It is no secret that the in house vs. outsourced IT support debate rages on. This article offers a few insights into why both approaches are becoming increasingly popular.
With the advent of web-based technologies, web based IT support has become much more prevalent. And that is because it is so easy to do it from your own home computer and not have to invest large sums of money on having your own in house staff or contract outsourced IT support. If you need help with your technology needs, online resources and knowledge are easier to come by than ever before.
And this of course leaves a consumer wondering which approach is best: in house or outsourcing?
The answer is that there is no one “best” way to do it. Every customer has their own set of specific needs, priorities and requirements.
So it is not as simple as saying “in the house is better”outsource is better”. Rather, we should be evaluating the specific situations of our customers and trying to understand what would be more advantageous for them to achieve their IT support needs.
IT support is something that should not be taken lightly. As such, it requires careful consideration, research and analysis in order to obtain the best possible solution for our customers. Therefore, we must be aware of where in house vs. outsourced IT support will provide the best value.
For a lot of organizations, there is simply no other option than in the house. These organizations have taken it upon themselves to hire a dedicated IT support staff and contract out all or most of the IT support tasks. And the thing about that is that they usually end up making bad decisions. Why?
Many companies have their IT support professionals work in-house because it is cheaper. Yet, at the same time, it creates a dependency that may eventually lead to bad decisions because it is the only option available. You cannot make any real progress if you do not hire external IT experts who can best meet your specific needs.
Also, many in house IT support staff make poor choices because they are pressured by the owner and managers to find as many answers to a specific question as possible. By making decisions based solely on cost, they sometimes come up with solutions that are not best for the company and its needs. Not only does this create poor performance, but it also often leaves the in house IT support staff understaffed and not able to keep up with their growing workload.
Beware of the Cost of In House IT Support
A key reason why in house IT support is expensive is because of the overhead expenses. These costs typically include buying equipment, training staff, salaries and insurance premiums. In most cases, these in house IT support costs can easily exceed the value of the actual IT support services provided.
Outsourcing means that you can outsource all of the in house support functions, but still retain the knowledge and experience that is required to provide the best IT support for your organization. Of course, you will not be able to generate as much business or revenue as you would if you had done it yourself. However, you will be able to offer more value for your customers.
This is not to say that outsourcing is always the better option than in house vs. outsourced. It simply means that there are some specific situations in which the in house vs. outsourced debate is not the right one to have.
Some of the best choices for your IT support are ones that allow you to maintain the expertise that you have already built up over the years, while ensuring that you can continue to grow and compete in the market. The bottom line is that, you need to be very careful when making a decision.
