How Outsourced IT Can Help Your Business

HOW CAN OUTSOURCED IT SUPPORT HELP MY BUSINESS?

When approached correctly, outsourced IT support has the potential to powerfully transform your business, lower your overheads and maximize your profit. Getting your IT support requirements handled by a team of experts who can do the work faster, better and more cost-effectively makes sense. Essentially, outsourced IT support frees up your time and allows you to concentrate on what is truly important - growing your business.

Large corporations have recognized the significant advantages of outsourcing for over a decade - in fact, the vast majority of academic research clearly indicates the effectiveness of outsourcing as a business strategy. Now, in this new decade, small business is increasingly utilizing outsourcing as a way of becoming more competitive and making a positive impact on their bottom line. At a glance, the key advantages of outsourced IT support are:

• Reduced wages and lower overheads
• Increased profit margins and enhanced productivity
• Greater technological expertise and customized support
• Flexibility to precisely match labor supply with business demands

One of the strongest advantages of outsourced IT support centers on the basic principle of supply and demand. When a business experiences an increase in demand for its products or services, the level of IT support required increases. When business drops off temporarily, there may be little need for IT support as demand decreases. Outsourced IT support allows businesses to perfectly control expensive labor costs and pay for services on an as needed basis. Think of outsourcing as a tap that allows you to turn the water supply quickly on and off - there is no need to leave the water constantly running by wasting money with permanent IT staff.

Because technology is always developing and rapidly changing, it can sometimes be hard to stay on the cutting edge. Most businesses benefit from strong IT solutions that are customized to meet their particular requirements. It can be very expensive and time consuming to source and retain staff that have exactly the right knowledge and experience to support your business.

According to a study published on the Microsoft Academic database, the IT outsourcing market has doubled over 7 years in America, from 76 billion $US in 1995 to 140 billion $US in 2002. This clearly shows that many businesses in America find outsourced IT support highly cost effective. Outsourced IT support also allows you to access more highly qualified and experienced professionals than you would normally be able to afford. With outsourcing comes greater technological expertise and customized support. It is important to remember that communication lies at the heart of all successful business relationships. To make the outsourcing relationship work, you need:

• A clear sense of what you want your business to achieve
• Goals defined by you for the outsourced IT support provider
• Clear timelines and an understanding of the level of support needed
• Flexible strategies to deal with problems that may arise
• An agreed upon cost structure, including contingency plans