While it may be beneficial to some companies to use in-house IT infrastructure, most business owners will find it is much more effective to outsource their IT needs. IT outsourcing includes hardware, software, database administration, cloud computing, inventory management software, website management, etc. In this article, we will discuss the five key benefits to outsourcing your IT needs instead of doing it in-house.
Benefit 1: Lower Cost
The cost of acquiring equipment and maintaining a knowledgeable IT team can be prohibitive, especially for smaller businesses. Not only do you need to purchase expensive equipment, but you need to maintain that equipment and, as technology goes, you will need to upgrade your equipment often, as well as make sure all software is kept up to date. This could cost you from thousands to several hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the size and needs of your business. With IT outsourcing, you never have to worry about any of this.
Benefit 2: Time Management
Having your IT in-house requires you to spend more time on those updates and less time running your business. Constantly making decisions about which software you should update to, what hardware would best run that software, how often to back up your data, whether you should have redundant backups, and the hundreds of smaller issues that crop up could easily cost you hundreds of hours a month. With IT outsourcing, all you need to spend time on is finding a good, reputable IT company and making sure they are doing the job right. By utilizing IT outsourcing, you free up your time to better manage your business itself, letting the IT Outsourcing vendor manage your IT needs.
Benefit 3: Greater Security
One of the major problems with keeping your IT in-house is that of security. While most in-house IT departments use some form of security to keep information out of the wrong hands, the fact of the matter is most in-house IT security is inefficient. Often, this lack of security is due to the overhead costs of placing a sufficient security system in place. Many businesses simply opt for installing third party software to increase the security of their information and data. Unfortunately, this software is usually only of limited benefit and does very little to prevent theft of information and important corporate data.
With IT outsourcing, your corporate data remains safe, as most IT outsourcing companies offer state-of-the-art security technology, both software and hardware. Also, keeping your business data out of the hands and eyes of employees reduces the chances that your information might be “leaked” by an unscrupulous employee to your competition.
Benefit 4: Better Talent
Face it; it’s just hard to find good help these days. In order to get the most talented IT specialists for your corporation, you will need to go through the tedious process of advertising positions, interviewing candidates, checking references, training, and then monitoring the employees to see if they are as good as their resumes say they are. This is very time consuming and can easily be avoided by outsourcing your IT to a competent firm that has already done the leg work for you. Most professional IT outsourcing vendors have already weeded through the weak IT personal and hire only the most competent professionals. The IT personnel provided through IT outsourcing venders will have all necessary certifications and will have a good track record, so you can rest assured you are getting the highest level of talent for your money.
Benefit 5: Cutting-edge Technology
As mentioned, the equipment necessary to run a successful and proficient in-house IT department is extremely costly. Not only do you want to have the most up to date, state-of-the-art equipment at the outset, but with technology changing nearly every day, you will need to upgrade your equipment many times a year to keep up with the newest enhancements. This could put your business over budget quickly, costing you thousands of dollars. You also need to stay on top of technological breakthroughs so that your company can continue to compete with others in today’s technological driven world. This equates to more money and more time spent on your IT needs and less time and money spent on enhancing your business. IT outsourcing frees up this time and money by allowing you to work with venders that are already on the cutting edge. A reputable IT outsourcing vender has made it their business to stay up to date on emerging technologies and will use state of the art equipment and software in order to give you the best possible service for your money.
In order to keep up with today’s technology to provide your business with the best possible software, equipment, and security needs, outsourcing your IT makes sense. You will save money, time, and energy best expended toward growing your business, offering better service and merchandise and keeping your information safe and secure by outsourcing your IT rather than trying to do it in-house. What this adds up to is a higher profit margin with a lower overhead cost, and that’s just good business sense.
