SPONSORED ARTICLE
Should I Outsource
IT Support?
M
any businesses have a distinct
choice with regard to the
ongoing management of their
IT requirements – should they
manage with an internal, dedicated IT
department, or outsource to a 3rd party IT
service provider?
For smaller companies and startups, the
cost of an IT department is generally out
of reach. As a result, IT outsourcing is the
preferred way of keeping systems working
whilst you and your staff concentrate on
running the business.
However, IT outsourcing offers significant
benefits, even for larger companies. These
include:
REDUCE COSTS AND BUDGET
MORE EFFECTIVELY.
Outsourcing your IT drastically reduces
your payroll costs and saves on the
associated NI contributions. By going
a stage further and embracing cloud
computing, you can significantly reduce the
money spent up front as capital expenditure
by paying smaller increments as part of
your operating expenditure. Outsourcing
IT allows you to reduce your fixed costs
and manage your variable costs far more
effectively.
NO STAFFING HEADACHES
By outsourcing, you won’t have to hire
dedicated IT staff - saving you money
on salaries, training and associated staff
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benefits. Furthermore, sickness and holiday
cover become a thing of the past, as does
future recruitment should your IT employee
decide to move on.
IT THAT NEVER SLEEPS
Many IT providers will offer 24/7 support
meaning that you are supported around the
clock.
INCREASE YOUR COMPETITIVENESS
Companies with their own IT department
will be spending a lot of time and resources
on keeping their systems up to date,
something usually reflected in the costs for
their customers. When outsourcing, you can
provide customers with a more competitive
offer and are in a better position to attract
more business.
IMPROVE SYSTEMS
Outsourcing IT effectively puts your system
under the care of specialists leaving you
to turn your attention towards your daily
operations. With access to professional
guidance, your outsourced team will
be capable of recommending the most
appropriate solutions and implementing
these with minimal fuss.
FLEXIBILITY
One of the key benefits an IT support
provider brings is the flexibility to adjust the
services as required. For example, with
outsourced support and a cloud computing
solution, companies only pay for what they
need and the precise number of users they
have. There is no need to purchase an
expensive server with built-in redundancy
for growth which may not occur
PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT
With the IT industry evolving so fast, it is
increasingly difficult for internal IT teams
to remain up to date. By outsourcing to
specialists you don’t have to worry about
sending staff on endless training. For
example, Akita supports several hundred
clients using different systems and
applications. This exposure, plus the added
benefit of a large multi-disciplined team
of IT engineers, ensures an excellent and
continually-updated knowledge base for
clients to benefit from.
SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
By engaging with a professional IT provider,
you will have the FFVBV6R