Why You Should Consider Outsourcing Your IT Support

Information technology (IT) is a critical part of virtually every business. The stronger your IT systems are, the higher would be your chances of success. But at the same time, just one mistake in the IT sector of your business could lead to the entire business crumbling.

That’s why you may need professional IT support. While an in-house team could handle several IT support responsibilities, the advantages of outsourcing IT support seem to far outweigh managing an in-house IT team. And that’s the discussion point for this article. Read on for more details.

1. Cuts Down Operating Costs

Suppose you were to employ an in-house IT team to oversee all your business IT needs. You’d need to provide office space for them, as well as salaries and additional employee benefits.

Recruiting them would also add to your expenses. And don’t forget the training programs you have to fund every now and then to advance your skills.

All these costs significantly eat into your business budget. If you’re operating a small or medium-sized business, chances are you wouldn’t be able to afford an in-house IT team. A cheaper option for you could be outsourcing IT support.

You won’t need any office space for the IT company you partner with. Nor do you have to stress yourself over employee benefits and entertainment. All you need is a monthly professional fee, and you can rest assured your IT demands are met.

2. Pools The Necessary Expertise

IT is quite a wide field, so not one person may be able to handle all IT-related concerns for any given business. Consider these specializations in the field of IT:

• Information research scientist
• Software developer
• Information security analyst
• Database administrator
• Web developer
• Cloud system engineer
• Network administrator
• Network architect
• Data quality manager
• Computer programmer
• Quality assurance tester
• User experience designer

Maintaining such a team of experts is as hard as you could imagine. However, by outsourcing IT support from companies like Terminal and similar IT firms, you get the benefit of consulting a skilled team of IT experts.

IT firms are designed to handle virtually any IT issue a business might have. Because of that, they usually employ several specialists. They understand that clients expect them to solve all their IT problems without any excuses. So by hiring such firms, you’re actually employing dozens of specialists with skills in different areas of IT.

3. Gives You Ample Time For Your Business

You perhaps agree that effectively running your business occupies you full-time. Remember, you have to daily look into issues such as the following:

• Marketing of your goods and/or services
• Compliance with government regulations
• Studying what your competitors are up to
• Tax compliance
• Keeping financial records
• Payment of premiums for business insurance
• Employee entertainment
• Customer satisfaction
• Increasing business cash flow
• Dealing with bankrupt customers
• Order processing
• Handling business disputes
• Employee remuneration

These may already feel overwhelming. So to avoid burning out, it’s good to delegate as much as you can so you’re left with only the most important matters to handle.

You could partner with an Employer of Record (EOR) that can provide you with local expertise and support to lighten your load and ensure your HR and outsourced IT teams always stay in compliance with local labor regulations.

IT support is one of the business aspects you can delegate. By doing so, you’re able to spare time to focus on the growth of your business.

4. Lessens IT Downtime

Networks and servers may experience downtime every now and then. IT downtime may be caused by any of the following factors:

• Human error: Employees could ignore set protocols and standards and cause the company servers to go out.
• Security breach: Hackers could get into your system and deliberately interfere with your connectivity.
• Bugs: Code errors in your servers’ operating systems could result in server failure.
• Archaic hardware: If you still have servers manufactured in the 1990s, you may not be that lucky when running the latest software.
• Out-of-date operating system: If you install outdated software on new machines, you’re likely to experience major IT outages.

If your business is highly dependent on connectivity, even one hour of unavailability may lead to a loss of a significant amount of money.

The good thing with outsourcing IT support is that the hired team would proactively monitor your IT systems and advise you accordingly. You’d no longer be a regular victim of unexpected IT downtime.

5. Provides 24/7 Services

There’s no denying the world economy has unapologetically evolved into a 24/7 affair. Whatever kind of business you run, you’d always have those customers that want to be served outside your working hours. And that’s especially true when your customers are spread across different time zones.

Try not to be adamant and stick to attending to customers’ concerns strictly during your work hours. There’s an unwritten law of customer satisfaction that calls for immediate handling of customers’ concerns.

To facilitate such a bold move, consider outsourcing your IT support. Go for a firm that operates round the clock. This way, you’d be assured all your systems are operational whether you’re in your office working or away attending to other life issues.

6. Improves Data Security

While you’re busy establishing your business, there are characters out there who are sworn to living off your sweat. Hackers are on the loose. They’re responsible for cyber threats like the following:

• Malware attack: Installation of malicious software into your system
• Phishing: Tricking you to open an email with dangerous links and files that can lead you to leak sensitive information
• Password attack: Hackers correctly guessing your passwords and gaining access to sensitive business accounts
• Ransomware: Preventing you from accessing certain important data until you pay some ransom
• Denial of service: Attacking your business IT system so it stops functioning

Furthermore, they appear to be getting smarter with every dawn of a new day. Keeping up with their hideous tactics is overwhelming.

But if you outsource IT support, you’re better equipped to escape their snare and boost your online security. IT consultants are always aware of emerging cyber threats before many other people.

That’s their main business, so you could depend on them to handle these threats.

7. Saves You The Hassle Of Recruiting In-House IT Experts

If you have a solid IT background, you may not find it challenging to recruit IT specialists for your business. But if you’re a bit green in IT, recruiting experts in this field could be quite challenging. You may not be able to differentiate between an impostor and a truly skilled IT expert.

And if you hire the wrong person for the job, your business would likely suffer. You’ll have wasted your time and money by putting together the recruitment process. Additionally, you’d waste a lot of money paying someone who’s not fit for their job. Firing them and starting all over again is another burden altogether.

Outsourcing IT support could be one way to save you from such hassles. You deal with a company rather than an individual. Then it’s up to the company to find the right person to handle your specific job.

8. Easy To Scale Up Operations

Certainly, it’s your wish to see your business grow. As your business gets bigger, so do your IT needs. You realize you have more workload; your customers, employees, suppliers, and partners are bigger than you started with; and the number of computing devices in your business premises is growing every day.

In case you have an in-house IT team, they could easily get overwhelmed when your business grows this way. You may need to recruit more experts to add to the current team, and this means more salaries, benefits, and office space.

However, an outsourced IT support team could seamlessly handle the growth of your business. All you need to do is clearly communicate your emerging needs and, of course, pay a little more consultation fees.

9. Gives You Access To Cutting-Edge Technologies

Technology advances quickly it seems. A digital device you bought two or three years ago may by now be outdated. To remain competitive, you need to ensure all your hardware and software are up to date.

IT consultants are better placed to give you timely updates on the latest IT trends in the market. After all, that’s their main business. It’s very natural for them to know what’s happening in their field of specialization.

More so, technology companies are fond of using IT consultants to get the word around about their latest hardware and software releases.

By outsourcing your IT support, you’re able to apply the latest technology used by other highly successful businesses. This keeps you constantly ahead of the crowd, which means bigger profits for you.

10. Allows Quick Recovery From Disasters

Suppose a terrible power surge hits your business premises and leaves your devices all blown up. Or an earthquake or fire destroys your computing systems. Or burglars break into your office and escape with critical hardware components. Or you become a victim of a deadly cyberattack.

Having outsourced IT support would help you get back to your feet as quickly as possible in such scenarios. Your employees would be less anxious over the mishaps, and that’s key for seamless continuity of business operations.

The Bottomline

Outsourcing your IT support may be a very wise move for your business. It’s a way of delegating a critical area of your business to experts so you could focus on managing your business. If the above reasons are convincing, you may go ahead and start shopping for a trusted IT support company.