What are the Top 10 Benefits of Outsourced IT Support? (And the one thing they never tell you…)

Reading Time: 6 minutes25th January 2023 | Modified: 1st February 2023

Categories: Outsourcing

Managing your own IT can sometimes feel like a full-time job. How did IT become the centre of everyone’s business? The short answer is information. Every successful business needs to be able to tap into a sophisticated database of information to maintain its competitive edge. So, having your IT working for you and not against you, is key.

 

Sometimes, it is just absolutely essential to choose an outsourced IT partner. Consider the cost of IT downtime. Outages can get expensive when the team has to down tools. How much do you spend on new programs and applications, running old tech, buying new tech, training staff, and keeping up with all the legislative changes? If all that wasn’t enough, there’s always some cyber hacker trying to break into your business infrastructure. Keeping ahead with your IT in the 21st century is tough, and it is going to get tougher.

‘Old ways won’t open new doors’

Thankfully, there is an easier solution. Using outsourced IT support is a powerful way to put all your IT problems into one place; getting expert help with it, 24/7/365. When you have an IT problem, you make a call and it’s sorted (in some cases, depending on your support package, the problem is already flagged by your IT partner, so you don’t even have a call to make).

So, here are the top 10 reasons why outsourced IT might be the right cost investment for your business.

1. Outsourced IT Support

You have a legion of IT expertise at your fingertips. Imagine, nearly 80% of IT problems can be sorted out over the phone, but, if the problem escalates, then an IT engineer can come out and sort it out on-site. Outsourced IT is about less time researching the problem and more about solving it as quickly as possible, to get you back up and running.

Having a responsive partner for your IT issues, not only increases your professionalism but, also makes your business more efficient; you’ll be able to expand your capacity to support your customer’s needs. So, everyone wins.

2. 24/7/365 Support

Some business models are such, that they need 24 hr support. Others start at 8:00 am to 6:30 pm, or from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Whatever your time mix, the beauty of outsourced IT support is that it is on call for your business, precisely when you need it. Home working, in the office, out in a field, on the road, it doesn’t matter where you do business; you don’t have to worry about sicknesses, holidays, if your engineer is fully certified, trained, or not, when the problems start coming in, and they will! Your IT support partner will have you covered.

3. Empower your Team

Customers can be very demanding because they have customers too. So, if real value is missing from your supply chain, it will rear its head in your customer’s value chain. Outsourcing your IT is a cost-effective way of bringing experience and additional skillsets into the business so that your team can get on with the work in hand, meeting deadlines and demands head-on creatively and quickly.

You’re essentially supporting your employees with the resources to do their best work, full of the knowledge that when an IT problem presents itself, your IT partner will have the resources to resolve it.

4. Cost Effective Cybersecurity

Sadly, cyber hackers have found their way past the usual firewall and anti-virus protection systems that most companies use. It’s an annoying fact, but cybercrime is one of those things that won’t go away and, is only going to get worse.

“Outsourced IT needs to deliver all-star experience, 24/7/365”

Typically, once your cybersecurity audit is done, your IT partner will understand your risk profile. From this, they will be able to provide you with not only intelligent insights, but solutions configured specifically for your business, not for someone else’s, or some off-the-shelf solution. Because your business profile is different from everyone else’s, your IT security strategy should reflect that.

The first stop might be for you to consider securely aligning your company, using Cyber Essentials, a government-backed, simple but effective initiative, to help protect your organisation from cyber hackers, and you get free cyber security insurance once you’ve passed

5. Save time & money by outsourcing your IT

Outsourcing IT typically works on a fixed fee model, which allows you to map out what you are going to spend over the year, on your IT. But, before you choose anyone, have your IT audited.

An audit is a forensic snapshot of where your IT is now, alongside your vision of where you want your business to get to. That gap analysis will provide you with a strategic outline of where you can reduce the cost of your IT and, increase your value chain. Instead of fixing problems, you will be focusing on your business objectives, thus spending your IT budget much more effectively.

6. Technical Know-How

To be an experienced IT engineer is no mean thing. Any good IT engineer worth their salt, will be undertaking continuous training and professional development courses in cyber security techniques, honing their software design skills, telephony management and cloud technology, to name but a few. That enables your business to benefit from the very latest resolution methods in the marketplace.

Support providers generally have a large resource of talent, so your business has access to engineers/specialists to help resolve your IT issues quickly.

“Transforming your IT can strengthen your competitive position in the marketplace”

7. We already have an Internal IT Department

Perfect. Using external IT resources either on-site or remotely, you’re immediately taking the pressure off your internal team and the business. It was often quoted in the past, that “3rd party services are not the company”. In the early days that could have been true, but for today’s outsourced IT partners, this is not their first rodeo. Once the settling-in period is over, both parties can get on with the real business of getting to know each other, and more importantly getting the job done.

Outsourcing allows the internal team to focus on the strategic stuff, whilst an IT partner can do the grunt work, or provide consultancy, or expertise in a particular area, that the internal team may not have at that time.

8. Expand or contract your business as you need to

Scaling up or down within the marketplace can make back-office operations challenging. Outsourced IT by its very nature, understands that businesses go through this process. Quality IT services can scale the support you need, with a service plan that will fit your budget, so your business will be in step with your marketplace.

9. Certification, legislation the future

One of the biggest frustrations about IT is the amount and the speed of change; Government legislation, compliance, technological trends and industry standards, change all the time, and they are going to keep on changing.

Outsourcing your IT puts you at the forefront of the marketplace by keeping you up to date with all the industry certifications and standards that come out, so you don’t have to.

10. The one thing they never tell you

Outsourcing your IT allows you to really focus on your business. Do what you do best: looking after customers, building up your team, and developing new business, all whilst leaving the management of your IT infrastructure to a specialist provider.

Quality outsourced IT support entwines itself into the fabric of your business, so much so that you don’t even know it’s there, but you can feel the power of good tech running throughout the business. It’s like a reciprocal partnership, where both thrive when they are working together. When that happens, that’s when you can position your business to take advantage of opportunities that you have created, secure in the knowledge that if your IT trips up, it won’t be a disaster – because your provider will be ready to step on with their expert support.

At CNC we are there to listen and help you to explore the transformative capabilities of outsourced IT support. Reimagine your workplace running the way you want it to. Please do not hesitate to contact us on 01273 384100 for further details or email sales@cnc-ltd.co.uk.