Outsourcing IT operations is fast gaining popularity among small and midsized enterprises (SMEs). According to computerweekly.com, “IT outsourcing can help small businesses reduce IT costs and access new technologies.”
Other benefits include, improving operational efficiencies, alleviating workload from IT staff, ensuring system security, and improving ROI in the long haul.
Although more enterprises today prefer to outsource their IT functions, not every company needs IT outsourcing. We've laid down a list of questions for you to consider to see if outsourcing is suitable or necessary for your company, before you launch your outsourcing initiatives.
Ask These Fundamental Questions First Before Outsourcing
Qn 1: Is your IT team up-to-date with the latest technology advances and threats?
Managing an in-house IT team can be an expensive, resource-heavy task.
Take the recent surge in ransomware threats for example. More SMEs each year are affected by ransomware, and end up shelling lots of money to the attackers to keep their businesses running.
To stay ahead of the latest technological advances and threats requires substantial investment on the SME's part. But for many SMEs, especially those not in the technology industry, such expertise can prove too costly to maintain.
A better alternative is to consider accessing IT expertise through professionals. By engaging a proven team of certified IT professionals with the expertise to securely support your network, infrastructure, and workstations, you can be assured your business stays protected and up-to-date — all for an affordable fee.
Qn 2: Between cost and expertise, which is a more critical factor to your business?
On a supporting note, there's a fine balance to strike between cost and expertise. And cost is especially critical for many SMEs. Every dollar spent should yield returns in one way or another.
And while outsourcing to overseas vendors tend to be cheaper than our local experts, there are extra benefits in working with local vendors. Think ready accessibility, easier and clear communication (similar language), and immediate assistance (same time zones).
Besides cost, expertise is the other major concern to many SMEs. As IT may not be the core activity of SMEs, outsourcing IT functions can relieve work pressure among your staff.
We've been offering IT support to companies since 1999. Throughout the years, we have built a significant presence in Singapore and overseas. We are backed up by our dedicated team of certified IT practitioners and track record. By outsourcing your IT functions to us, you can better focus your resources on developing your core competencies.
Qn 3: Will your business really gain value from outsourcing?
Finally, it may seem obvious, but it's important to find out if there is an actual need to outsource in the first place.
Often, cost-cutting is one of the key motivators for businesses seeking IT outsourcing. At other times, it's the lack of expertise that drives businesses to outsource.
However, the main goal of outsourcing should help your business to be more efficient, not less. If you outsource your IT functions to a vendor that requires substantial involvement and coordination on your end, it might just defeat the purpose of outsourcing in the first place.
You'll also need to know which areas would benefit the most from outsourcing. For companies that need to outsource certain business function such as IT, they can free up time to focus on business development. They will also be able to free up internal resources and enjoy costs saving.
Ultimately, the question you should consider is: Which is more practical to you, accessing specialised experts or hiring and setting up a similar IT division? Your answer to this question will further help you to make an informed decision.
So, What Next?
In short, the benefits of IT outsourcing are aplenty. It helps to alleviate day-to-day tasks, prevent your IT staff from overworked, free up time for you to focus on building up your core competencies, reduce operations cost, and free up your resources.
But because the need to outsource and what to outsource differs from one company to another, it’s not advisable to outsource part of your operations “blindly” as it may cause more harm than help. To find out whether IT outsourcing is suitable for your needs, why not schedule a free consultation with us today?
At AFON, we have the expertise and technology to manage your IT functions affordably. We invest significant amount of time and effort on industry best practices. And our IT experts can help you reduce your risk of making a costly, wrong implementation decision.
Give us a call today, and let us help you safeguard your business now and for the future.