Important factors to consider when Outsourcing IT Support

Today I am going to show you 5 important factors you need to consider before outsourcing your IT support.

When it comes to efficiency, no business worth its salt would want to be left behind. That’s to say, efficiency is at the heart of any business, big or small. Put simply IT outsourcing allows businesses to focus on their key strength instead of wallowing in despair about trivial matters like IT infrastructure or data management.

The most expensive mistake many businesses make is hopping into IT outsourcing train without much thought. Therefore, before you board onto the IT outsourcing plane, it is absolutely IMPORTANT you take the following factors into consideration to ensure seamless integration of your IT service provider into your system and organization.

1. Think about your staff morale

It is natural for the staff to feel rejected when a company decides to give out, in form of outsourcing, whatever they were doing to a third-party. Whether the company is outsourcing a part or all its IT services, the feeling is the same. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to not only properly communicate the reasoning behind the decision, but also clearly outline the short-term and long-term goals that can be achieved through IT outsourcing.

By bringing all your immediate staff on-board, you can count on their compliance and cooperation. It should be clear from the onset that outsourcing IT support does not necessarily endanger the position of your staff in the company. A clear communication gives them an opportunity to properly assess where they stand in the company as tenured or regular employees.

2. Collaboration and communication.

For a long time now, communication and collaboration have been a key pillar in any outsourcing endeavor. You will not realize the weight of this challenge until you engage an outsourcing company from a different location with a different time zone. You are also likely to meet challenges simply because it’s a third-party company with different work culture, hence you will likely have trouble with communication. Put simply, there will be communication hurdles in form of background, culture, language and time.

The good news is, there are no hurdles that can’t be overcome and no issues without an amicable solution. In fact, in addressing the above-mentioned challenges, most outsourcing companies contact periodic seminars and refresher courses to their management and junior staff on the essence of multi-cultural sensitivities. This greatly helps in bridging the gap between your company and your preferred service provider.

It is also important to document all your agreements by putting everything in writings. Learn also to take minutes of the meeting when you are holding one.

3. Governance and operational control.

The question of operational control when it comes to outsourcing has been in the public domain for a long time now. Most people argue that this control is lost the moment a company outsources its IT functions. It purely depends on the company if they are willing to relinquish their operational control to a third party, however, most companies have no problem giving out control of non-core business departments like IT, while others prefer having full control of such functions.

It is also crucial that you set up a clear framework on the extent of control with your outsourcing company. This not only ensures there’s a clear understanding between the outsourcing IT support provider and your company but also allows seamless integration of your outsourcing IT service provider into your workflow and organization. This framework is also important in cultivating a good relationship with a clear understanding of an array of things like roles, responsibilities, and expectations among everyone involved.

4. Better service delivery

Like I mentioned earlier, the main reason why companies are vastly considering outsourcing is that of the assured results in the quality of service. It is no surprise most of these outsourcing companies, especially IT support in Miami, have been in the field of providing high-quality external IT services for varied clients for a long time, therefore, they have the necessary experience in outsourcing.

In addition to that, these companies have a roster of IT support specialists and customer service.

Outsourcing companies not only pride themselves with staff but also have access to the latest technological advancements to ensure high productivity and efficiency.

5. Protection of private information

It is natural enough for you to give out your information and that of your clients to your IT partner when outsourcing. What is left at your discretion, is the extent to which you give out this information. You will have to decide how much of the most sensitive information you are going to give out to your partner in order for them to work in harmony with all other departments of your company.

As a matter of fact, you will have to discuss in-depth what measures your partner will put in place so that the question of confidentiality and security of your clients’ data, and systems will not arise.

Having said that, it is important to note that businesses can only be effective and produce more by not so much relying on everything done within their premises. That’s the reason outsourcing is slowly taking over from the traditional way of doing things; to increase productivity and efficiency.

Before outsourcing your IT support, however, it is very important to determine your short-term and long-term goals and come up with a framework from which you anchor your daily operations.

Outsourcing your IT support gives you an opportunity to focus on providing your customers the best products and services and in the process, you gain competitive advantage.

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