3 REASONS TO HAVE AN OUTSOURCED IT DEPARTMENT

As the owner of a small company, you have probably entertained the thought of outsourcing some aspect of your business. The benefits of outsourcing seem obvious, touted by experts across numerous industries as the answer to cutting costs for business functions ranging from information technology to accounting, marketing and human resources; it seems possible that you could run an entire company without ever hiring a single employee – or dropping a penny into actual equipment for employees other than yourself.

When it comes to your company’s information technology, your current employees may be handling things without a problem. However, the question is will they be able to handle things in the future? You need to consider how much time your employees are spending with tech issues, instead of focusing on their own jobs. You also need to realise that technology is constantly changing from year to year. It takes a lot of time, effort and money to stay on top of the latest advancements in IT and to train your employees.

If you are still pondering on whether you should just “make do” with the technical and physical capabilities of your employees, or dig into that company account to buy the latest in hardware and software, then maybe this list will help you decide to outsource.

Here are 3 good reasons why you should consider outsourcing your company or business’ IT requirements.

You get to use the latest and greatest in technology.

You may have noticed how rapidly software and hardware becomes obsolete in this industry. How is one staff person going to keep up-to-date with everything? Outsourcing gives you the benefit of having more than just one IT professional. And since it’s the core competency of the company, they can give you sound advice to put your IT dollars to work for you.

You gain access to exceptional capabilities

Your return on investment is so much greater when you outsource information technology to a firm that specialises in the areas you need. Instead of just the knowledge of one person, you benefit from the collective experience of a team of IT professionals. Outsourced IT companies usually require their IT staff to have proper industry training and certifications as well. In short, you have high quality of staff. Since it’s their core competency, outsourced IT vendors look to hire staff with specific qualifications and certifications. You may not know what to look for if you’re hiring someone to be on staff full-time, so you may hire the wrong person for the job.

You reduce and control operating costs

Outsourcing your IT services provides financial benefits such as leaner overhead, bulk purchasing and leasing options for hardware and software, and software licenses, as well as potential compliance with government regulations. When you outsource, you eliminate the costs associated with hiring an employee, such as management oversight, training, health insurance, employment taxes, retirement plans etc. Make capital funds available. By outsourcing non-core business functions, you can spend your capital funds on items that are directly related to your product or your customers.