In the digital age, ensuring that your business is tech-savvy can give your business an edge over the competition. Given the plethora of technologies available at their disposal today, businesses may not have the capabilities and manpower to capitalize on these technologies. This is where outsourcing IT support can become beneficial for your business.
The IT sector is a dynamic industry that you need to keep up with to stay competitive. With technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and cloud computing likely to dominate businesses in the coming years, you could find yourself losing out to the competition if you don’t have access to the latest technology. IT outsourcing does just that by making IT services accessible to your customers through the provider. According to a study by Clutch, businesses commonly outsource technical tasks, with IT services at 37%.
You might be having second thoughts about outsourcing. It can be daunting especially if you don’t know where to get started. Outsourcing IT support offers a wide range of benefits for your business. First, it allows you to reduce your expenditures when fulfilling your manpower needs. You don’t have to worry about paying wages and benefits as the provider will take care of that.
IT support could help you manage functions like backup & disaster recovery, help desk or end-user support, data, and network security.
If you have given it a thought and decided to give outsourcing a try, one question in your mind right now is “How do I get started?” In this article, we shall discuss the following:
- Signs You Need IT Support Outsourcing
- Benefits of IT Support Outsourcing
- Steps In Outsourcing IT Support
Signs You Need IT Support Outsourcing
As your business grows, you need to make important decisions that can impact your overall business. The time will come when doing tasks will become overwhelming for your team. As a business owner, you need to be aware of the signs that indicate it is time to outsource your IT support.
1. When Number of Tickets Becomes Too Hot To Handle
One of the very first things that you need to consider when deciding whether or not to outsource is the flow of tickets itself. If it starts to become overwhelming and become a burden for your team, you could either expand your team or outsource. The former can be more costly and more difficult. The latter, on the other hand, will help lighten the workload of your team and bring more structure to your company.
2. You Need 24/7 Support
No matter how good your IT support team is, surely they wouldn’t want to work all day and night. If you want round-the-clock support, outsourcing your additional manpower requirements can give you peace of mind that things will keep running.
A third-party provider can provide you with a team that can assist your customers and help maintain your network or support system. Your IT operations need to work 24/7 because customers visit your website at different times.
3. Your IT Department Doesn’t Have The Capability
Today’s IT projects will require experts and a robust team. If your in-house team does not have the capacity to handle such kinds of projects, outsourcing may be your best option. Also, if your team is falling behind on your tasks and there is an upcoming project, it is the perfect time to get help from an outsourcing provider.
Maintaining an in-house IT team can be costly especially in the scope of today’s IT operations. Outsourcing can help you realize savings of up to 25 to 40 percent on operational costs. Outsourcing will give your business the additional capacity you need to meet the growing demands of your business.
4. Your Business Is Vulnerable To Security Risks
Cybercrimes can affect today’s businesses. If you are not implementing security measures, your business could become vulnerable to cybersecurity threats like identity theft or fraud. According to the 2020 State of the Phish report, 88% of organizations experienced phishing in 2019 and 55% said that their company fell victim to at least one successful phishing attack.
Cybercrimes can have a huge impact on your business if not checked. Outsourcing your IT support gives you access to the latest security technology to protect your system and confidential information protected from cyberattacks and threats.
5. Your IT Staff Isn’t Updated with Their Training
To keep up with the changing times, your employees need to be updated with their skills and specialization. However, it can be a challenge for your small business to keep up with the numerous training programs available for your IT team. This could result in your team becoming ineffective in keeping up with the customer’s needs due to their lack of training.
Outsourcing gives you access to trained IT professionals. They possess vast knowledge about the latest trends in the IT industry and what is happening in their sector. They are updated with technologies like infrastructure, data management, collaborative tools, VoIP systems, and other relevant tools.
Benefits of Outsourcing IT Support
When deciding whether or not to outsource IT support, one question you may have is “How will I benefit from outsourcing?” There are many benefits that can be derived from outsourcing to a third-party provider.
- Access to state-of-the-art technology. The IT industry is a dynamic sector that can make IT skills quickly become obsolete. Software needs to be updated and replaced over time and your full-time staff needs to be trained to use the software. By outsourcing, you free yourself from having to train your staff as the outsourcing team is already trained to use the software.
- Flexibility. The demands of customers are constantly changing so your business needs to be flexible enough to adapt to the changing demands. Outsourcing agencies can tap into a wide range of resources, skills, and capabilities while your internal team may have limited capabilities.
- Job Security. Some companies outsource staff with the understanding that they will be employed for a limited time. This way, it will be easier to drop or add people without jeopardizing your reputation as a stable company. Your regular workers won’t have to suffer from becoming overwhelmed by the high demand in workload.
- Improved Business Focus. With some of your functions being handled by the outsourcing provider, you can divert your resources to other aspects of your business. You can relieve yourself of the huge costs associated with managing an in-house team.
How To Outsource IT Support
Outsourcing IT support can help you with business growth and expansion so you can focus on other functions like improving customer experience and expanding your product offerings. But finding an outsourcing provider can be daunting if you don’t know where to start. Here are the steps on how to get outsourcing IT support right.
1. Identify Your Goals
First things first, you should have an idea of which area you need help from the outsourced provider. Outsourcing companies may be able to help you in the following:
- Infrastructure and hardware
- Telecommunications
- Software development
What’s your reason for outsourcing? Are you aiming to improve your security and backup? Do you want to get your compliance up-to-speed with current rules and regulations? Your business goals will change based on your reliance on IT. You first need to understand your needs before outsourcing your IT support.
2. Check the Expertise of the Outsourced Firm
The expertise of the provider will also be vital in choosing an outsourcing firm. Do they have the right skills, knowledge, and expertise? Are they trained and qualified to handle the tasks they will be assigned in?
Look for professionals who have experience in networking and troubleshooting. If possible, look for a partner that offers full IT support. Also, check if they are capable of providing data backup and recovery services.
3. The Tasks You Need To Accomplish
Also when looking for an outsourcing partner, consider the jobs that need to be done. Do they need to perform regular maintenance? Will you need them for monitoring network security? Do you need them to help you with a new project?
You need to come up with a list of your current tasks and determine which areas you will need some help with. The outsourcing provider can give you advice on the best solution to your problem.
4. Confidentiality and Security
When outsourcing, the third-party provider may gain access to confidential information and private customer data. It is therefore important for you to determine how much information the provider will want to obtain for them to be effective with their functions.
When looking for an outsourcing partner, you need to determine the type and amount of sensitive information you will outsource to the provider. Ensure that the outsourcing firm has measures in place to protect the confidentiality of information and customer data.
5. Operational Control
One of the drawbacks of outsourcing IT support is that you can lose control of an IT function once it is handed over to the provider. But there are some ways you can retain control by either opting to outsource non-core functions or retain full control over business functions.
Before handing over control to the provider, determine the amount of control over your IT support function and establish an appropriate framework of operation with your chosen outsourcing provider.
6. Service Level Agreement
The service level agreement or SLA determines what you will be getting when you pay a service provider. While many outsourcing companies will offer “all-inclusive” packages, you wouldn’t want to know about what isn’t included when you don’t need it.
By knowing the SLA, you will be able to know if what they are offering is a good deal for your small business. The right outsourcing partner is the one that will ensure that you are getting the most out of your contract.
Outsourcing with airisX
“Transition” and “transformation” are just fancy terms we use in the outsourcing industry to explain the migration of internal company work to an outsourced provider, like airisX. We transition the work from your staff to ours, and then we transform (optimize) the work wherever possible to increase efficiencies and decrease defects and costs.
Depending on the scope of your project or staffing, individual steps may look a bit different, though your Solutions Architect and Service Delivery Manager will work hand in hand with you to explain the specific steps for your needs, and the timing of each step. This information is provided as an overview of what you can expect during the handover process when you outsource to us.