Why Businesses Should Outsource IT Support

Outsource IT support

The trend of outsourced IT companies picked up in the 1980s and is still going strong today. It is estimated that more than 60% of the IT and ITES industries function purely on the model of outsourcing.

As of 2019, 70% of UK businesses had outsourced key services to external companies, with the majority choosing IT. Since then, IT has remained the preferred sector, with 34% of UK businesses choosing to outsource their IT support. But why is that?

Why outsourced IT services are fast growing

In comparison to outsourcing, hiring in-house IT staff seems to be on a slight decline for many businesses. We can pinpoint several reasons as to why outsourced IT is the chosen method of receiving business support. These include:

  • The pandemic – since the 2020 pandemic, there has grown a demand for outsourced work helping to regulate business funds and stay ahead of inflation.
  • Cheaper option – a fixed rate outsourced IT support contract can offer you all the services you need with no extra fees. This allows you to control your business’ budget and saves extra time and money on hiring internally.
  • Maintains a higher quality of work – with a reliable IT service provider you know what you’re getting. You will also have access to a whole host of engineers, specialists, and a dedicated customer service team.
  • Less staff to manage within your business – more staff means more responsibility and having a remote IT service provider can be handier for remote workers in your organisation.
  • Lack of IT expertise in your business – staff training is essential for learning industry best practices, staying compliant, and building cybersecurity awareness. Outsourcing IT can also provide you with regular maintenance, set up, audits and other specialised tasks you may not be able to carry out yourself.
  • The rise of cloud computing technologies – many businesses are leaning towards outsourced IT services to help manage their data through a cloud network. This option provides more storage, flexibility, and security for data.

Outsourcing IT is a game changer

By outsourcing their IT support, businesses are experiencing a range of benefits. One of the significant motivators for choosing to outsource IT support is the competitive advantage for businesses. From R&D to technical support, IT outsourcing can give you access to new tools and technologies to integrate faster into your company. As a result, you can gain a headstart in your sector and prove your ability to adapt to changes.

In fact, outsourcing IT support is so popular these days it is projected to reach a CAGR of 9.41% between 2024 and 2028.

It’s safe to say that outsourcing your IT is the way to go. But, if you are still unsure about what to do, we’ve put together some of the reasons why businesses are choosing to outsource over hiring an in-house IT support team.

Advantages of Outsourced IT Support

Reduction in operating and capital costs

An in-house IT team incurs huge operating costs and is often not viable for a small to medium sized business. When you hire an in-house IT professional or team, you need to account for salaries, insurance, and other financial and non-financial benefits. These costs can accumulate quickly, leaving little capital remaining for investment in other areas of your business.

On the other hand, choosing to outsource your IT eliminates these employee expenses. An employee who works on contract is not entitled to all these financial and non-financial benefits that must be mandatory pay to a full-time in-house employee.

Additionally, outsourcing IT support reduces expenses on maintenance, equipment, utility costs and more. Technology maintenance often comes at a fixed rate, which will be clearly outlined in your contract. As for equipment, outsourced IT can include discounted hardware and software packages, minimising expensive tech purchases. With in-house IT staff, utility bills can also rise due to the requirement of on-site servers, however this isn’t as much of a necessity with outsourced IT support.

Moreover, outsourced auditing services can help cut costs massively in the long term, proving to be a great investment for SMEs. You are not only provided with an accurate valuation of your tech assets, but regular audits can eliminate waste, therefore reducing spending and maintenance on unnecessary equipment.

Overall, it’s estimated that savings as high as 40% can be made by choosing IT outsourcing.

Expert business IT services

IT outsourcing brings expertise, skills and capabilities that can’t always be assured with in-house hiring. Choosing outsourced IT gives businesses the flexibility they need to hire experts from various IT domains. In fact, vendors have access to some of the most talented people. It’s even been observed that some of the best IT support services in London are a result of IT outsourcing.

However, with an in-house IT team, talent and expertise is often limited, and at times this may be only one member of staff. With the demands of a small business, an outsourced team has the combined technical skills to ensure everything is running smoothly. Therefore, relying on only one technician when you could have a range of dedicated IT professionals makes little sense.

Frees up time and resources for other activities

Unless your business is a tech-based company or a managed IT support company, chances are that IT is a support function and not a core function. In such cases, investing in in-house IT systems, data centres and people can be an expensive affair. As a result, this can be a huge, unnecessary drain on company resources. Alongside this, employees may spend more time setting up, learning, and maintaining technology than focusing their time and energy on your company’s core business.

Outsourced IT ensures you can focus on your business and save valuable organisational resources, whilst having access to more expertise on IT issues which may arise.

Offers more operational flexibility

The major benefit of IT outsourcing is the quick availability of talent and technology. Outsourced IT support allows businesses to take up projects of varying levels of complexity with more ease. Businesses can scale their projects without much thought, as technology procurement is not as limited as with in-house IT support.

On the other hand, in-house IT teams are rigid in their ability to scale operations quickly and easily. If in-house employees are expected to cope with sudden changes in project specifications, chances of employee burnout are quite high. Again, this is another drawback of having an in-house team as there is generally less range in technical expertise.

When you outsource IT support it reduces the strain and operational difficulty on your business significantly. By spreading out the workload across various vendors and workers, your business will be less occupied by mounting responsibilities.

Ensures availability of state-of-the-art technology

Specialised IT support agencies have access to the latest in IT technology. They also have access to the best in malware cybersecurity, which can prove expensive for in-house IT teams.

With an in-house team, you wouldn’t have access to newer facilities, systems, and upgrades in comparison to outsourced IT services. For example, as a Microsoft partner, we at totality services offer quicker and cheaper access to Microsoft packages. In addition, we deliver close support and consulting services, including migration to Microsoft 365.

In general, IT outsourcing allows businesses to use the latest in IT technology for all their projects, at much lower costs.

Outsource from a reliable IT service provider

Overall, choosing to outsource your IT support is a very advantageous decision for businesses of all sizes to make. And, in a hyperconnected global city like London, your company will be more reliant than ever on its IT to run its operations and see growth. What’s more, there are countless outsourced IT companies in London, so you will be spoilt for choice.

So, if you would like to find out more about our outsourced IT support at totality services, please feel free to reach out for a no obligation chat with one of our experts today!

We offer consultancy, cybersecurity, and managed IT support services, and currently hold the highest customer rating in the London IT support sector. In addition, we’re a Certified Microsoft Partner and have multiple Platinum Feefo awards for customer service excellence. Team up with us today and you can be confident that your tech is in safe hands.