Living in the digital age has spurred on a wave of changes within industries and businesses. Many companies, both big and small, started integrating various technologies to streamline operations.
One of the biggest changes included moving from paper-based to digital document management and the use of Information Technology to store, transmit, and retrieve information and data. As such, IT solutions and support have become an integral part of any company, no matter its size.
However, hiring and training experts in the field can often be time-consuming and result in added costs which can take an extreme toll on smaller or mid-sized companies. Although having an in-house support team might seem optimal since they would be more familiar with the company’s set-up and systems, it can be quite costly to start and maintain.
This is why it might be better for such businesses to consider opting for a different kind of service to help them manage their computers, servers, and systems. If this has in any way piqued your interest, here are some things to know about the service and what benefits it can bring if you decide to make the change.
What is Outsourced IT Support?
It is simply a service outside of your company that you hire to take care of anything regarding your company’s IT solutions. They provide managed services such as constant monitoring and maintenance, backup and recovery, and cybersecurity.
How Can It Benefit My Company?
1. Constant Monitoring
The best companies in the industry offer constant, 24/7 monitoring and maintenance of your servers, systems, and computers. This can greatly help your business solve issues before they become serious problems and the solutions will keep all your systems running, eliminating possible downtime and increasing productivity.
2. Disaster Recovery
All the entered and saved data is probably the most important thing for any business. With having your computers backed-up regularly, you will prevent any data loss during disasters such as floods, cyber-attacks, and more.
There is no way of knowing when disaster will strike, but these solutions can recover your data quite quickly, so you will be up and running as soon as possible.
3. Improved Response Times
In case of emergencies, your employees will immediately be able to get in touch with one of your service provider’s professionals. As soon as a problem arises, the response will be very quick, eliminating long wait times. And since someone will be helping from the outside, your in-house IT staff can respond to other on-site emergencies.
Something to keep in mind is that certain outsourced IT support provides only remote services while others stick to on-site ones. However, companies such as CM IT Solutions, offer both remote and on-site services.
4. Stronger & Better Cyber Security
Since you are greatly relying on servers to store your data and information, protecting it is essential. Outsourced IT support also offers cybersecurity solutions to keep your devices and servers safe from any potential threats like malware, hackers, viruses, but also human error.
5. Better Cost Management
Having an in-house support team usually results in a lot of expenses, especially unplanned ones. Everything comes directly from your business’s pocket, from training and equipment purchases to upgrades and maintenance. This also makes it harder to track and manage your expenses and budget since sudden costs might occur at any time due to system downtime, a crashed server, and more.
Outsourced support services typically come at a fixed monthly fee that might increase as your company grows and you start adding more users. But even then, you will be aware of this change, so you can plan and determine your budget accordingly.
6. Improved Business Focus
For any small company to find success, being innovative and finding new ways to grow is extremely important. Otherwise, due to competitiveness, it is unlikely for a business to succeed.
By hiring an outside company to handle your IT solutions, you will no longer have to focus on figuring out how it works or waste time focusing on how to solve IT-related issues.
You can use this to focus on what matters the most, for example, on developing new ideas and strategies that will help your business excel and hopefully surpass your competitors in little to no time.
7. More Available Resources
Freeing up your internal resources will give you a chance to use them in other important departments. They can greatly help you develop products, design effective marketing strategies, and work on improving your customer’s experience and satisfaction.
Although even the smallest of changes can seem daunting, especially if you are a smaller business that has just started operating, they are necessary for growth. You should never overlook the importance of learning and gaining experience, so try to learn as much as you can and develop a great working system as soon as possible.
8. Leveling the Playing Field
Outsourced support will allow you to immediately utilize all the latest technologies and services. This is a huge advantage since acquiring everything necessary on your own might have taken a long time. This is great for smaller companies since using these services will actually give you a competitive advantage.
The Impact
By outsourcing, your company will constantly have access to IT support, giving you a chance to direct your efforts and resources elsewhere. Your systems will constantly be up to date, so you will not have to worry about failures or system break downs. Any issues will be resolved as soon as possible, your productivity will increase, and with the right strategy and plan, so will your revenue.
Conclusion
With numerous benefits these services have to offer, making a switch from an in-house IT support team to an outsourced one should be an easy decision to make.
After all, if you are looking for a way to streamline your operations, this is the right way to go since not only will you have peace of mind when it comes to your companies devices, servers, and data, but you will also have more time to focus on things that will take your business to the next level.
