Tag Archives: outsourcing IT department

Five Benefits of Contracting with a Managed Service Provider (MSP)

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A managed service provider can eliminate the stress and hassle of having to manage your own IT department.

Outsourcing in general has the effect of boosting productivity and saving money while taking care of a business’ tedious tasks. This is especially true when companies outsource their information technology (IT) to a Managed Service Provider (MSP).  Progressive business leaders have long realized the power of delegating essential aspects of their business that simply don’t make sense for them to handle personally.  The same is true in the area of an organization’s IT services.  Through outsourcing the management and in effect, augmenting their IT capability with experts in the IT industry, a business can now compete directly with the big players in their organization’s field.

IT management “is the discipline whereby all of the information technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities.”  Your IT department consists of a complex environment of hardware, software, and computer networks that allow you to execute  important business operations such as accounting and financial processes (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), email, and document creation. Your business’ success depends upon being able to use these functions reliably and efficiently. An essential element for an IT department is credibility with your sales force, administrative staff and employees.  They need to trust that the IT staff  is capable, interested, invested and equipped to deliver their IT requirements.  Without the right set of skills and standards, this user trust can be easily eroded.

Ask yourself, with such vital imperatives, is it really feasible and cost efficient for your company to take on the tasks and responsibilities of running an in-house IT department?  Training your IT staff, maintaining and keeping your business’ IT infrastructure up-to-date can be significant burdens.  In most cases, the benefits of outsourcing far outweigh any perceived advantages of managing and funding an in-house IT department.

  • Cost Control: By contracting with a Managed Service Provider, your IT costs will remain constant even as you take advantage several IT needs such as scalability when necessary. Moreover, you have access to efficient and expert technicians that maintain your total IT environment, as well as keep current with new technologies and ideas. Additionally, most Managed Service Providers offer other services, such as cloud-hosted environments and essential IT hardware that is continually monitored. All of this means your IT investment would be substantially reduced and controlled.
  • Core Competency Focus: Your core competencies or main strengths lie in those specific areas of capabilities that allow you to be competitive in the marketplace. Unless you are an IT organization, your main strength will not be in Information Technology. Every company has limits to its resources and by making the decision to contract with a qualified MSP and outsource your IT, you will be able to concentrate all your efforts in areas that provide the greatest return.
  • Current Technology and Expertise: A qualified and creditable MSP will bring first-class expertise and best practices to your organization’s IT on a continuing basis. Your company will be able to use technology and information that you may not have previously considered, as well tools and techniques you may not be able to afford or possess if you fund and house your own IT department. By outsourcing your IT management, you will have a wide variety of IT professionals with diverse talents and qualifications to call on for each situation that arises.
  • Monitoring and Risk Minimizing: When you outsource your IT needs, there are qualified technicians monitoring your IT environment constantly. Yes, that means monitoring 24/7 and 365 days. Your IT is their focus, your issues are serious to them and they have the staff, tools and expertise to monitor, predict problems and anticipate your every need. Your IT environment is kept up-to-date and safe from unpredictable circumstances, such as back-up and hardware failures, software crashes, data corruption, and intrusions from malware and viruses.

Running your own IT department can not only be a headache, but can cost your business time, money and unnecessary resources. Contact us, and let the experts take care of these things so you can focus on critical business functions.

5 Initial Steps to Take When Outsourcing an IT Help Desk

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20160211

ourcing your IT help desk can save your company a lot of time and money, but you want to be sure you make the right choice.

So you’ve done some initial research and decided that it would be best if your company outsourced your IT department to an experienced third-party company, instead of bringing your own team aboard. That is an excellent decision for many small and medium-sized businesses, and can have lasting ramifications on the health of your company. There are a few steps that every company should take before deciding which company to work with that can help to make the entire process run much more smoothly, and ensure a better result. Take these steps into consideration before choosing which IT help desk you would like to work with.

1. Outline Your Currently Used Technologies

In order to choose a company that has the experience and expertise in the technologies that your company uses, you should have a comprehensive list of the technologies that your business uses available to you when evaluating. This will help you to get an idea of which companies have experience delivering support for the technologies that your company uses on a day-to-day basis. This ensures that you work with a company that can provide support, no matter what the problem is.

2. Find a Company that Specializes in Your Technologies

Determine which technologies your company uses the most and which most often run into issues. Then, try to find a company that specializes in working with those specific technologies. This will help to make sure that they will be aware of issues that the technology commonly experiences, and the solutions required to fix those problems. A company that specializes in the technology that you choose will be able to provide a better service.

3. Outline Your Current Processes

In order for a new IT team to fit seamlessly into your company, it is important that they are able to understand how your company operates. What processes within your company will have the new IT injected into them? What processes must they be familiar with to help your company to the best of their ability? Start by outlining all of your current processes to ensure that they can inform you about what processes will need changes to include them, and better understand how to work well with your teams.

4. Create In-House Backups of All Data

Although any IT company can help you to back up your data, it is never a bad idea to create an in-house backup of all of your data before beginning, so that you have a point that you can return to down the road. Then, speak with the new IT management company about how you can set up the right processes to ensure that all data is backed up on a regular basis moving forward. There is never a bad time to start backing up your data and creating in-house backups will help you to secure your data before changes to your IT processes are made.

5. Take Your Time Making a Decision (If Possible)

If you are not in the middle of an IT emergency, it is always a good idea for you to take your time and really evaluate which companies are going to bet the best fit for you. A great idea is to hire several companies for simple one-off jobs and see how they interact with your team and deliver their service.  This will give you an idea of whether they will be a good fit and allow you to give them feedback so that they can tailor their service for an ongoing engagement.

There are many steps that should be taken before hiring an outsourced IT help desk company. If you are interested in making the jump to an outsourced IT team, but are unsure of where to begin, please contact us today to schedule your 100% risk-free consultation with our trained IT experts.