Every business owner or manager has considered utilizing IT support services or hiring internal IT staff at one point or another. The world of business is starting to relies heavily upon technology for the day-to-day. Any amount of slow network activity or downtime can negatively impact your team’s productivity, customer happiness, and ultimately your business’s bottom line. Since IT and technology is so vital and costly, the pros and cons of hiring internal IT staff should be considered (meaning more than just the salary).
What You Really Get with Internal IT Staff
With IT staff, you usually have a go-to person to for all of the tech and IT-related problems that happen in your business. The IT go-to staff member will sit in on any meetings that include technical data or networking. Being that go-to IT person is valuable, but as soon as the mess is cleaned up he or she will switch focus and only address IT problems as they come up. This is even worse when you have Network Engineers staffed because they will get pretty tired of small IT fixes and help-desk related issues.
Furthermore, your IT staff is familiar with your systems, but they cannot be completely objective. It can be difficult to uncover what is best for the business compared to what is best or preferred for the Network Engineer. He or she may attempt to dissuade you from investing into newer and more efficient technologies afraid that it would put their jobs in jeopardy. They could also spend their downtime trying to build unnecessary complexities into the business’s network in an attempt to fill time and justify their role in the business
How can we know if this is true? Unfortunately, we have seen it before.
Costs of an Internal IT Staff
The biggest problem concerning an internal IT department is actually the cost. Keep in mind the different occupations for IT workers, so the salaries of each will vary. According to Indeed.com, the average salary in a major metropolitan area for an IT professional can range from $40,000 to $85,000 per year.
That is a hefty price to pay for just one person who may not be able to handle your business’s IT issues. This does not include benefits adding on about 10% – 20% more to that initial cost. Don’t forget the certifications, number of sick days off, the vacation time off, and potential turnover.
Now who will train the new hire? You have to find someone to set aside time to properly train him or her for the job. This could potentially take 6 months to a year before the new hire is up and running at full speed.
After you have paid for the new hire and invested in their training you have to keep them happy. Why? Because he or she could find a better job somewhere else. A job that he or she would not have gotten without the training you paid for. If that IT person quits, you will have to start the whole hiring process all over again. This puts a huge amount of weight on the business, costing both time and money.
Have you thought about the right tools for this IT person? The cost of IT equipment, software, computers, laptops, and other forms of tech will only grow.
The IT person will need a state-of-the-art computer with multiple screens to run the varying software that monitors your business’s network. The network diagnostic tools and security software won’t pay for themselves unfortunately.
Even just for a couple of IT professionals, you are looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in miscellaneous expenses each and every year. IT is necessary to do business, but it does not have to deplete all of your time and resources. IT done right, should help achieve your business’s goals and objectives.
What is the best way to do this? Utilizing local professional IT support services.
Benefits Of IT Support Services
You are in control of costs when utilizing IT support services. Rather than increasing expenses month after month, you can choose exactly what IT services your business needs at a flat monthly cost. The costs will predictable, saving you money on software, turnover, and overhead expenses.
Your employees will also benefit from IT support services because they won’t have to dedicate time to internal IT problems. Instead, your team can focus more on your business goals and objectives. IT support services help you think less about IT issues and more about what matters to you. Outsourced IT frees up time at your business, reducing risk and empowering your employees to be efficient and productive.
As a bonus, you won’t have to be concerned if the Network Engineers are getting bored because they have to fix remedial IT issues or answer help desk calls.
A huge benefit to outsourcing IT support services is the access your business has to the latest and greatest in technology. For instance, your IT support service provider will utilize the best brands in ticketing systems, cloud backup, remote monitoring and management, and network security. You would have to buy all of these yourself if you hired internal IT staff.
Outsourcing IT support services for your business puts you face-to-face with veteran IT professionals with wide experience who are dedicated to serving your specific business objectives. There is no need for any training or expensive certifications because they are already highly trained and certified.
What’s the Best Choice For Your Business?
The IT skills gap will increase as more and more business depend on technology for their day-to-day operations. The cost of hiring internal IT staff will grow as well. More and more small to mid-sized businesses are utilizing IT support services in this day and age to gain a competitive advantage. We only expect that trend to continue.
As the adoption of IT support services increases, so will the partnership between IT department and IT vendor. Internal IT departments can accomplish key initiatives and deliverables through the outsourcing of IT support services. Outsourcing is often the best choice for your business regarding time efficiency and cost.
How TechKnowledgey Can Help
The demands of IT and tech are becoming more and more complicated each and every year. TechKnowledgey is Michiana’s best IT support services provider. We help many businesses accomplish their unique goals and objectives. How nice would it be to stop worrying about IT problems and start focusing on scaling your business? TechKnowledgey wants to partner with you to accomplish those goals. Just give us a call at 574-971-4267 or chat with us today!