CyberLogic Blog

What is IT outsourcing? What are the benefits of outsourcing my IT support and management? These are some of the key questions that many business owners ask when enquiring about IT outsourcing.

Firstly, let’s define IT outsourcing. According to Wikipedia, outsourcing is simply “the process of subcontracting to a third-party.” In other words, IT Outsourcing is an alternative to hiring IT staff to look after your infrastructure, support your users, troubleshoot any problems, etc.

So what are the benefits of outsourcing your IT?

1. Reducing IT Costs. This is achieved by leveraging the efficiencies and economies of scale of the service provider. In addition, outsourcing your IT allows you to reduce fixed costs, in the form of salaries (and the secondary costs of staff, such as office space, furniture, administrative overheads, etc.)
2. Reducing risk. Outsourcing your IT shifts the risk of IT management to the service provider. Because IT is their core business, they know how to identify and address risks effectively. With the right agreement in place, your IT risk can be significantly reduced.
3. Minimising IT CAPEX costs. A good IT outsourcing service provider will have made significant investments in technology; you benefit from that technology without having to invest in it. Examples of this technology include network management and automation platforms, monitoring systems, helpdesk applications, reporting systems, etc.
4. Getting rid of non-core business. Let’s face it, managing your core business is difficult enough without having to take on functions that are not your key focus.
5. Enabling business growth. The last thing you want is for your business growth to be constrained by a lack of scalability in the support functions. IT outsourcing allows you to capitalise on business opportunities effectively without being hampered by a lack of support.
6. Access to greater skills and resources. Within the IT field there are many areas of specialisation; no one person can be an expert at each field. IT outsourcing gives you access to a broader skill base without having to hire those staff yourself.
7. Redundancy of skills. Many companies find themselves in a position where they have one or two key IT staff. When those staff leave, the company is left floundering because there is no redundancy of skills at that level. In addition, the intellectual property that those key people hold is lost when they leave the company. IT outsourcing shifts that risk to the service provider.

In summary, IT Outsourcing can benefit your business in a number of ways. Large companies have been outsourcing their IT for decades and with good reason but the benefits of IT outsourcing are even greater for a small company!