If the writing isn’t quite on the wall the signs may well be there!

In many firms, IT is a tricky area. It’s complex, costly and impossible to ignore. It needs continual vigilance and good oversight to make sure it functions well. One of the biggest headaches is support.

For one person, or possibly a two people IT team, in an SMB looking after up to 100 people, to successfully stay on top of all aspects of technology, at all times, is often an unrealistic proposition. Here are five tell-tale signs it’s time to outsource IT support:

1. Unresolved IT issues building up

Backlogs of unresolved problems can quickly pile up. This may be the root cause of disquiet amongst the workforce. Frustrated IT managers continually caught up in firefighting and very unhappy users dealing with the consequences of missed deadlines may be an incendiary combination.

Outsourcing IT Support prevents in-house IT managers and small support teams becoming ensnared by backlogged support issues. The arrangement enables the resources of the MSPs larger, more widely experienced team to be deployed to resolve problems more quickly and efficiently.

2. There’s a failure to prioritise and/or respond in a timely fashion

If IT support issues are not attended to efficiently, correctly prioritised and resolved in line with business dependencies, then IT support is in danger of being viewed as dysfunctional and unfit for purpose.

Outsourcing IT Support to a good MSP enables SLAs to define the priorities and determine the response and fix time. It contractually obligates the MSP to resolve problems to meet the needs of the firm.

3. Getting support from IT vendors is slow 

IT managers and small teams in SMB businesses often deal directly with large suppliers and vendors. However, SMBs tend to come low down the list of priorities when big companies have bigger fish to fry. Large customers get prioritised and smaller companies seem to get treated second best.

Outsourcing IT Support to a dedicated MSP lets you access services of specialist ‘trade’ IT companies that have supplier accreditation, strong relationships, and better access to support for vendor dependent solutions to IT problems.

4. Suspect your business is underperforming due to outdated technology

Sales may be slower, turnover down and negative growth might seem an immovable object; there is a range of KPIs that might indicate the poor performance of a business. The cause? If you’re satisfied with your people, you might find yourself questioning whether your technology has fallen behind.

Outsourcing IT support provides the time the in-house IT function of an SMB needs to be able to keep abreast of the latest advances in technology. This helps ensure the workforce has access to the most up to date technology tools. Technology trends such as mobility, automation, and machine learning are revolutionising many business processes. To keep up with the competition it is essential to obtain a competitive advantage that the right technologies provide.

5. Strategic planning for IT development is poor or non-existent

IT is continually evolving and firms have to be responsive and aware of the impact and implications for the ongoing and future use of technology within the business. Frequently, firms, where IT support is reactive and caught up in firefighting, are likely to have underdeveloped strategic IT plans.

Outsourcing IT support frees up IT managers and teams in SMBs to deliver more value to the business. The key aspects here are being more strategic, customer-facing and high level. From a strategic perspective, amongst other things, this allows the development of the technology road map to make sure technologies that confer competitive advantage are adopted.

Outsourcing IT Support for 10 - 100 people businesses with HTL

For many businesses in which IT is not a core business activity, looking after the technology which supports the firm’s operations is an unwelcome distraction. Offloading this non-core function is perhaps one of the smartest things an SMB can possibly do. 

HTL is trusted by dozens of small and medium-sized businesses to provide better, more timely and effective support that makes for happier users, a more strategically empowered in-house IT function and a better performing business.

To see how we can help you, simply get in touch today.

Click here for more about our IT support services.