The benefits of outsourcing your IT services are numerous, and go far beyond saving time and money (although these are great perks!). So what is the top advantage of outsourcing?
It could be argued that the true value lies in the expert knowledge IT providers can bring to your business – the type of knowledge and experience that it’s very hard to put a price on.
Although it can be tempting to manage IT services in house, it could take you years to become proficient enough to do this with ease, confidence and expert ability. Just think of everything you would have to learn!
Even if you hired another staff member to manage all of your IT needs, they might still struggle to keep on top of the workload, due to the extremely fast-paced, ever-changing nature of the digital world.
Read more: How to recognise it’s time for your business to outsource IT
An experienced IT provider, on the other hand, will have all the tools and knowledge to look after all of your technology needs from day one – and they will have a whole team of experts dedicated to ensuring your business’ technology requirements are met. What you’re really paying for is years and years of hands-on experience.
Of course, this is only the case if you work with an MSP (Managed Service Provider) who goes above and beyond simply fixing IT problems as they arise, setting up new user accounts and buying computers, and so on.
In order to unlock the true value of outsourcing your IT services, you want to partner with an MSP that is proactive and is consistently looking for ways improve your IT infrastructure and overall IT strategy – an MSP which takes a ‘big picture’ approach to IT management.
The right MSP will need to have a strong understanding of your business, your goals and be willing to provide solutions about how you can best harness the power of technology to get the results you want. They will also need to be up-to-date with all current technology trends and be thinking of ways to strategically implement these trends within your business.
If you work with a proactive MSP, all of the other key benefits of outsourcing will follow, such as time savings and cost savings. You want to get to a point where you can completely trust your MSP to come up with – and implement – effective IT solutions so that you can focus on other areas of the business which need attention.
This is the beauty of outsourcing; you don’t need to be across everything at once. To be successful in business in the digital age, you do not need to wear every single hat – you just need to make sure you form partnerships with the right hat-wearers.
So, to reiterate – although the benefits of outsourcing IT are far and wide, the true value lies in the expert knowledge an MSP can bring to your business. This is a huge investment in your future, and in your business’ ability to keep pace with technology – and is well worth the price of admission.
Check out our free guide: An essential guide to IT for SME business – Risk, Security and Productivity
