Blog 8 Benefits of Outsourced IT for SMEs

What is IT Outsourcing?

When you hire an outsourced IT business you can rely on their specialist knowledge to ensure you have everything in place, they can provide services to:

• Deliver infrastructure solutions, application services and IT-enabled business processes.
• Provide hardware, software and cloud-based solutions to find systems that work for your business.
• Help you protect your business from harm, both accidental and from cybercriminals, and can react quickly and effectively when things go wrong.

1. Cost-effective

Many businesses find that outsourcing their IT is a more cost-effective solution than employing someone in-house. When employing someone to work in-house, you will be paying high salaries for the level of knowledge that your business needs.

With high salaries and regular training to keep up to date with developments in the IT industry, this is not a cost that most SMEs are looking to incur.

An external IT firm will deal with all of this without needing to disrupt you or increase your costs. You will also have the option to look for companies that offer fixed price packages, or those with flexible offerings who simply work on a project-by-project basis to find the solution that best meets your needs and budget.

2. Experience

As an outsourced IT company is likely to have worked with plenty of other businesses before yours, they will have gathered a lot of experience. Many of the problems that you might face will not be new to them, which means they can offer you quick and effective solutions.

3. Productivity

In a small business, you may find that you rely on staff members who are more tech-savvy to deal with certain things, even if it is not in their job description. This can be harmful to your business, as it takes them away from the role that they should be performing. By employing an external IT team, you can allow your existing employees to focus on the things they specialise in, making the business more productive.

4. Constant Support

There is always a risk that a system will go down, or your website will be hacked the day after your in-house IT employee jets off on a two-week holiday. This means that you will be stuck trying to figure things out for yourself or try and get help from anyone who can offer it.

With an outsourced IT solution, you can enjoy the benefit of round the clock monitoring of your systems and have access to professionals who can come to the rescue as soon as you need them. This not only helps to lower the risk that your business faces, but also the downtime.

5. Guarantee Updates

In order to keep your business safe and secure, you will probably have some anti-virus software in place. As new threats emerge, software developers roll out updates designed to tackle these new problems and it is important that you implement these in order to ensure that your security is as robust and up to date as possible. However, in the midst of running a business, things like this can be overlooked, and you might soon find that there are holes in your security that leave your business vulnerable.

An external IT team will ensure that you always have the latest version of everything available, without you needing to lift a finger.

6. Education

Bringing in new hardware, software or systems to your business always seems like a good idea until you have to teach people how to use it. Your IT company can provide training to ensure that everyone is up to speed. They can also help to educate employees about threats to the business, ensuring they know how to spot things such as phishing scams and how to react accordingly.

7. Compliance

You may find that your website or IT provision needs to be in line with certain regulations, either on a national level or within your industry. An IT business should be aware of what these are and will be able to assess your setup and make sure you stay compliant.

8. Time Saving

An IT specialist will have knowledge of all sorts of systems, and so may be able to recommend things that can streamline processes such as HR or accounting, meaning that you can save time on other tasks too.

It is estimated that as many as 69% of UK companies outsource tasks as a way to reduce costs, and IT is one of the most popular options, as it requires specialist knowledge and 24-hour monitoring that is simply not practical for most SMEs.