A Guide to Outsourcing Critical IT Functions
One of the critical decisions a growing business must make is the functions to be accomplished by the internal team and which ones to outsource. This decision is especially crucial in relation to the IT department. Making this decision has a drastic and direct effect on the overall performance of the company. From general operational functions and security to access to high-tech IT equipment and reduced operating costs, outsourcing critical IT functions brings many benefits.
The threat of cybersecurity is becoming rampant and is a severe threat for many businesses in any industry. The growing dependence on computers and technology to drive operations is causing more companies to realize the benefits of outsourcing critical IT functions.
However, to get the most benefit out of outsourcing, you should not approach the process blindly. There’s a need to list down your IT functions and determine the critical ones to entrust to a professional IT service company, especially if you already have an existing internal IT team. Some critical IT functions that most businesses outsource are as follows.
Day to Day Help Desk Duties
Help desk duties take up a lot of time for the IT team as they respond to calls from employees experiencing technical difficulties. Help desk duties also comprise other tasks that can overwhelm your small internal team. Sometimes they don’t have adequate tools, skills, and resources to handle issues like:
- Remote monitoring and problem tracking
- Proactive maintenance of systems and networks
- Patching and system updates
- Ticketing management
- Backup and recovery processes
- Accounts configuration
You can better address these functions when you have a reliable and competent company of experts working closely with your IT department. A trusted IT service provider is your one-stop solution, providing you with numerous tools and services to help meet day-to-day user issues. They offer more capacity and capability than a single IT employee, who may not have a broad set of skills to meet these demands.
By prioritizing your IT help desk support when outsourcing critical IT functions, you will be at peace knowing that:
- Someone is always available to answer the phone and respond to user requests promptly
- All IT problems will be addressed and resolved
- Users will always get high-quality service
- Your team will have fewer IT-related interruptions in a typical day
- You have a trusted IT partner who instills confidence in your IT team and help desk solutions.
Network Management
A crucial decision to make when outsourcing critical IT functions has to do with business network management. Think of the inconvenience that arises when your email is down because the network failed. What happens when you pick the VoIP office phone but hear nothing for a dial tone?
Downtime can be costly for your business and can cause you to lose customers. Since you don’t want this to happen, it’s crucial to have an expert monitor your networks round the clock and rectify issues as they arise. It’s highly unlikely that your internal IT team will have specific skills in network management. Instead, they can learn a lot from the outsourced team while leaving them enough time to focus on other tasks they are good at.
Some network management issues your outsourced IT service company will handle for you include:
- Identification of issues in network performance and wireless access points
- Implementation of patches and upgrades
- Monitoring of all attached network devices
- User administration
- Network maintenance
Partnering with the right company when outsourcing critical IT functions ensures you have complete support for your networks, either remotely or on-site.
Network Security
No company is considered a low-risk target for cybercrime. Unfortunately, most small businesses rely on their small IT teams to handle the cybersecurity function. Sadly, most of these teams are frequently overwhelmed and lack sophisticated tools to manage this requirement effectively. Network security is a demanding task that calls for 24/7 network monitoring. Besides, configuring and tuning business security systems is also an ongoing task, not to mention the pressure of responding to many alerts.
When you outsource your cybersecurity requirements to an expert, you alleviate the pressure on your in-house IT team. IT service providers are dedicated specialists who investigate vulnerabilities in your system using the latest technology to ensure they don’t miss anything.
Outsourcing your network security function helps you scale your security operations, a crucial factor that enables you to respond to business changes on a changing threat landscape. IT companies are well-equipped to stay on top of technology changes, hence providing you with the latest solutions for network security. They offer security services like firewall management, email security, vulnerability assessments, and much more.
Special IT Projects
IT infrastructure projects are usually complex and require intensive time input, not forgetting that they involve high costs. The projects can include work environment relocation, data center builds, systems design and integration, precision construction, and facility expansion. All these tasks can take a toll on your internal IT team.
An outsourced project manager provides a greater chance of success in your special IT projects by:
- Increasing your in-house efficiency by sharing the workload
- Bringing in new skills to the company and helping your internal IT team adopt new organizational and IT frameworks for future projects
- Allowing your internal team to focus on core business activities
- Reducing the costs of IT projects by not hiring additional employees or investing in training, equipment and infrastructure acquisition, and technology upgrade.
Outsourced IT companies can help your internal IT team with all its special projects, including
- Desktop rollouts
- VoIP deployments
- Network upgrades
- Cloud deployments
- Server migrations and more.
Outsourcing Critical IT Functions to On-Site Computers Inc.
Outsourcing critical IT functions makes a lot of sense for most small businesses because of the cost savings and convenience it provides. When looking for an IT company to outsource these functions to, go for one interested in more than just selling you its products and services. Instead, the primary aim should be to build a long-lasting relationship depending on your IT needs. The company should have an interest in seeing your business grow.
At On-Site Computers, we are here to walk this path with you. A partnership with us is the arrangement you need to succeed in your IT functions. We will keep you updated with the latest technology insights and news and provide all the IT support you need. Contact us today for an initial consultation on outsourcing critical IT functions.
