More and more businesses are outsourcing IT support to managed service providers. But still, some remain reluctant to bring in a third party. It’s a big decision, and we want to help.
At BDR, we’ve been providing managed IT services for years. This has given us plenty of insight into what customers need. It’s also taught us that outsourced IT is incredibly flexible, and beneficial to all sorts of businesses, whether or not they’ve got in-house IT teams.
With that in mind, we’ve put together our top seven reasons to consider a managed service provider for your business IT.
1. Expertise
Just consider all the things a modern-day IT manager has to know about. There’s hardware, software, cybersecurity, patch management, infrastructure, customer databases, network management, telecoms…
We could go on, but you get the point. Modern businesses are totally dependent on ICT, and any knowledge gaps can be a real problem. If it’s not optimised, you’ll find it very hard to run at full speed. Worse still, your infrastructure could be vulnerable to cyber-crime or outages, with even worse consequences.
With outsourced IT support from BDR, you’ll have all the expertise you need as soon as our relationship starts! Quite simply, we can fill the IT knowledge gaps in your business, keeping you running smoothly and safe.
2. Complement your existing IT team
Some people still see a managed service provider and in-house IT team as mutually exclusive. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We frequently work hand in hand with an in-house IT team.
There could be all sorts of reasons why our customers need this. They might have a big IT project coming up and need more hands on deck. It could be filling a knowledge gap, which relates to our previous point.
This is a huge benefit of outsourcing IT. If you’ve got in-house support, you can bring in the service you need to ensure they’re not overwhelmed. This keeps you running come what may.
3. Save costs
In-house IT teams are expensive. We’ve covered the complications and inconvenience of recruitment, training and management. What we haven’t covered is that these things cost money!
For a lot of businesses, handling all their modern IT needs in-house is simply too expensive. This includes large enterprises too. Their IT requirements are highly complex, and costs can spiral if everything’s kept in-house.
But if you outsource these tasks, you’re only paying for what you need and nothing more. It’s also worth considering the costs that arise from neglecting your infrastructure. Ultimately you’ll suffer more downtime, which is a huge waste of time and money. BDR can help you keep it to a minimum.
4. Getting a second opinion
Let’s face it – over time your IT infrastructure can take on a life of its own. Over the years, businesses change naturally. They grow. IT managers come and go. Technology changes. As the years pass, it’s natural that your IT infrastructure could end up being a little incoherent, from the software you use to your network.
This is where a second opinion really comes in handy. What you get is an expert assessment of your infrastructure from objective outsiders. At BDR, we can give you a proper overview of what works, what doesn’t and what we can do to resolve it.
5. Simplicity
Think of an in-house IT team. You’ve got to recruit them and train them. Some will move on, in which case you have to replace them. You also need the institutional knowledge to assess and appraise their work. This is not simple or easy – outsourcing IT is!
If you bring BDR in, there’s no need to train us up – you’re getting experienced, accredited IT specialists from day one. We won’t go on holiday, and you won’t need to upskill or replace us. Ultimately, our services are about making your life simpler!
6. Flexibility
Another complication of managing all your IT in-house is workload. In most businesses, IT workloads aren’t consistent or steady. They’ll peak and trough as projects come and go.
If you keep your IT team small, you risk overwhelming them when workloads peak. But if you recruit more people, they could be twiddling their thumbs for the rest of the year – at your expense. Of course you can bring in freelancers or temps, but here you’ve got the inconveniences of recruitment and training that we’ve already mentioned.
A managed service provider like BDR can make these problems go away. Quite simply, you get the support you need, when you need it – no more, no less. We can offer everything from 24/7 monitoring to occasional, time-limited support. That way you’re not over-paying or under-resourced.
7. Productivity
It’s stating the obvious to say that businesses rely heavily on ICT. But it’s worth taking a step back to consider the extent of our reliance on connectivity and computing. It touches practically every part of modern business: communication, admin, sales, accounts…
This is a strength – ultimately we use all this tech because it makes us more efficient. But it brings vulnerabilities too. Any downtime is a big problem, because it’s all cost and no gain. And if your infrastructure isn’t optimised, downtime is much more likely.
At BDR we can help prevent that. Our experts will make you more resilient, which in turn means less downtime and more productivity.
Partnering with BDR
We hope this has given you some insight into the benefits of outsourced IT. Here at BDR, we’ve helped customers of all sectors and sizes to optimise their IT. Whatever support your business needs, we can help. Get in touch today to find out more.