Companies commonly outsource its accounting and bookkeeping duties, customer service, and HR management… so why should technical support be any different?
It shouldn’t.
Outsourcing provides a lot of benefits, especially to small businesses with limited resources. Plus, good IT support teams are especially hard for companies to build and maintain.
Here are five reasons why outsourcing is a good business move:
1. Reduces Costs
Reducing labor and equipment costs is one of the major reasons why companies outsource IT services. Employing a company to do the work for you is cheaper than hiring a whole IT staff. The employees’ initial training to get them onboard, plus the regular training to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date, add to the cost as well.
Buying all the equipment you need for a functional IT department and maintaining the system also costs a lot of money. Removing these factors and paying a fixed cost contract will help you manage your annual operating costs more easily.
And If your operating cost is high, you will likely pass it on to customers by raising your product prices. This makes you lose your competitive edge.
2. Provides Support 24/7
If your business is one that needs to be open to customer calls 24 hours a day, that’s one of the reasons to outsource. Instead of getting another IT staff, which will only cost you more, solely for answering calls outside of your normal working hours, outsourcing to a company will guarantee that someone is always available to help your customers.
A 24/7 team will also allow you to recognize flaws and bugs even before they affect your infrastructure and business.
3. Adjusts According to Demand
When the demand suddenly increases, and more calls start coming in, what do you do if you have permanent staff?
Hiring temporary employees poses a lot of issues. You don’t know when the demand decreases, which will force you to terminate them immediately. You’re also not sure of the technical skills and personality if you’re in a rush to get someone onboard.
Meanwhile, an IT company can easily scale up or down depending on your needs because of their access to vast resources.
4. Gives Access to Cutting-Edge Technologies and Industry Experts
Security of your data and your customers’ data is paramount. That’s why Facebook is in a lot of heat nowadays — its platform is vulnerable to third-party entities mishandling the users’ data. Even large companies are susceptible to attacks, with hackers successfully gaining access to JP Morgan’s 76 million households plus 7 million small businesses in 2014.
To keep your data safe and secure, however, you must have the newest technologies and the knowledge of industry experts. You and your staff must be up-to-date with the industry standards, which might be hard to do if you’re a small-time player.
Outsourcing solves this problem. It’s their job to get cutting-edge technologies and train their employees regularly so you don’t have to do it. Getting access to these will also ensure that your systems are working smoothly.
5.Allows You to Focus on Your Business
When you no longer have to worry about the security and integrity of your system, it allows you to focus on what you need to do in order to grow your business. Your employees, without network interruptions and possibly the added IT responsibilities, will also be able to perform with their best for the company.
You can focus on improving your products and services while the outsourced IT team deals with the technical issues so you and your staff can keep on working without worry.