Is IT outsourcing cheaper than in-house?

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One thing pretty much every business owner should be able to agree on is the importance of staying on top of IT. Whether it’s being aware of the latest IT developments in your particular industry, understanding and using the platforms that will allow you to communicate successfully with clients and suppliers, or keeping your data and systems free from the dangers of hacking and malware, there’s a lot to be aware of and a lot to keep up to date with.

Managing IT can be handled in one of two ways: doing it yourself or outsourcing it to a specialist agency. Many business owners’ natural assumption will be that it’s always going to be cheaper to do it themselves – but when it comes to outsourcing IT support, this isn’t necessarily so. 

What is IT outsourcing?

Quite simply, outsourcing is getting an external specialist to manage a particular aspect of your business operations. For some businesses, that can mean paying others to handle their call handling, digital marketing or recruitment.

IT outsourcing involves employing outside specialists to handle all your IT needs from email systems and cybersecurity to data storage, data retrieval or even providing all the infrastructure (hardware and software) you need to run your business effectively.  

We looked at some of the practical benefits in a previous article, but is IT outsourcing cheaper than in-house? Here are a few reasons why that will often be the case.

Faster solutions = lower development costs

Every time you want to introduce a new IT system or deal with a previously unknown cybersecurity issue, chances are that your in-house IT team will have to start from scratch when it comes to researching solutions. A specialist IT company working with multiple clients across a range of sectors will probably already have come across similar dilemmas and be able to provide a faster, proven way of dealing with them. 

Continuity

IT managers and staff come and go at all businesses. When you lose your in-house IT team, you’re the one that’ll have to pay as new members of the team familiarise themselves with your particular ways of doing things and get bedded in. When you outsource, that’s not your problem, because you’re paying for a service and it’s the responsibility of your provider to ensure they have the people to do it. 

Hardware

If you’re buying all the hardware and software you need to run your business and manage your data, you may find that you have to keep laying out large sums of money on a regular basis as technologies improve and your business grows. IT specialists will often use their own hardware to manage your data, meaning that you don’t need to buy it yourself – which should also mean lower insurance premiums!

More space or smaller premises

And if you don’t have to find somewhere to house all those servers and data rooms, you can make better use of the space you have, or even downgrade to smaller, more affordable premises.

Less downtime

Is there really enough work to keep your IT team employed full time? It’s great to have them there when they’re absolutely needed, but how much of their time is actually spent benefitting you and your business? When you outsource, you only pay for what you need, when you need it.

No recruitment costs 

We’ve already mentioned the issue of staff leaving and needing to be replaced – well, that’s another cost you won’t have to worry about when you outsource your IT needs. Nor will you have to pay two people during any handover period. 

For expert IT support across London, Guildford and Reading, you can’t do better than talk to the team at Pickl. With rolling monthly contracts, 24/7 support and a large team of experienced IT professionals to call on, we’re dedicated to bringing you the help you need when you need it at a realistic and manageable cost.

Call us now to find out more.