Starting your own business is an exciting prospect. Of course, along with the perks of being your own boss and the possibility of drawing an enormous paycheck, there come many responsibilities as well. One of them is considering the type of small business IT services you would want to use for your fledgling company.
These days, finding the service that’s the right fit for you can be a make-or-break factor in your company’s success. Some companies prefer to have an in-house IT team, while others prefer to rely on an outside party for these services. Still, other people opt for managed IT services. Depending on your company’s needs and economic viability, you could choose from a number of options.Read on to find out more about each of these options.
In-house IT support staff
This option means that you hire IT personnel as a part of your company. Like any other employee, they will come to the office (your business) every day and will be ready to handle whatever IT issues you face.
Pros: When you have an in-house staff, they are catering to your needs only. From the minute they walk into the office, they will be at your disposable. You will not get that option if you outsource your IT services where you could be second, third or even tenth on their list of clients for that day. Your expenses remain even throughout the year.
This means that regardless of the work the support staff members are doing – whether it’s something simple like fixing a printer or a complex task like upgrading your entire network – it will all be covered in their monthly salary.
Cons: Having a salaried IT support staff is a double-edged sword in some ways. Yes, all the tasks they do are covered in their salary, but this same salary can burn a hole in your pocket. For instance, their salary will cover sick leave, vacations, and bonuses among other costs. Infrastructure and other hidden costs will creep in as well. This includes office space, telephone lines, computers, etc.
Moreover, most small businesses tend to have a small support staff. This translates into the staff members having a smaller area of expertise. If it’s a two-member team, for instance, they might know about security issues or servers between the two of them. However, it will be impossible to expect them to have expertise in all areas of IT, which could lead to further problems.
Using an IT support service
This means that you use the trained IT professionals of an IT support-providing company. Usually, they charge an hourly rate and additional costs based on the complexity of the problem that needs to be fixed.
Pros: As we mentioned above, when you have a salaried employee, there are a variety of year-round costs, including things like medical benefits and bonuses. However, if you choose to outsource your work, you will be paying only for the cost of each IT task. This will cut down on your overall cost to the company.
Other things like finding qualified staff, training them etc are also eliminated. In addition, such small business IT services normally have an around-the-clock help desk. If you’re up at 4 am with server issues, you can count on such services – a liberty you cannot take with your salaried employees.
Moreover, a full-fledged IT service company will have a talent pool of employees who have diverse skills. Depending on what problem you’re facing, they will be able to send someone who’s at the top of his game in that field. In this sense, you have a guaranteed expert handling your difficulties.
Cons: As outsiders, such IT services are not in tune with your company’s needs and problems. A lot of your time will be spent telling them about the problems and if there are any specific needs of your team. A risk that many owners must consider when bringing in a third party into their business is information security. IT personnel will have access to network security, but this risk can be eliminated by thoroughly vetting the company beforehand.
Managed Small Business IT services
This can be seen as the compromise between having an in-house support staff and outsourcing your IT work. With this option, you make a contract with a company in which it will provide you with certain services and you will pay it a regular fee. The list of services it provides will be predetermined on the outset of the partnership.
Pros: By paying a regular free, your monthly expenses for IT will be stable. You’ll be cutting down on the fringe expenses that you would have had to pay an employee like conveyance allowances and, at the same time, you wouldn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket for some unforeseen major IT problem by outsourcing the problem.
Unlike the case of an independent IT company that only looks into your problems when you call them, managed IT services will monitor your company’s IT performance and alert you ahead of time if it spots an emerging problem.
Cons: Similar to outsourcing your work, there is an issue of trust. You will have to hand over much of your company information security to an outside party. As suggested earlier, this obstacle can be tackled by checking out the credentials of the company and relying on references of people you trust. Relying on a managed IT service also leaves you at a competitive disadvantage. In the digital age, if your company has exemplary IT services, it will beat out
Relying on a managed IT service also leaves you at a competitive disadvantage. In the digital age, if your company has exemplary IT services, it will beat out competition. However, if the IT service provider you are working with is giving the same services to your competitor, the playing field gets leveled to your disadvantage.
A variety of factors, including costs, competitive edge and security concerns, will determine the small business IT services that you eventually use. Before you settle on any one method, you should try talking to various service providers to understand the packages they offer and whether they will be able to address your concerns. Based on that, you will be able to figure out which option works the best for you.
