Although some companies will need an in-house IT department, outsourcing IT work might end up making sense because it allows your in-house IT department to concentrate on the most important projects without getting bogged down with minor issues.
One of the biggest problems when outsourcing is knowing what you truly need. Picking the right IT service provider with the right solutions package isn’t easy. Globally, companies spend $2 trillion on IT every year, and billions of that money is actually wasted on unnecessary or ineffective IT solutions. So, what’s the best way to know what you need and what would be a waste of money?
To help you avoid common IT money pits, here are some great guides that can reveal what level of IT you really need.
How Much Does a Breakdown Cost?
When an employee’s computer freezes up or breaks down, what does that cost your company? Do your best to determine what the soft cost of downtime is for your employees and then multiply that by the average amount of downtime you’re currently experiencing. Be warned though, this number will probably surprise you. If you need help figuring out these costs, we can give you a free assessment that will determine how much money in soft costs is being burned by breakdowns.
What Type of Data Are You Storing?
How sensitive is the data on your computers and how likely is that data to be targeted by hackers? Most companies at the very least will have personal information of employees like social security numbers stored somewhere, which is always lucrative for hackers. If, however, you frequently store highly sensitive data like bank accounts and credit card numbers, you’ll probably want to invest in a higher level of security protection.
What Are Your Vital Programs?
Is there a program or software application your company just can’t function without? It could be a billing software or a task management application, but if there’s something that’s absolutely vital to everyday operations, extra precautions should be taken to ensure functionality.
ROI
Once you determined all these above factors, you can determine how much you stand to gain if you didn’t have to worry about any of these minor issues holding you back. Talk with your IT manager and see what they think about getting some work off their plate. Once you determine the perfect balance of in-house and outsourcing support, your company will be able to function at peak performance.
