I Understand IT, But I Need More Hands

Technology should always be helping your company move forward. If it’s holding you back, outsourcing IT services could be the answer to fueling your business growth. There are many reasons an organization may look to outsource IT services, the most common being a lack of time to meet industry demands. When your in-house IT team is too far in the weeds to tackle big-picture projects or it feels like you’re missing out on business innovations, it may be time to call for backup.

Over the past three decades, outsourcing has become an integral part of business management worldwide. It’s been reported that in 2022, almost 54 percent of all companies use third-party support teams to connect with customers and 49 percent claim that freeing up time and resources to focus on core business is the reason for outsourcing IT services. These reports serve as a barometer for just how heavily companies have come to rely on external teams to co-manage or lend a helping hand with IT services.

When In-House IT Support Just Isn’t Enough

Outsourcing IT services, security and support is often a viable solution for organizations that lack the in-house expertise to properly manage a rapidly evolving technology infrastructure. While this holds true, it may not be the best solution for all organizations.  Plenty of businesses prefer the onsite interactions that come from having in-house IT support – even if they only support the end users directly. 

When having onsite staff is the best fit for an organization but outside expertise is also needed, co-managed IT services (CoMITS), may be the more viable solution over outsourcing. Afterall, what is life without options? With CoMITS, you’ll get a blend of in-house IT support and third party support services that fill the cybersecurity and support “risk gaps” with highly experienced technology professionals.  CoMITS brings a host of tools and solutions that not only reduces risk, but also improves visibility of the types of services rendered by in-house IT staff and third-party support. 

Aside from lifting burdens from your in-house IT staff, let’s take a more detailed look into ways external IT support can help benefit your business.

5 Ways External IT Support Can Help Your Business

1. Tech guidance and expertise.

Many in-house IT teams only see the problems that have already arisen in your business. When you outsource, you are hiring experts that see a wide variety of IT problems every day. This means when a new problem comes up, they already know how to fix it for you quickly and efficiently, avoiding the potential expenses of a lingering or ongoing issue . Managed service providers are constantly undergoing training in the latest technology to provide you with the best services available.

2. Enhanced security.

Forbes recently reported that cybercrime cost American businesses more than $6.9 billion in 2021, and only 43 percent of businesses feel financially prepared to face a cyber attack in 2022. With a new hack or cybercrime report surfacing almost daily, it’s understandable that while you may be concerned about protecting your business, it’s all too overwhelming to handle in-house. It also doesn’t help that you may not be well-versed in what’s necessary for complete protection.

An external IT team or managed service provider is constantly thinking about cyber security and will not only help you make sense of it all, but will wrap your company or practice in the protection it needs. Protecting your organization is not something you do once and then never revisit. Unfortunately, in today’s world, businesses of every size need an ongoing strategy against ransomware, phishing, malware and more. Outsourcing IT services will enable you to gain access to industry proven tools, processes and systems that protect your digital data, networks and employees.

3. Around-the-clock, on-call support.

Co-managed IT services give you extra IT help where and when you need it. If you’re relying on a single person on your staff to steer your entire IT ship, you may find that quick fixes are coming back to haunt you later. Technology moves fast; you don’t want to be left in the dark when your success and valuable data are at stake. Not choosing an expert team of responsive IT pros now, could cost you a great deal later. External IT support can save you time and money all while helping you achieve important business goals.

4. System installation, troubleshooting and cloud support.

A managed service provider knows how to help your business run more efficiently. By helping you redesign workflows, automate tasks, migrate to the cloud and upgrade equipment, you can have state-of-the-art technology to help you run more efficiently and keep up with your peers and competitors. Stats on outsourcing show that a third of all organizations are willing to accept an increase in operating costs if they get access to the cloud in return. This means that for a large number of businesses, the main motivation for such a move is not to lower costs by cutting jobs, but to be more competitive and increase innovation with outside assistance.

More than 93 percent of organizations are considering or have already adopted cloud services to improve their outsourcing. Whether you want to tiptoe into cloud computing or dive right in, a managed service provider can guide your decision making. 

Some benefits of cloud support include:

• Always accessible infrastructure and applications.
• Increased storage capacity and bandwidth.
• Remote data monitoring and support.
• Scalability and flexibility.
• Seamless collaboration and connectivity.

When outsourcing IT services, you can rely on the experts for system selection and installation, cloud migration support, data management and more.

5. Competitive edge.

If you don’t know what you don’t know in terms of IT and feel desperate for outside help to come in and bring your organization up to speed, outsourcing IT services is exactly the help you need to stay competitive. A managed service provider understands that you might be falling short on the time, resources or skills you need to identify, implement and manage IT systems.  These restrictions could interrupt your team’s productivity, create gaps in compliance or even reduce your bottom line. With co-managed IT support, you can take advantage of updated systems and solutions without putting extra work onto your in-house staff.

Arclight Can Lend a Helping Hand

No matter what type of business you’re in, technology is too important to relegate to the sidelines. Are you feeling like it’s time to call in the reinforcements? At ArcLight, our goal is for clients to spend less time sweating the details of IT systems and more time meeting their goals. We believe you and your team will appreciate our friendly and responsive approach to IT support.At ArcLight, we understand the challenges you face and can take IT responsibilities off your shoulders. If you’re looking into outsourcing IT services for your Tulsa-area business, contact us today for IT that just works, so you can too.