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Why businesses should consider IT Outsourcing

Information Technology is the backbone of business today. We consult with hundreds of businesses every year on IT and find that there are two scenarios that drive the need to bring in outside help to manage IT infrastructure:

  1. Businesses that have internal IT support – In this scenario it is typical that the inhouse IT resource(s) are at capacity and need additional help to properly maintain the IT environment. Another scenario is that the internal IT resource(s) are overwhelmed with just maintaining the environment and the business needs to free them up to be more strategic and manage IT projects rather than spend their time troubleshooting and fixing IT issues.
  2. Businesses that are too small to afford internal IT support but nonetheless need ongoing IT support

In either scenario the business is faced with a tough decision; hire or outsource. You need to consideral several factors in this decision:

  • Hiring an internal resource is costly. Industry average fully loaded cost of a Network Administrator is $94,000 per year. This includes salary and benefits
  • Limited skill set – An internal resource will have a limited skill set. A single person can only be good at so many things
  • Cost of proper tools – Proper IT maintenance requires tools such as remote control, asset management and monitoring software
  • Coverage during vacation/time off – How will you handle support when the internal IT support person is off?
  • Cost comparison – In many cases outsourcing can cost significantly less than a full time internal resource

Outsourcing addresses many of these critical factors. By outsourcing you are hiring a team of IT specialists for significantly less than a single full time internal resource. This gives you access to a broad range of skillsets and deep levels of experience. You are also tapping into best-in-breed tools used by IT support companies including Help Desk ticketing systems, knowledgebases, monitoring and patch management technology etc.

By outsourcing you are also eliminating the cost of turnover and costs associated with employee insurances, payroll taxes, health benefits, training etc. A good IT services provider will also bring best practices to bear in managing your infrastructure.

These are just a few of the considerations. To discuss your specific situation please contact us. You can also find more information on IT outsourcing at /solutions/it-services-consulting