Top 5 IT challenges in businesses and how an outsourced provider can help
IT is becoming an even stronger key performance indicator as businesses continue to invest and depend on technology. Although technology makes business processes easier and faster, it can also hinder efficiency and productivity if not adopted or implemented correctly.
Business IT covers a wide range of unique fields, including data systems, enterprise cloud, telecommunications, and digital marketing. And with the virtually limitless IT-based solutions available today, it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get lost in the maze or bite off more than they can chew. This is why many businesses opt to delegate various IT services to third-party contractors.
Outsourced IT is a popular solution for meeting technical and business goals. Here are the top five challenges facing modern businesses and how an IT service provider can help you solve them.
1. Skills gap
According to the 2018 IT Skills and Salary Report, the IT skills gap is a growing global concern. In the survey, 75 percent of U.S. IT decision-makers reported that their teams lacked the IT skills and knowledge to achieve organizational goals. Additionally, IT salaries rise year after year, making it even harder for companies to find and retain qualified job candidates for IT positions.
Outsourced IT closes the skills gap by providing highly trained and vastly experienced IT personnel on demand. This means you don’t have to go through a lengthy hiring process every time you need specially qualified IT labor.
2. Cybersecurity and compliance
Data-centric technology comes with the inherent risk of cyberattacks. Several data protection and privacy standards and relentless cybercriminals continuously mount pressure on businesses to safeguard their data and IT assets. Managing cyber threats and building a cybersecurity framework requires a particular skillset and tools, both of which a managed IT security partner can readily provide.
3. IT costs and budgeting
Depending on size and industry, a company will spend, on average, between 3.2 and 5.9 percent of its revenue on IT. For most organizations, annual IT spending amounts to millions. Purchasing, installing, and maintaining IT equipment is not cheap, so entrepreneurs always look for ways to trim their IT budgets.
Consulting with an outsourced IT provider is a surefire way to cut IT costs and guarantee worthwhile investments.
4. Technology integration
Finding enough qualified hands to tackle sensitive, high-profile IT projects such as company-wide systems upgrade, cloud migration, software and web development, and staff training is always a problem for many companies. You obviously want such projects handled with professional care and precision and be completed on time – that might be too much to ask of an in-house IT team.
Luckily, some outsourced IT services specialize in large-scale project management. A professional service provider will see the project through, from start to finish, without disrupting your day-to-day IT processes.
5. Immense workload
Ongoing IT maintenance and management processes such as support, monitoring, servicing, troubleshooting, and error correction can easily overwhelm your internal IT team. Overburdening daily IT responsibilities limit the staff’s work scope and productivity. A mounting workload also leaves little time for employee training, engagement, and empowerment.
Incorporating outsourced IT in your workforce to cover certain IT tasks frees your staff to concentrate on the core business activities. It may seem counterintuitive, but outsourcing IT services lets you get the most out of your employees.
Why outsourced IT?
No matter how you look at it, outsourcing will always have advantages over an in-house department. IT services can boost your business to scale new digital heights and increase overall performance and productivity. Here are more benefits of outsourced IT:
- Reduced IT labor costs
- Increased IT efficiency
- Reduced risks
- Guaranteed security compliance
- On-demand 24/7 availability
- Consistent results
- Improved business focus
- Goal-based partnership
Clearly, hiring a managed IT provider is in your business’s best interest. Consider IT services as a permanent solution in your IT strategy to help your company overcome the myriad of IT challenges and streamline its operations.
