As a business owner or IT manager, you might be in a situation asking yourself “Should I outsource my IT department?”. The intricacies of modern business technology can leave you wondering the best approach to optimally running your IT department. There are many scenarios surrounding this question, and the answer could be more complex than you’d think.
Let’s say you opened up your laptop on a Monday morning, only to find that something isn’t working properly, and you are unable to access your network. When you contact your IT department, you don’t get a response for hours, and it could be even longer before your system is up and running again because they are inundated with more urgent requests. This leads to interruption in your workflow and a negative impact on overall productivity.
Perhaps your staff is working on a project or business initiative that has stalled due to a lack of IT staff or skillsets needed to complete the project. When a project takes longer than originally planned, it can lead to other issues. Especially if that project is meant to accomplish a cost-saving initiative. Other departments may also be impacted due to missed timelines.
Maybe your key IT resource left the company without much notice or documentation, and you’re having a hard time putting all the pieces together. Another common catalyst to the question, “should I just outsource my IT department?”
Many of our clients were in similar situations when they came to Techmedics looking for help. They were asking themselves the same question, “Should I outsource my IT department”. The answer to this is, it depends. In some cases, it makes sense to completely outsource your IT department, and in other cases it is more beneficial to augment your existing internal IT staff with an IT outsourcing provider.
When it comes to outsourcing IT, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. If you are facing challenges such as:
Then, you should consider outsourcing all or part of your IT department to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) like Techmedics.
A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party company that remotely manages your IT infrastructure and end-user systems (source). Services can include infrastructure and network management, security, and monitoring among many other specializations. These days, MSPs perform most of their tasks remotely thanks to the constant evolution of technology.
When it comes to IT Outsourcing, Managed Service Providers are a viable option to handle the complex, consuming, and repetitive work involved in the management of IT infrastructure. This is a “subscription service model” and service options can vary from MSP to MSP.
Until recently, organizations had to allocate sizable budgets to manage an on-premises IT team and infrastructure to support day-to-day business operations. This meant providing resources for 24/7 monitoring and ensuring constant uptime of the IT infrastructure to ensure healthy business operations.
Fortunately that's all changed. With ITaaS (IT as a service), organizations can outsource their IT operations to a managed services provider to manage the entire ecosystem. Here, an MSP can customize what services and processes will be managed, providing a uniquely tailored solutions for each organization.
However, before delegating IT to a trusted provider, it’s important to identify exactly what constitutes as IT operations, helping determine which operations should be delegated.
To effectively outsource your IT operations, it's critical to identify which IT services and processes should be outsourced. Here, a trusted service provider can work with you side-by-side to identify key aspects of your operations that constitute as IT and can be outsourced.
Some of the most common operations that are considered IT and can easily be managed by a trusted IT provider are:
Not all IT outsourcing is the same. In fact, there are many different types of IT outsourcing strategies that an organization can employ. Three of the most common types of IT outsourcing are a Contractor or one-man IT team, a Dedicated team or MSP, or a Project-based Outsourcing strategy, each offering its own benefit to the client. Let’s take a look at how these strategies stack up.
The Contractor or one-man IT team - For small IT operations, it may only require one dedicated IT professional to handle all of an organization’s IT operations. By working with a third-party service provider to fill this need, organizations can avoid the serious challenge that arises when an internal single IT operator moves onto another role. This, and other similar gaps can cause major challenges in maintaining healthy IT operations.
The Dedicated team or MSP - For mid-size to large enterprises a dedicated MSP may be the right fit. Here, a trusted IT MSP can take ownership for all IT operations allowing the organization to focus on key business processes.
Project-based Outsourcing - The project-based outsourcing approach is to work with a third-party MSP for one-off projects. Whether it's a hardware refresh, or a lift and shift to the cloud, project-based outsourcing can be a great way to augment an existing IT staff and help expedite an IT project.
No matter how you slice it, outsourcing your IT operations is going to provide a ton of benefits. From allowing your core team to work on critical projects to lowering IT costs, outsourcing IT has a variety of benefits.
What does an IT Outsourcing Provider offer your business? Here are 6 benefits to consider when outsourcing all or part of your IT department.
There are a few key indicators that an organization should look for in a third-party MSP when considering outsourcing their IT operations. Of course, considerations such as price and contract terms are important, but not evaluating aspects of an organization regarding technical capabilities or tenure can cause challenges down the road.
Here are 3 key things to look for in an IT company when looking to outsource your IT operations:
Years in Business - Not to say that young companies can’t deliver the same value and experience, but a seasoned IT company is simply going to have more experience. And when dealing with so many IT services, not to mention the rising challenges with ransomware, experience is key.
Manufacturer Certifications - One way to this proposed IT company has what it takes to manage your operations is to ask for their manufacturer certifications. These certifications showcase knowledge in a particular service, process, or vendor. Nearly all certifications require some form of examination, so if your IT company has a handful of certifications, you can be sure they are capable of handling your IT operations.
Quick Response Time - Quick response time is key when it comes to It operations. If you’re experiencing an outage, a backup is lost, or you’ve experienced a cyber attack, the last thing you want is an unresponsive IT service provider.
Be sure to give our recent piece titled 4 Tips for Choosing the Right Managed IT Service Provider if you’d like to learn more about picking a managed IT service provider that is right for you!
Hopefully you can see the impact and benefits of outsourcing your IT department. Like we mentioned, it’s not for every business but it can be a valuable option for any business to enhance their scalability and efficiency.
Techmedics has provided IT services since 1999 for over 400 companies, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, globally. Contact Techmedics today to discuss whether or not you should consider outsourcing your IT department. You can reach us at 877.832.4180 or info@techmedics.com.
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