Our “White Paper” series is all about the business of IT. Topics like password security, IT management, and technology purchases are all covered in our informative series aimed to help small businesses achieve their technology goals.
The IT needs of a small business can be complex, and it can be difficult (both practically and financially) for small businesses to internally house an IT department that can meet all of them. IT companies can provide your business with a team of experts specifically matched to the needs of your business. A good IT firm will address your business’s challenges with individual solutions based on decades of experience – not a one-size-fits-all plan.
Components of Outsourcing
In this “Outsourcing series”, we explore the four main benefits of outsourcing IT services to a third party. This includes staffing, talent management, available servicesand operational management.
With operational management, an outside firm is responsible for everything from resource management to vendor relationships and purchase management. To put it simply, they take care of the ‘technology’ in information technology.
An outside firm already has the organization in place to hold the entire service team accountable for the tasks needed to manage your IT resources. Meaning, that not only does an outside firm relieve you of overseeing those tasks, they make sure they are done in a way aligned with your business objectives. Outside teams report to IT experts, so they are truly held accountable and can “talk tech” when troubleshooting and designing solutions. Outside teams also have a wider bed of knowledge to pull from and compare to. They know what a quality IT system looks like, and how to make sure your IT systems are matching industry standards at all times.
Vendor Management
An often overlooked, and extremely difficult to manage, component of a business’ IT is vendor management. Coordinating third party vendor activities in conjunction with your own IT needs, projects and support is a challenged even for seasoned IT Professionals. Outside firms have established relationships with core vendors, like telecommunications, hardware/software suppliers and associated manufacturers of IT products and services. The IT team pulls from these resources as necessary to insure your technology operates as your business requires without the added burden to your staff.
Purchase Management
That process also allows for you and your IT provider to think proactively about projects your company needs and how they can best manage those projects for you. Those kinds of proactive services include purchase management: managing your technological assets. At Black | Line, for example, we have one client that we manage approximately 250 hardware and software components – and a Procurement Manager who does a monthly review of renewals, expirations, warranties, subscriptions and other actions to be taken so your business won’t be shocked by an expired license or an unexpected renewal fee. Those fees and planned purchases are included in a yearly review that helps your business create a smarter budget.
Proactive Monitoring
When your business relies on a small internal IT team it can become a challenge for them to complete the routine and proactive tasks that a smart IT plan requires amongst all the day-to-day needs. An outside team is set up to ensure that tasks like checking logs, reviewing system health and preventative maintenance are built into the routine. When they fall out of the routine they are often overlooked until they cause a system interruption – which means a business interruption for your company.
Service level is one of the key benefits of outsourcing your IT department. Not only do you get the right services to match your individual business, you get higher quality services. You can also adjust what kind of services you need and what fits into your budget in a proactive way through billing and budget review instead of purchasing IT items or hiring staff ad hoc.
Delegating the management and maintenance of your IT department to an outside firm means increasing your operational management – smarter budgets, well-planned projects, and fewer interruptions and surprises.