Whenever you make a decision to seek additional IT support for your organisation, you face a choice between hiring a new member to your team or outsourcing to a managed IT services company.
There are no hard-and-fast rules telling you when to hire and when you should look for outside help; both have their pros and cons, and all you can do is weigh these up on a case-by-case basis.
But taking the time to do this properly is important, as the difference between adding a new employee to your team and looking to outsourced IT services can have a huge impact on your day-to-day operations and, ultimately, your bottom line.
The case for hiring
Adding a new employee to your team makes sense if you are looking for full-time resource, and you don’t necessarily have modern infrastructure that lends itself to remote monitoring. Indeed, many of our clients have a dedicated team of in-house staff, which they then augment with outsourced specialists. With this method, you have greater flexibility if on-site overtime is needed, or if you need staff to be constantly walking floors.
There are always going to be difficulties when hiring; culture change, training costs and knowledge retention are just three. It can also be challenging – but not impossible – to hire resource for specialised or legacy tools. The last thing you want is to hire someone who’s only going to be needed occasionally, or have one person responsible for a critical tool that could go down while they’re on holiday.
The benefits of managed IT services
In general, outsourcing your IT support will involve a simpler ‘onboarding’ process. Finding outsourced IT support companies is more straightforward than the recruitment process, and you do not take responsibility for the training and integration of a new person. This is all replaced by a straightforward contract agreement that covers your systems, expectations and future plans, and it can incorporate everything from planning, through to meetings, monitoring and documentation.
Managed IT services also tend to be staffed by specialists with a wide range of experience across many projects, so can bring a depth of understanding and knowledge which will be an extra benefit to your project. They also offer teams of consultants, so there is a guarantee of continuation in support – you do not have to factor in holidays, sickness or longer service leaves.
Looking to outsourced IT support or management makes sense if your costs need to be predictable, since we provide fixed fees that cover all emergencies or disasters. It can make sense to smaller businesses needing some support without incurring additional recruitment costs, or if the knowledge you need is difficult to recruit for, or a satellite product to your main technologies.
Find out more
WellData offers a wide range of managed IT services, including outsourced database support. We pride ourselves in offering the best expertise for a fixed, affordable rate. To discuss your options for outsourcing your IT support, get in touch with our team of experts today.
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