4 IT Outsourcing Risks and How to Mitigate Them

Companies are using outsourcing for reducing their resources and costs. However, outsourcing has its own challenges that you need to manage. It is important to prepare your company for outsourcing otherwise you might lose control over your project. The IT outsourcing industry is growing and changing with time. New providers are offering better offers to their customers. Companies should know how to mitigate the risks related to outsourcing. In this article, we are going to talk about IT outsourcing risks and how to mitigate them.

1. Loss of Control

No one can understand your business better than you. You already know about the best practices. Your team already knows how to collaborate with each other.

If you are outsourcing your IT, then they will help you in managing your IT. Companies think that they will lose control over their project. Your employees are not handling these processes. Also, your partner can make important decisions without taking any permission.

It is very difficult for companies to get used to this. However, the actual problem arises when providers and companies are not working together. This can affect your whole project.

The solution to this problem is very simple. You need to find the critical processes that are important for your business. It is important to develop a management plan that will help your provider in managing the project. This management plan should contain these points:

• Timeline for every meeting
• Identify key staffs in both sides
• How will the provider report issues and project updates

This is the most important step and should be done at the start of any project. You can also plan temporary employees in the provider organization. This employee will act as a direct connection between you and your provider. Thus, you can quickly receive updates. You can directly provide feedback to your providers.

2. Compromised or Less Quality

Your employees already know about the needs of your business. If you are outsourcing your IT, then your providers should also show the same level of dedication. However, your outsourcing partners don’t know anything about your business. They don’t know about the needs of your business. Thus, many business leaders think that they will get less quality service from their providers.

You can also solve this problem. Your main aim is to find a third-party provider that is committed to delivering quality services. Make sure that they have the same mindset as you. Your partner should respect the ideals of your company.

You can evaluate a third-party provider by checking their past work. Every outsourcing company will say that they are providing high-quality work. But, you should look for proof. Make sure to talk to their past or current clients. They will tell you about the pros and cons of the provider.

If some provider is not providing you any references, then you should look for other partners. You need to make sure that you are working with some experienced partners. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire already know about other business demands. Thus, they can provide high-quality services to your business.

3. Hidden Costs

IT outsourcing will help you in saving a lot of money. However, sometimes these savings will also come with some hidden costs. This can completely destroy the benefits of working with an outsourcing partner. Sometimes hidden costs can come from software upgrades and on-site troubleshooting.

You need to make sure that you are including all the expected services in your control. Good MSPs like Bleuwire will provide you Service Level Agreements or SLAs that will help you in reducing these hidden costs. SLAs will contain the services and guarantees that your MSP is providing.

These SLAs will help you in estimating the overall consulting costs. They will also tell you if they require extra money for staff training. You will also find the cost of on-site visits in these SLAs.

It is important to ensure that your contract is covering all your expectations. This will help you in reducing the risk of extra charges. You should also specify the length of the IT consultancy. This will ensure that you are only paying for the services that you are using.

4. Legal Issues

Critical Data or Intellectual Property is the most important thing for your company. It includes all the things that you have created, trademarked, patented, or branded. If you are working with an outsourcing partner, then you are exposing this information to your partner. It is very rare but sometimes these companies can steal or leak your critical data. Thus, you should protect these data assets.

You can solve this problem by asking your provider to sign a confidentiality agreement. This will ensure that your provider will protect your business secrets. If your IP gets leaked, then your provider will be responsible for it.

NDAs or Non-Disclosure agreements are used when you are working with a third-party provider. This agreement will define the type of data that your provider can access. You should work on creating a good NDA as it will reduce the risk of an IP breach. A good provider will never hesitate to sing on an NDA. They also want to protect the data of their customers.

Conclusion

You should work on the IT outsourcing risks before your project begins. If you understand the risks in starting, then you can build a plan that will help you in dealing with these risks. You should research and find the companies that suit your business needs. Experienced Managed service providers like Bleuwire will automatically provide you good SLAs. This will ensure that you will only get good quality services. You should assess all these risks in starting. If you have already mitigated these risks, then you can enjoy the true benefits of IT outsourcing. You will get all the benefits of outsourcing like cost savings and less downtime. If you need more information regarding MSP services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.