How do I choose an outsourced IT partner?

Tips on choosing an outsourced IT partner

microsolve-outsourcing-itWelcome to our 4-part series on the Benefits of Outsourcing Your IT.
In this four-part series we will look at:

  1. What to ask yourself before making any decisions
  2. When is the right timing for outsourcing your IT?
  3. What are the advantages of outsourcing to an IT services company?
  4. How to choose the right IT Outsource provider.

In part three of our series Benefits of Outsourcing my IT we look at the advantages of outsourcing your IT to a company that is set-up to become your external partner in IT.

One of the biggest advantages of outsourcing your IT needs to a company that specialises in IT services is that it ensures you are getting a wider range of expertise than you would otherwise get from a single IT technician or a small team of IT professionals.

An IT outsourcing company will generally have a larger pool of resources, providing better coverage and economies of scale than internal IT employees.

When using outsourced IT support you always have a team of experts on call, ensuring you don’t struggle with lack of support because staff are off sick or have taken holidays. 

Outsourced IT providers have teams with a diverse range of skills that can handle a more varied spectrum of tasks. This ensures all of your requirements are met without the expense and delays that can be associated with relying on one or a few staff members with a limited skillset.

You can choose to outsource your information technology needs to a flat rate IT service provider and reduce your monthly and overall costs.

Third party IT specialists have experience in acting as the Service Desk for specialised software and network security. Their engineers have a breadth of experience in most IT skillsets and will quickly come up-to-speed with any IT product or service.

Specialised IT companies can identify, diagnose and fix problems remotely or onsite, providing a fast reaction Service Desk, emergency hands on, onsite response when required.

Outsourcing companies use internationally respected partners to help implement new software, mobile technologies and also secure your back-up and recovery strategies.

An outsourcing IT company will help with your setup and architecture, so systems fit together avoiding problems further down the track.

Through proactive monitoring support, technicians also work to identify the root cause of any issues rather than just finding a “quick fix”.

And when time is of the essence (and isn’t that always the case?) having a 24/7 help line minimises turnaround time.

Another advantage is that third party consultants can also be engaged on a short-term project basis or in a long-term advisory capacity depending on your specific needs.

Next in this series: How do I choose an outsourced IT partner?