or part of your IT processes, services or infrastructure, we can help.
And we specialise in finding solutions and solving IT problems quickly and efficiently – whatever your business size.
In addition to expert IT outsourcing, our services include:
- IT Support from our Amazing IT Service Desk Team
- Comprehensive and Strategic IT Consultancy
- IT Security & Strategy
- Expert IT Project Delivery on time, on budget
- Office 365 & Office 365 Migration
- Endpoint Security (Anti-virus Solutions)
- Professional Support with IT Office Relocations
- Network Support & Services
- Wireless Network Distribution & WiFi installation
Speak to a member of our expert team today and find out exactly how we can spark your business growth with fully managed effective IT support and solutions.