It’s a question that we are often asked in Technology Support 24/7, why would you look to outsource your IT support for the business, versus bringing in a dedicated IT Manager? Surely, having a dedicated IT Manager in the business, means that someone is there 24/7 to support your business; doesn’t it?
There are several reasons why you might look to outsource your IT support, but one of the main reasons is really in the ability to access resource, in a flexible, agile and cost efficient manner, through utilising a shared resource, in the form of a MSP, Managed Service Provider, often on a 24/7, 365 days a year basis; to best meet the needs and wants of your organisation’s needs.
When looking to develop an IT support function, appropriate to your business, we are driven not only by customer service levels but the cost as well. When looking to build an internal IT function, often one person just isn’t able to provide the support required. What if they are ill?. What if there are several projects at any one time, taking people away from their desks, how do they develop their skillset across 1st, 2nd and 3rd line support functions?. The answer is simple; with the best intentions in the world, they are going to struggle. From handling password resets, through to rebuilds of laptops, and ensuring the security patches are up to date on the servers; to supporting staff working from home and setting up their home offices. In this new world of working the list continues to grow. Being reliant on one member of the team to complete these tasks represents a risk to the organisation.
Research has shown that to be able to offer a complete solution internally to the organisation, the number of individuals in the team is three, as a minimum level, ideally across the 1st, 2nd and 3rd line support, with 3rd line often acting as the team manager. In smaller organisations, to operate and support the team overall, using some market estimate figures, in the recruitment space, this means that the cost of the team, to support 65-130 individual users, will be seen as in the region of £135,000 per annum, plus the cost of setup, one off CAPEX costs, such as computers, desks, chairs and other ancillaries; this is based on the assumption of course, that office space is available in the existing office floor space. So, over the course of five years of support, the cost be some £695,000; assuming of course, that the team does not grow over that period, or requirements change. In cases where further expertise is required, this can easily exceed a £1m, over the five years.
This is in comparison to a support contract over the same period, which the business utilises the shared resource, of a dedicated, IT Support business, such as Technology Support 24/7. Here, you are able to gain access to a team of highly specialised individuals, with whom you are able to scale up and scale down the resource, as required, be this in time of crisis, or indeed, in times when demand might fluctuate, which has been seen recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic, where IT support has been challenged, in providing support across a number of users, in an ever changing environment. All of this, for a third of the same cost, if you were looking to bring your IT support function in house; that’s a saving of some £400,000, over a five-year period, coupled with enhance support and breadth of expertise.
Another key opportunity in working with an IT support company, to support your business, is in the economies of scale that you are able to benefit from This is both in buying power and access to expertise and sharing best practice throughout. In terms of economies of scale, with an IT support business who can buy hardware and software solutions for a number of providers, we are able to drive the cost per unit down, which you wouldn’t be able to achieve without working with a dedicated Technology support business.
How could your business and teams benefit from a fully supported IT Infrastructure? Perhaps its time to talk to Technology Support 24/7.