Many businesses outsource to carry out certain activities that could otherwise be carried out internally. IT outsourcing is a subset of business process outsourcing and traditionally falls into infrastructure or application outsourcing. Infrastructure outsourcing can include service desk capabilities, data center outsourcing, network services, managed security operations or infrastructure management. Application outsourcing can consist of application development, system maintenance, testing services or software implementation and management. There are plenty of ways IT outsourcing can benefit a business. To understand why IT outsourcing could be the right decision for your business, you must understand what potential benefits and advantages it could bring to your company. This blog post will look at some of the top reasons companies of all sizes outsource IT.
Outsourcing IT to a managed service provider can allow your company to focus on core aspects of your business and allows your staff to concentrate on their primary duties. Many small businesses do not have a large IT staff with training for every type of technology. In many cases, a small IT team is suited for day-to-day tasks, but would be overwhelmed when tasked with a new project or implementation. Furthermore, tasks that aren’t done to your team’s skills or which you lack the knowledge for should be outsourced to professionals with the resources and certifications to handle them efficiently and effectively. Having a small IT team to take care of the daily maintenance and management of IT while outsourcing larger projects ensures that your IT team isn’t overburdened with work and that your IT systems continue to be managed effectively.
Hiring a full-time IT team with vast capabilities can be very expensive, especially if they plan to maintain their skills and certifications with regular training and courses. Hiring a new employee can take months, with no guarantee that the employee in question will be a good investment and solid addition to your IT team. IT outsourcing can allow you to reduce costs because outsourced employees are paid as a contractor, saving you money on everything from benefits to training. You can also cancel an outsourcing contract without putting people out of work. You can hire outsourcing staff for specific projects or busy seasons without the financial commitment of hiring an in-house team. In addition, with IT outsourcing, you only pay for the services and their fixed results, allowing you to scale the costs to your requirements. The resources that come with IT outsourcing can also include software tools or services that you can use to complete a project without paying for licensing that you would otherwise have to purchase.
You may only have access to a local talent pool when hiring an employee. You will often have to invest in certifying and training a less experienced employee to meet your business’ IT needs. IT firms hire and retain top talent and consistently train their employees on the latest technical certifications. When you outsource IT, you get the experience and services of an already established group of experts; often, with specializations, you would have difficulty hiring locally. Managed service providers like Gibraltar Solutions also have capabilities and facilities that would otherwise not be accessible or affordable to many small businesses. IT outs can be beneficial if you are looking to tackle projects in which your company does not have experience. Instead of learning how to do these tasks on your own time and at your own expense, you can outsource them to an experienced IT team that can do it effectively and efficiently.
During growth, companies could often benefit from having more staff but can’t afford the cost of hiring and supporting more full-time employees. This slows the momentum, and some companies may take a gamble and hire new staff, only to find that it doesn’t pay off. Outsourcing IT during a time of growth for your company can give you access to the necessary resources and skill sets without committing to a long-term employment agreement. Instead, you can contract out for a specific period or project while keeping your core team focused on internal tasks. Furthermore, the funds saved from transforming employee-related costs into variable costs can be used to improve existing processes and infrastructure to bolster growth.
An inherent benefit of outsourcing IT is removing any risk of hiring a new employee. There are countless situations where a vital employee quitting or taking sick leave could cause significant disruption to the business. Outsourcing IT helps you safeguard your business and ensure that you complete projects and minimize risk.
Canadian regulations and laws regarding data privacy and security are stringent and can have financial impacts on companies, especially in the case of a data breach. In addition, several industries have strict regulations that can add costs to maintaining and training staff to follow regulations properly. Outsourcing a firm that has SOC2 compliance can help increase the security of your IT projects and prevent potential lawsuits and other hardships of non-compliance.
Outsourcing IT has plenty of potential benefits. From flexibility to compliance – small, and large businesses should consider taking advantage of IT outsourcing to meet their scaling needs throughout the year.
