Critical IT Functions Ideal For Outsourcing

Critical IT Functions Perfect For Outsourcing

Outsourcing critical IT services is one of the innovative strategies that can help your company to align its technological goals and stay competitive. A great IT services company will work hand-in-hand with your team to better achieve its goals, improve your business processes and enhance the current capabilities of your information systems. However, for this to happen, you need to be clear and strategic about the IT functions you want to outsource.

Benefits Of Outsourcing Critical IT Services

The following are the immediate benefits that come with getting outsourced IT support:

Increased expertise 

Outsourced IT technicians can add an incredible level of expertise to your already existing team. While your team is quite capable and can handle most of the work, there is always a limit to what they know and can do. IT services companies, however, have multiple experts with vast experience in networks and servers, software, technical support, and hardware. Their added knowledge will ensure that your company stays on top of all relevant technological developments.

Reduced IT costs

Outsourcing critical IT functions allows your team to get the support they need only when it is necessary. The flexible packages allow you to effectively budget the IT costs that match your growing or shrinking company. You will also not have to purchase more in-house technology and hardware that are needed to support your IT needs for only a short while.

Increased competitiveness and efficiency 

When your team tries to do everything by itself, the costs and time of extensive research, development and implementation will be higher. This will mean that your company has to charge its customers more. However, with outsourced IT services, you can develop and roll out new business programs and functions cheaply and in a much shorter time.

Maximized work potential  

Outsourcing critical IT services allows your team to have more time to handle the IT work that is heavily tied to your business. For instance, rather than spending their time monitoring the systems, handling backups, setting up software, or offering basic support, they could handle issues that require internal troubleshooting or advancing company technology. The outsourced IT technicians can then handle the mundane tasks.

Increased compliance and security

The main IT elements include backup and data recovery, compliance, and network security, among others. Your team may have the know-how and experience to execute such components well, but it could also be limited to some parts only. Additionally, a small team could compromise huge security and compliance issues due to relationship orientations. However, outsourcing the critical IT services brings more expertise and experience, as well as an entire company dedicated to ensuring that your business gets the best security and compliance services.

Primary IT Functions Ideal For Outsourcing

While outsourcing critical IT services has immense tangible benefits, your team will only benefit if you know what to outsource and what the in-house technicians should handle. While there will be instances where collaboration will be necessary between your team and the outsourced IT service providers, having clear distinctions in the tasks that each set of staff does allow for more accountability.

That being said, the following are the key critical IT functions that can be outsourced:

• Day-to-day help desk duties – IT Service companies have numerous tools and services to aid in the servicing of day-to-day user issues. From ticketing management, remote monitoring, patching, and system updates and just being there to field user requests, outsourced IT help with these mundane tasks.
• Network management – IT MSPs have all the tools and services to proactively manage the network. They can watch for performance issues, wireless access point issues, and lots of networking duties.
• Network security and compliance – Managed IT Service companies can help internal IT resources with all their security duties and compliance regulations. This includes firewall management, email security, vulnerability assessments, and much more.
• Special IT projects – Outsourced companies can help internal IT resources with all their special projects from network upgrades, VoIP deployments, desktop roll-outs, server migrations, cloud deployments, and more.

Factors To Consider When Outsourcing Critical IT Services

Outsourcing critical IT services could turn out to be a nightmare when you don’t get the best company for the job. From having conflicts with your team to neglecting some tasks or even costing you more than you expected, there are several ways things could go wrong. However, you can avoid all that by carefully reviewing your options before deciding on the company to pick.

The following are the key factors that should matter when outsourcing critical IT services:

• Scalability. Your business is constantly growing and evolving. This implies that your technological needs in the future might be different from what you need right now. However, it would be inconvenient and costly to have to hire a new IT service firm. This is why it makes a lot of sense to get a company that can keep up with the growing needs of your company. They should be able to provide you with all the assistance you need to implement your core business activities.
• Skilled technical support services. To be sure that you are outsourcing critical IT services from a firm that can offer technical support services, confirm whether their workforce is strong enough. With a strong workforce composed of technicians that have vast knowledge and experience, the firm will rarely struggle to satisfy its clients’ needs.
• Ability to offer enhanced security. When it comes to IT services, security is a huge priority. This is because of the numerous risks associated with data breaches and other cyber attacks. Lack of data security could also leave your business vulnerable to data loss. A company with a proven record of compliance and top-notch security will boost your team’s capability to stay on top of cybersecurity and backups.
• The ability to integrate your technology. When outsourcing critical IT services, you do not want to hire a company that will seek the help of other third parties to help them integrate with your company’s existing applications and software systems. This could lead to a number of internal and external problems that you should steer clear of.
• Provision of in-house customer support. Your team may at times need extra knowledge and expertise to be able to answer questions about your company’s systems and software applications. Outsourcing critical IT services from a firm or provider who can fill in the gap allows you to tap into their professional expertise and be assured of top-quality customer support.

When it comes to outsourcing critical IT services, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Your in-house IT team will benefit greatly from the added help and your company will be more efficient at serving its customers while also having increased security and compliance. However, you should clearly outline the functions you want to outsource and select a company that is properly-suited to the task.

Palindrome Consulting, a top-rated IT consulting company in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, is properly equipped and staffed to handle all your IT needs. Contact us today for a free quote.