In-house IT helpdesks require a hefty sum to start and maintain. This would mean added costs due to hiring and training IT experts, which is an unnecessary load for small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to carry.
For small to mid-sized business owners, outsourced IT support is more cost-effective due to having staff trained to handle a wide variety of IT problems. This helps businesses focus on their niche instead of using their valuable time trying to fix IT issues that may require a more experienced eye to resolve. At VOX we believe that IT is the business enabler, not the limitation. That being said, if you’re considering switching to an outsourced IT support company, here are a number of benefits you can expect from making that decision:
1. Better Cost Management
With start-ups and SMEs seeking a more consistent budget allotted for operations and strategy, an outsourced IT support team becomes a very favourable alternative to any inhouse investment required in both capital, time and HR.
Surges in terms of expenses can paralyse any small business and make operations grind to a halt, especially if the in-house IT team fails to keep the company’s operations up and running.
An outsourced IT support team, on the other hand, apart from being able to solve IT-related problems quicker, can also give you a more consistent and controlled monthly expenses.
2. Focus on Your Unique Selling Proposition
One of the main reasons why many start-up companies fail is that they don’t have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which is a factor that separates one’s company from its competitors, whether it’s having the lowest price or being the first of its kind.
By outsourcing an IT team, you no longer need to allocate company resources just to maintain an in-house team. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out why technology in your company doesn’t work the way it should, you can let other companies who’ve spent years of training in solving IT problems do it for you. That way, you can focus on what truly matters, doing what you do best, and doing it better than your competitors.
3. Better Security
Going back to point number two, if your company doesn’t specialise in IT, then chances are that mistakes could be made leading to a potential data breach and ultimately jeopardising your customers' data and your business as a whole. Security breaches often come from unscrupulous hackers using a mix of social engineering and other black hat techniques to steal confidential data. Fortunately, IT companies, having studied and dealt with a lot of attacks from these hackers, are more familiar with their techniques, and therefore have more efficient ways to deal with the security issues of your company.
4. A Complete IT Toolbox in Your Fingertips
Imagine if you had only learned to add numbers all your life and then all of a sudden, you’re asked to divide, multiply, or subtract, a problem that one has never encountered before, it can take an immense amount of time to solve.
This is why, wherever your company is located, enlisting an experienced IT support company should be a core part of your business strategy. A good IT company will have dealt with a wide range of IT-related tasks, and with their comparative wealth of experience in the field, they can locate issues faster and help users get up and running in much less time than you are likely to be able to.
5. Disaster Recovery
Whether due to a fire, flood, or cyber attack, a business’s data is its most precious resource. Most businesses are ill-equipped for recovery from such disasters, any of which can cause a company to have to halt its operations indefinitely.
While disaster can strike at any time as was the case with the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, all businesses will get back on their feet far more quickly with the help of outside professionals who are well-versed in the latest disaster recovery and backup technologies.
6. More Available Resources
When you own a startup or SME, you can’t afford to waste time handling IT-related issues while your competitors are busy developing their products, winning over customers, and coming up with innovative content marketing strategies. By outsourcing an IT support team, you can free up valuable company resources so you can focus on marketing, product development, and customer experience.
It can seem rather daunting to make even the smallest changes, especially if one is still starting up or if one doesn’t feel the need to fix a working system, but growth requires change. If there’s one thing companies like Nokia learned through failure, it’s that you don’t pass up a chance to learn, a chance to change, and a chance to make it big.
Outsourced IT support will give you a chance to free up your company’s internal resources so you can focus on finding new opportunities and staying relevant in your industry.