Hiring versus outsourcing your IT department
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Outsourcing any aspect of your company’s business may sound strange at first, but if you’re running a larger enterprise, the idea of outsourcing some parts of your business could actually save time and money.
Sometimes, though, you need some external assistance. Your internal team might not be able to take on certain projects for a few reasons. For example, they might not have enough experience or time to complete them. Or they might be busy juggling everyday tasks.
That’s why it may sometimes be a good idea for an organization to outsource certain parts of its IT department. In this article, we’ll explain why outsourcing IT makes sense, and what types of organizations tend to do this.
What does managing IT really entail?
Even if you have a dedicated IT manager, then you will most likely be dealing with someone who is trying to manage everything themselves. This means that they are responsible for all aspects of the IT department, including the following:
• Maintaining hardware and software systems
• Monitoring network traffic
• Managing security
• Keeping track of backups
• Updating operating systems
• Implementing new technologies
• Providing support for users
On the other hand, let’s say you have a group of IT professionals in the department. They still may be very occupied with day to day tasks and projects. You’ve got large strategy initiatives that they are working on or they can be busy developing new features or updating infrastructures. Almost every internal group has a list of things that they must accomplish and do not have enough time to deal with the day to day tasks, such as managing your Help Desk. Help Desk requests are received via email, phone call or unexpected in-person visits. All these things combined can keep your IT staff extremely busy from before the work day starts to well after it ends.
So, the three big thing we think you need to ask yourself is:
1. What is the present state of technology management in our company?
2. Do we have a group already in position?
3. Is non-technical staff attempting to fix technical issues?
IT management challenges and how a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help you.
Often, when an issue arises within an organization, the in-house technical staff becomes so overwhelmed by the volume of requests they receive that they simply cannot handle them all. As a result, non-techies become involved in solving problems that should be handled by techs.
Outsourcing at least part of your IT operations can be helpful. Managed Services Providers (MSPs) can relieve you of some of the headaches associated with managing technology. They can offer services such as remote support, network monitoring, and security maintenance. By outsourcing these tasks, you’ll gain access to expertise beyond your own team’s capabilities. Your employees won’t spend time on mundane activities because they’ll be working on more important things. And if something does go wrong, you’ll have someone else to call.
A good MSP can help your internal teams move forward with larger, strategic projects by helping them out with things like office space, server provisioning, and maintenance.
Remote or Onsite?
Sometimes when considering IT outsourcing, we imagine 100% remote tech support from the mainland or another country. This can conjure up nightmares like we’ve all seen in movies and TV where technicians are difficult to understand or hard to reach.
The problem is, most MSPs are local and can have someone onsite for you within hours. True, overseas outsourcing it can save money in the short run, but it an also cause delays in getting the support you and your business needs.
You can always hire someone on staff to be onsite all the time, but that comes with its own costs.
The Cost of Hiring
Cost is usually where most companies weigh the options. Hiring employees can sometimes be the best way to go, but even at the lowest skill level, an entry-level worker isn’t cheap, especially when you factor in their salary, benefits, medical insurance, parking, etc. Remember, the larger the company, the more IT professionals you’re going to need, it’s usually about 1 IT person for every 50-70 staff.
When you add the cost of managing an in-house resource, the cost can add up quickly. Who will take over duties if the IT person is out sick or needs to go on vacation? And don’t forget the cost of recruiting and retraining a new IT person when people inevitably move on.
An MSP offers the best of both worlds: Onsite and remote cost efficiently.
MSPs provide a complete range of technology solutions, including network monitoring, server management, backup and recovery, security, VoIP, unified communications, virtualization, cloud computing, application hosting, disaster recovery, and much more. They also have a team of IT professionals with certifications, experience, resources and documented processes they follow. MSPs offer these services on a subscription basis, so you only pay for what you use which may also include ongoing service upgrades and maintenance.
Top Benefits of IT Outsourcing with an MSP
Here are some of benefits of working with an MSP:
- Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are ready to help. Hiring an employee and bringing them up to speed takes time but outsourcing an IT professional can offer immediate solutions.
- Lower Costs. Compared to having an in-house IT person, outsourcing IT has no additional overhead costs.
- Lower Taxes. Instead of paying taxes for an in-house an in-house employee, outsourcing IT can create income and tax deduction opportunities for your company.
- Eliminates New Hire Employee Training. There is no requirement for employees to attend any kind of formalized company-wide trainings on processes and procedures. This saves your company time a money.
- Only Hire for What You Need. You can definitely trim costs by hiring IT support from an MSP and only get help based on your specific needs and goals.
- Avoid IT Headaches. A new employee may make costly mistakes, but an MSP has a staff of professionals who are well versed in supporting your IT needs.
- Avoid Single Points of Failure. If you depend on an internal IT person, your business could be put at risk when they’re ill, on vacation, or even if they quit. This could be difficult for your company to manage without them.
- Documentation is Crucial. Most internal IT staffs keep their technical know-hows to themselves. An MSP can document your important IT procedures so they can be replicated by others.
Do you think outsourcing is right for you?
You might not realize it at first, but sometimes you could be in a better position than you thought. We want to make sure you don’t learn the hard way.
We can help you manage low level task like your Help Desk, but we can also take larger projects like network monitoring, patch deployment, equipment upgrades and cybersecurity off your plates. With our 24/7 monitoring and customer service, you can be sure that any issues are quickly detected so that they don’t grow into big problems.
We can also help you with planning strategy for your technology initiatives, supporting and driving digital transformation in your company, creating customized software solutions that fit the ways your company works, and more.
Please checkout our ARMOR IT features and contact us if you’d like to know how we can help you.
