With an increasing demand for IT specialists to facilitate everyday operations, businesses are seeking solutions to strengthen their IT infrastructure and cut down on costs. As a business owner focused on a non-technical field, the best way to handle IT is to outsource it to experts. However, outsourcing IT is a big step and businesses get cold feet for some compelling reasons. Below, we’ll examine the pros and cons of letting someone else handle the technical side of your business so that you can make an informed decision.
Pros of outsourcing IT
1. Better quality
Independent IT support professionals are experts at what they do. They take the onus of identifying issues, rolling out strategies, deploying solutions and they do it every day.
When you hire a team of IT specialists, you get end-to-end coverage along with industry expertise. Managed IT services providers often bring their own set of equipment, stay on top of new trends and find the best way to grow their business.
2. More flexibility
As businesses grow quickly, the goals and operations change. It’s difficult to keep the IT policies up-to-date in real-time, which can hurt the scalability of a business.
By outsourcing IT to a third party, you can tweak the services and plans according to your business goals. Managed IT services providers (MSPs) often scale their services to offer security guidance and consultations to help SMBs grow rapidly.
3. Less costly
In comparison to in-house IT teams where you have to handle onboarding, training, payroll, and equipment costs, managed IT experts allow you to pay for only the service you need and without any additional cost.
This will help you save money on payroll and equipment. Managed IT experts like Stonebridge IT offer a low barrier of entry for new businesses so that they can offload their IT demands to experts.
Cons of outsourcing IT
Outsourcing IT is a big step, and the factors that make companies reconsider can not be ignored.
1. Lack of trust
When you’re transferring critical components of your business to a third-party provider, the question of trust becomes the biggest issue. In many cases, the two parties fail to start on the right foot, which ends up impacting the core business. This is why communication is crucial. Make sure you properly vet the service provider, check their history and experience, and communicate details right at the beginning.
2. Onboarding difficulties
The lack of a smooth onboarding process often hinders companies from outsourcing their IT. MSPs generally provide detailed guidelines and quickly adapt to the client’s demands, but the friction between two parties can jeopardize the entire process. The main factors that contribute to a messy onboarding process are lengthy hiring steps, confusing requirements, and lack of trust.
Considering the growing complexities of technology, outsourcing IT seems to be the only way forward. Businesses that follow the good practices, end up hiring a compatible and experienced partner that helps them grow their business exponentially.