How outsourcing IT support can help your business grow
Our last article discussed whether it's better to hire your own
IT employees and rely on them to provide support for your
computers, servers and networks, or whether to outsource to a
dedicated IT support firm.
Now we continue that discussion by looking at one of the
important factors for small and growing businesses: staying agile
enough to grow and compete with other firms.
Option 1: Growing your employee headcount
If you're relying on employees for IT and network support,
growing your business means sooner or later having to take on more
staff. Whether that's to provide extra man hours, to broaden the
team's expertise or to ensure fewer gaps in coverage, you're going
to need to increase the IT payroll.
Of course, this involves taking on extra organisational burdens.
As well as direct costs such as National Insurance, employee
benefits and any costs for recruitment itself, there's also
nebulous areas of responsibility such as health & safety. And
not to be overlooked are the twin spectres of sick leave and
parental leave.
In a time when employers' responsibilities keep increasing, the
need to recruit can hamper your freedom to grow.
Option 2: Growing through outsourced IT support
By contrast, outsourced IT and network support can grow (or be
cut) at the same rate as your business does.
Using a fixed price IT support firm allows you to keep costs
predictable for the foreseeable future. This strategy also means
you can opt for year-round and round-the-clock cover, with
constantly refreshed expertise through training - both of which can
be extremely expensive to achieve with your own staff.
As an alternative to increasing your headcount when you grow,
outsourcing your IT support gives you the optimum balance between
cost and benefits and helps you to remain agile in your
marketplace.
If you have found this article useful and would like to know
more, contact Chorus IT to discuss a fixed price IT support solution for your business.
