Studies show that on average, small businesses spend around 6.9% of their revenue on IT.
For many companies, that’s too much, and a lot of them are in search of solutions that’ll help them cut their IT bills.
One such solution is to make use of a company that offers outsourced IT services.
You may want to use the help of an outsourced IT company, but you might have some doubts. Is it really cost effective to outsource the IT side of your business? Will your IT systems be secure if you use an outsourced solution?
Read on to learn about the benefits of outsourced IT support. If you’re unhappy with your IT bills, this post will show you how outsourcing the IT side of your business can change things for the better.
Let’s begin!
1. Easier to Predict IT costs
When you use an outsourced IT service, it becomes a lot easier to manage your IT costs.
That’s because, with an outsourced IT service, you generally pay a fixed cost every month, and this is the only IT cost you’ll face. Therefore, if something goes wrong with your IT systems, your monthly payment is enough to handle the issue.
Now, you might think that an in-house option is more cost effective than outsourcing your services. But in many instances, this is far from the truth.
If you have an in-house team, you may need to invest in training materials, should you want to solve a complex IT problem.
You’ll also have to pay for equipment and the maintenance of these items. A lot of these expenses can be unexpected, and so this makes it hard to predict how much your IT costs will be over the course of a year.
The other option is to use IT contractors.
With IT contractors, you only pay when you need help with a specific IT issue.
Again, this option can sound cost effective, as you’re not paying a monthly fee. But when something goes wrong, you’ll realize that using IT contractors can often be the most expensive option on offer.
This is because the hourly rates of IT contractors can be very high, especially if you need emergency help.
Also, if something goes wrong with your IT systems, after the contractors have visited you, you’ll need to pay again to use their services. This is because maintenance fees generally aren’t included when contractors work on your systems.
2. Improved Security
Another great thing about using an outsourced IT service is that you end up with IT systems that are highly secure.
This is because the company will set up your IT systems in a way that makes them secure by default.
For instance, they’ll ensure users have limited administrator privileges. They’ll also make sure everyone has a secure password so that it’s difficult for people to hack into your accounts.
It’s also worth noting that such companies spend a lot of time researching how they can maintain secure systems. After all, security is a big concern for their clients, and so the more they learn about security, the better they can serve their customers.
Following this, you’ll find such companies tend to stay on top of cybersecurity news and the development of emerging cyber threats.
Using this knowledge, they’ll know what can be done to limit the odds of your system going offline, due to a new cyber threat.
Additionally, companies that provide IT support tend to plan for every eventuality. Thus, they’ll have a strategy in place that details how you can recover, should your systems go down.
3. Grow Comfortably
If your business experiences a period of rapid growth, you’ll often need to spend some money on your IT systems so that they can keep up.
This might mean you need to install some new VOIP phone lines. But it could also mean you need to create a shared drive that allows employees to work with one another.
The good thing about using an outsourced IT company is that they’ll be able to help you expand your IT systems, without ruining your existing setup.
You just need to tell them what you’d like to achieve, and they’ll set up a solution that deals with the problem.
This is also true if you need to develop a custom IT solution, should you have a specific need.
Suppose you want to work remotely, and you need to access your files from anywhere in the world.
You just need to tell this to the IT company, and they’ll then go about setting up a system that allows you to do this. You don’t need to do any of your own technical research, and you don’t need to know how any of it works.
Plus, if anything stops working, you don’t need to spend hours troubleshooting the issue on your own.
That’s because this custom setup is part of your managed IT services support contract. Thus, if anything stops working, tell the IT company, and they’ll take care of it for you.
Will You Invest in Outsourced IT Support?
You should now understand why it is a good idea to invest in outsourced IT support, and why this option is better than the alternatives on offer.
Choosing a company that’ll provide you with this service is often the tricky part.
You need to make sure you read their terms of service, so you know what they will and will not help you with. You’ll also want to find reviews from past customers so that you can see whether the IT company honors its promises.
It may be the case that you need to work with a few companies before you find one that’s right for you. Going through this process can be a drag, but it’s vital if you want to find a reliable company that’ll keep your IT systems secure and stable.
Do you have any tips on how you can find a reliable IT outsourcing company? If you do, please share your suggestions in the comments section!
