7 Reasons You Should Outsource Your IT Helpdesk
Most modern businesses rely heavily on technology, which means that they need support processes that can rapidly fix problems. Some companies choose to manage IT support services internally, but it’s now increasingly common for organizations to outsource this work. If you are thinking of moving to an outsourced IT support model, consider the seven following benefits of working in this way.
Reduces your operating costs
The IT outsourcing market is very competitive, which keeps prices low, and means that your business could save a considerable amount of money by switching to this way of working. If you choose to keep up support services internally, you must bear the cost of recruitment, training and hardware for these IT employees. A fixed cost outsourcing contract means that you can save money and more easily manage your annual operating costs.
Improves response times
Outsourced help desk support teams use a variety of tools to resolve problems efficiently. For example, remote access allows support people to take control of a user’s PC and fix any issues as soon as the person raises a call. An outsourcing contract will also include a service level agreement, against which you can apply financial penalties if the supplier does not meet targets. You will also have access to all the data that you need to measure supplier performance.
Reduces repeat calls
Your business may use many different systems, which makes it difficult to keep in-house resource that is able to deal with any type of problem. An outsourced supplier will offer fully skilled people to help tackle issues and fix problems. Trained case handlers will also make sure that complicated issues are properly resolved, which reduces the time your people will spend chasing up faults.
Offers the benefit of industry experts
Unless your core business is IT, it is unlikely that you will want to continue to invest in keeping up-to-date with industry standards. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and an IT services supplier will always keep up with these developments. By using an outsourced service, your business will benefit from the latest industry knowledge, and most suppliers will also offer advice about ways that you can develop your business. This helps you hold a competitive edge, which is great news for your customers and your profits.
Enables your business to focus on its core aims
It’s vital that your leaders and managers are able to focus their efforts on improving your products and services. IT issues can easily divert people away from their normal jobs, as they have to spend time fixing or escalating faults. When you use an outsourced supplier, you take the accountability for dealing with these issues away from your teams. With an outsourced IT help desk supplier managing any technical issues, your people can focus on delivering the best products and services to your customers.
Improves support outside normal working hours
If your core working hours are from nine to five, it’s not easy to keep up in-house support for your systems outside these times. If you don’t have help desk support available out of office hours, your customers may experience frustrating problems with systems, and that’s bad news for your turnover. An outsourced supplier will offer you support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which gives you the peace of mind that there is always somebody available to help your customers.
Makes it easy to respond to changes in demand
A successful campaign or product launch is great news for business growth, but it may cause a headache for an internal IT help desk if there is a sudden peak in calls from customers. An outsourced supplier is able to react to this demand much more quickly, and will have resources available to scale up or down as the need arises. It’s extremely difficult to do this efficiently when you rely on permanent internal resources.
An outsourced supplier could offer a much more cost-effective way to manage your IT support services. Internal teams are costly and inefficient to keep over time, and they can also divert critical resources from much more valuable activities. Review how you support your employees and customers and consider paying an expert to give you the critical help desk services that you rely on.
Ian Zafra
May 29, 2015 @ 6:29 am
Must read article! Great lists of reasons to outsource your IT help desk. What I like most about IT helpdesk, is that they offer the benefit of the expert.
Scott
March 14, 2017 @ 2:58 pm
I like that you point out that you will have a 24/7 service available by outsourcing the IT needs. I can see why this would ensure that your customers and employees don’t have to wait until the next business day to get the help they need. You might even consider adding this info to your website or ads so that your clients know.