IT Outsourcing

When is IT Outsourcing a Good Idea?

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by

Michelle Jima
in

What is IT outsourcing?

IT outsourcing is simply moving part of your operations away from the hub of the business to a third party to deliver IT business processes. Outsourcing can help you to reduce costs, allowing you to concentrate on your core business, and take advantage of external expertise.

Examples of Frequently Outsourced IT Services

  • IT Support
  • IT Maintenance
  • Back up and Monitoring
  • Remote Network, Desktop and Security Monitoring
  • MAC IT Support

The age old consideration of a “buy or make decision” is as relevant to IT as it is to cooking (home cooked or takeaway?), albeit this is somewhat more challenging.

When looking for relevant IT solutions and IT Support in an IT outsourced proposal, its important to consider both the pros and cons.

Pros of IT Outsourcing

  • Using an IT support provider makes sense if you do not have the in-house expertise, the time to focus on it or even the working capital to set it up.
  • An IT solution will be a flexible resource, meaning that you can buy when you need the IT service, without the fixed overheads and in-house salaries.
  • IT Consultants, such as Marshall Info Tech offer their expertise with a breadth of knowledge that shares best practice. IT outsourcing can add value by identifying issues early, developing strategic road maps to support your business growth and give you the confidence to focus on your business.
  • Ideally tailored IT solutions support client specific issues. While a generic approach is more cost effective for baseline services, topping it up tailored support to give an economical approach.
  • A fully managed IT support will include risk managed solutions, designed to focus on business critical systems and data. Good IT providers are up to date on relevant legislation such as GDPR.
  • A good IT Service provider will take a holistic approach to IT, with consideration of just the technology but the people, process and organisation.
  • The right IT Consultants can allow you time to focus on your core business, its growth and returns. Passing the IT performance risk to IT support providers with broad resource levels means your business can move from input based approach to an output one with confidence.

Cons of IT Outsourcing

  • When you make the decision to outsource all or part of your IT systems, it is natural to feel a loss of control, as you will be relying on an external resource to manage a fundamental part of your business
  • Choosing the right IT Consultant is really important; the culture, core beliefs, behaviour, and attitudes as well as knowledge. You do not want to be let down by a poor provider
  • Ensure the selected IT service provider has a good track record and the stability to be around long enough to serve you.
  • The contract should ensure fair arrangements are in place, should you need to make change
  • As with any type of outsourcing or external resource, there will be upfront time and effort to specify, procure and manage the IT outsourced solution.

Should I outsource my IT?

If you are intending to grow your business and can comfortably move your IT off-site, outsourcing your IT is probably worth it. Consider whether outsourcing would make your team more efficient, and if you can afford the solution you want.  You could choose to outsource part of your operations, keeping the most crucial elements in-house.

At Marshall Info Tech, we can pride ourselves on providing the right outsourced IT solution and really take care to understand your business.  That’s why we have been named as one of Britain’s Top 50 Best Managed IT Companies.

Contact us today for a discovery call about how our managed IT Support Services can help you. Call 0203 384 9830 or email info@marshallinfotech.com.

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