June 2020
by Richard Lee
I.T. plays a major role in many businesses today. So what happens when things don't work as they should? Well you can wait until your business comes to a complete stop before doing anything or you can take proactive action to ensure things are working smoothly. The first is called reactive support and the other is being proactive.
Being proactive is always preferable. This means that you're taking steps to ensure that systems are working optimally and any issues are addressed before they can spike to become crippling problems.
You could hire an I.T. Expert or you can have an in house I.T. Manager or I.T. Specialist working for you. It would cost approximately $70k ($100K+ for an IT Manager) or more plus super plus benefits to hire a suitable competent experienced individual to provide continuous ongoing I.T. support.
Or you could outsource I.T. Support to an I.T. company. As with all things in I.T., here are some pros and cons:
Advantages
- I.T. company has technical expertise and knowledge in a wide range or technologies and provide support to a number of other companies
- pay only for what you really need (potentially there will be significant $ savings providing the support you need is light to moderate)
- may be more reliable as the support company may have several support staff vs one full time staff (if using in house support)
- ongoing and remote monitoring possible
- access to a pool of expertise (third party or within support company), specialist engineer equipment and software that full time staff typically won't have
- onsite time is generally spent more productively
- more likely to keep abreast of any developments in software, techniques and methodologies due to nature of ongoing work
Disadvantages
- might not be able to respond as quickly to issues if they're busy (compared to in house support)
- may not have same level of understanding for specific business processes and applications
- less opportunity to develop relationships with specific I.T. equipment providers
- costs can become significant (may even exceed in house I.T. Support) where there are a dozen or more systems to support or support is for Client Server system or a complex network or very frequent support is needed
- may not have same specialised training to support some apps which in house person may have
- the business may have to adjust to different styles of troubleshooting and support
in the case where different technicians are sent out each time
So there are clearly Pros and Cons whether support is provided in house or else outsourced. By taking these factors (and more) into account we can advice you whats the best approach for your specific situation. As no two businesses are alike (except perhaps a franchise business which would use very similar systems) even being in the same industry providing practically the same type of service.
There may even be a situation in which it may make sense to have an in house I.T. person together with outsourcing for specific I.T. requirements.
Already using outsourced I.T. Support? If your existing provider's already doing everything you need at a competitive rate, then there's probably no need to switch.
However what if you're already in a contract with an existing I.T. provider? Check the contract terms and conditions to see how you can make the switch.
We offer significant discounts of between 20 to 33% off hourly ad hoc rates when you take up a contract with us. Speak to us if you're still unsure as we've got the experience and expertise to guide you on the right path to I.T. Support.