So why outsource your IT support? Do the numbers stack up and what are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourced IT support?
For most companies there’s a development life cycle. In their early stages whilst they’re still young, most will find it cost effective to outsource their IT. As they grow some will reach a point where they weigh up the merits of employing a full time staff member. But there are other considerations apart from cost. Finance directors will tell you how hard it is to manage staff when you don’t know what it is they should be doing and why should any employee spend time trying to better a system when they get paid the same by just maintaining the status quo. Here are some of the factors to consider when evaluation the in source/outsource question:
Cost
The true cost of an IT support engineer on your payroll is not just the salary. An average network engineers’ pay in London, according to Reed recruitment, is between £25 and £45 thousand (source Reed Recruitment). The lowest paid of engineers won’t able to cope with server support and more complex queries, therefore you can expect to have to pay more.
Once you factor in four weeks holiday pay and cover, sickness, training, office seating, employers national insurance and other benefits. It’s easy to see why a company of 70 workers of less will rarely opt to have in house IT (why not use the PC Correct Cost calculator to find out how much it might cost you?). Cost is not the only consideration though.
Understanding your business
Take the example of a business where technology is tailored to the company. Can a bespoke database be supported by an outside company? Can an IT support company sufficiently understand that business and influence decisions in its best interests.
The answer is of course that it depends on the situation and the support company, but PC Correct support many clients who have complicated requirements and an alternative opinion might be that if you can only rely on one in house engineer, then what happens if he leaves or is unavailable.
Onsite presence
An office worker will always prefer the friendly face of an engineer on site and therefore able to be tapped on the shoulder and asked for a little help. In reality most IT support queries can be resolved using remote connections over broadband connections, but there’s always going to be occasions when a cable needs changing or a PC needs connecting up. One way to resolve this issue is to arrange a regular visit, perhaps weekly, or monthly with the flexibility to bring it forward or push it back. The company needs to decide whether the benefit of having a full time employee is worth the cost and particularly in this age of technology enabling technology.
Range of Technology Supported
Many companies will have a mixture of operating systems; Microsoft, Mac, Linux as well as various competencies such as networking, programming, VOIP and web design. No one engineer can understand all these technologies well, and one major advantage IT companies have over an in house engineer is that a team of professionals can support each other when they don’t know.
A number of things can be put in place by the support company to ensure consistent service levels:
- Do they offer a service level agreement with clearly defined targets?
- Do they monitor your servers and network proactively?
- Do they have review periods?
- Is your system properly documented to mitigate the risk of staff leaving with valuable knowledge?
- Can remote access be provided to a help desk operating at the times you need them?
- Do they have all the relevant accreditation? Are they a Microsoft Partner for example?
If you find the right support company for you, then technology has evolved to remove so many of the objections put forward. Until your company can afford a two man team, it’s now probably not worth considering anything other than outsourced IT support.
