Many businesses discover that developing and managing an in-house IT team is challenging. Issues such as scalability, effective delegation of IT tasks, and focusing on core activities prove problematic. At this point, managers begin to seriously consider the benefits of outsourcing to a third-party service provider.
Using a managed IT services provider for support services, productivity improvements, and cost savings is becoming increasingly popular. This blog post explores the potential benefits, obstacles, and important factors to consider before proceeding.
Understanding Outsourced IT Support
An important goal of outsourcing IT services is to gain access to a team of skilled professionals. Depending on the type of service, they can offer day-to-day IT support, system updates, and infrastructure management.
Third-party providers help busy companies stay abreast of the latest technologies in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Tailored solutions under a contract or subscription model permit enterprises to focus on what matters most.
With the host of benefits outsourcing offers, the size of your business is no longer an impediment to staying technically relevant. Below, we outline the most outsourced services and why companies increasingly choose to work with a third-party provider.
Common Services:
Helpdesk and user support – outsourcing IT support involves providing end users with helpdesk and tech support services. The support team resolves application access issues, resets passwords, troubleshoots hardware problems, and more. This is the most requested service and aims to deliver high customer satisfaction scores.
Data backups and disaster recovery – backing up data is essential to prevent long-term data loss. Even the best hard drives occasionally fail. Backups can manage technical setbacks before they cause downtime. Disaster recovery systems allow businesses to avoid major setbacks from becoming business-ending scenarios.
Cybersecurity solutions – the need for professional security protection cannot be overstated. A significant percentage of UK businesses suffer annually from malware infections, ransomware, or network intrusions. Smaller businesses find this especially difficult to manage without a team of experts. Cybersecurity solutions protect your business in a heightened threat environment.
Network monitoring and management – managing the network and monitoring for unexpected issues keeps a business running smoothly during regular business hours and beyond. Service providers offer network configuration, upgrades, and more. This allows your IT team to work on other important issues while removing the need for late-night service calls.
Cloud computing and hosting services – cloud services management outsources data storage, security, and backup responsibilities to a third-party provider. From private to public clouds, cloud infrastructure solutions are as varied as the businesses requesting them.
Why Businesses Outsource:
Two driving motivations for business outsourcing are:
Cost savings on hiring and training in-house staff – hiring and training a team of experts is costly. Third-party providers benefit from economies of scale, allowing them to provide IT services at a lower cost versus managing everything in-house. Pricing models are often calculated based on subscription plans or usage, offering further monetary advantages.
Access to specialised expertise and resources – talented IT teams protect your business by delivering a range of services while following established industry best practices. Managed service providers bring greater expertise via larger teams and deeper technological specialisation. This ensures customers have access to high-end solutions when needed.
Microbyte offers bespoke outsourced IT support at affordable prices.
The Key Benefits of Outsourcing IT Support
Outsourcing IT offers many potential benefits. Not all of them will apply to your business, but many likely will.
It is also possible that this is not your first time working with a managed services provider. If you are considering a change, our guide to switching IT support providers is worth a look.
Below are seven benefits of outsourcing your IT support to a provider with a proven track record.
Cost Efficiency
Reducing dependence on recruitment and training lowers business expenses and increases the potential for rising profits. Investment in IT equipment, apps, and software as a service (SaaS) tools is lessened because outsourcing providers rely on their internal systems.
Instead, fixed pricing models deliver predictable expenditures, making it easier to budget for IT operations accurately.
Access to Expertise
Outsourcing instantly offers access to a pool of highly skilled IT professionals. Expertise is difficult to come by, and people are harder to retain. Companies reduce the need to seek new IT employees, a frustration for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Another advantage is access to sophisticated, enterprise-level software tools and pre-configured routines adhering to best practices.
Through proactive monitoring and a deep troubleshooting experience set, outsourcing providers resolve IT problems sooner.
Scalability
One key advantage of outsourcing is its scalability. The ability to respond responsively to rising demand or unexpectedly changing market conditions avoids overinvesting at the wrong time.
Flexible service packages offer additional support and deliver cybersecurity solutions without the sticker shock. Short-duration commitments also avoid getting locked into restrictive long-term contracts.
Smaller businesses and startups may not need a full-time IT department. Another option is to augment a small team with supplementary IT support from Microbyte.
Focus on Core Business Operations
Focusing on core business activities is essential to making meaningful strides toward quarterly goals. Internal resources should be directed toward revenue-generating opportunities rather than getting tangled up in IT.
A laser-like focus becomes possible again for operations with compact teams where technological distractions are costly.
Enhanced Security and Compliance
Whether concerned about requirements for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), or the Data Protection Act (DPA), compliance woes become a thing of the past. Providers can help meet strict regulatory standards.
Actively monitoring for cybersecurity threats helps prevent security breaches. Hardening defences and removing security gaps protects systems. Given that approximately half of UK businesses suffer from breaches annually, addressing potential vulnerabilities and continual monitoring avoids becoming a business statistic.
24/7 Availability
24/7 IT support avoids network downtime, untimely disruptions, and a delayed response.
Global support teams ensure IT issues outside normal working hours do not become a headache the following morning.
Risk Mitigation
System maintenance must be proactive, not reactive. This includes updating software drivers and applications and completing other necessary tasks.
Updated systems eliminate security holes that unpatched software leaves exposed. Many successful network intrusions occur because of outdated hardware and software.
Disaster recovery and business continuity systems mitigate risk and ensure operations quickly recover from incidents. Furthermore, third-party outsourcing partners reduce financial risks through service guarantees and insurance coverage.
Challenges of Outsourcing IT Support
Deciding to outsource IT support is the first step. However, there are potential challenges with this course of action.
Below, we highlight various aspects that are worth noting before proceeding.
Dependence on External Providers
When working with external providers, satisfying a need for extensive oversight of all IT functions is no longer possible. Ultimately, the third-party provider requires control over IT infrastructure and other aspects to perform their function.
On some occasions, the provider must verify potential solutions before proceeding. This may add additional time for issue resolution.
Vendor Selection Risks
Choosing the wrong partner for your business can result in inferior IT support or a host of communication errors.
Therefore, vetting outsourcing providers is necessary. It ensures a true alignment with the mission and can confirm in-house experience and proven technological abilities.
Security Concerns
Working with external parties requires sharing data, some of which are sensitive. Access to key systems is also necessary to perform their agreed functions.
Because of this, strong contractual agreements and non-disclosure agreements are necessary to guard the business from loss.
Get in touch with Microbyte to discuss your outsourcing needs with our highly experienced team.
Is Outsourcing IT Support Right for Your Business?
Outsourcing IT support offers many upsides, but is it right for your company?
Key Factors to Consider:
Budget matters – will it save your company money versus expanding the existing IT department?
IT requirements and business size – is business expansion creating a technology squeeze that requires additional support? Have IT requirements become overwhelming?
Long-term goals – do growth plans or a need for operational stability suggest that a technology outsourcing partner is the direction to go?
Examples:
Should a business hire a full-time IT team or outsource from the start? Early decision-making and swift action allow a business to stay ahead of the growth curve.
Operations must be able to scale to manage rapid growth and avoid bottlenecks. Otherwise, operations may stumble as systems reach capacity.
How to Choose the Right IT Support Partner
Here is how we suggest picking the best IT support partner for a business.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Experience and Expertise: consider whether they have general experience or recent exposure to your niche or industry.
- 24/7 and Service Level Agreements (SLAs): what is their average response time and confirmed service levels?
- Services and Pricing: clarity about services offered and prices charged.
- Case Studies and References: do they have proof showcasing past successes and references to confirm them?
Tailored Solutions:
Tailored IT solutions offer a flexible, customised approach to services.
Providers must seek to understand their business goals and the specific IT obstacles or challenges faced.
Communication and Reporting:
Reliable communications are necessary to receive service updates. Maintaining open lines of communication is paramount.
Reports keep customers informed. They should detail IT system performance, applied improvements, and future implementation recommendations.
Conclusion
The benefits of IT outsourcing include access to expertise, reduced costs, streamlined recruitment, and improved operational efficiency.
As technology continues to advance rapidly, companies often find it challenging to stay competitive in a fast-paced digital environment. Outsourcing bridges the technology gap without delay.
Start your outsourced IT journey now. Book a free IT assessment to confirm how Microbyte can assist your business.
