There is a point in every small business’s lifecycle when technology becomes integral to the operations of the company. With some organizations, this could be the first day they are in existence. With others, it may be several months to a year or more before technical challenges begin to invade business operations. However, it’s often difficult for small businesses to find the resources to hire one or more full-time IT employees. And even if an SMB has an IT technician in-house, there is often more work than that individual can complete. Today we are going to discuss one possible solution to this challenge — outsourcing your IT helpdesk.
Technology Challenges Are Inescapable
Technology integrates so heavily within our culture that there is no doubt every growing company will face technical challenges. These challenges often crop up slowly. It starts with a backlog of support requests, patches that are applied several months later, or software licenses that are shared “for now.” But each of these small issues is impacting your business’ ability to operate efficiently and effectively. That’s where IT helpdesk support can come in handy.
Even merely managing your software licensing needs can be a challenge when your IT team consists of a single individual or perhaps a few overworked souls. Creating a cohesive strategy for your business requires technical knowledge and input. Still, if the employees you hired for this are focused on keeping the (digital) lights on, it’s tough for them to be strategic in any meaningful way.
By outsourcing IT helpdesk support, you’re effectively taking the weight off of your employees. Giving them more time and energy to focus on other tasks. Leveraging the minds that know your business best in places that they can add real value starts by removing some of the nuisance tasks from their plate and passing them off to individuals who can act upon them promptly. That way, you can take full advantage of the thoughtful advice and research that your internal team can provide to drive the business forward.
What are the Benefits of Outsourcing IT Helpdesk?
Small business owners and leadership wear a variety of hats. Your customer service manager may also be supporting web design. Your operations head is juggling production levels as well as infrastructure and wiring. Many small businesses start by these professionals stretching outside their comfort zones. However, growing into the next level requires a strategic focus within several dimensions. Having a team of IT helpdesk technicians can help your business direct more resources to this strategy, knowing that your technology environment is taken care of.
Your Entire Office Is More Productive
Technology can be fickle, and small problems crop up all the time. From printers not working to connectivity issues or setting up new workstations, there are a seemingly endless number of technical difficulties workers experience every day.
Without IT helpdesk support, many employees have to spend time figuring out these issues themselves. And this can often take up quite a bit of an employee’s day. An individual working in the marketing department most likely isn’t too familiar with the inner mechanics of their hardware. So, when an issue pops up, they have to take precious time away from their actual job responsibilities to figure it out.
With IT helpdesk technicians, they can fix those small technology annoyances in no time. An employee’s phone stopped working? No problem, your technician can often fix that in a matter of minutes. This gives time back to your staff so they can focus on their actual job responsibilities.
Consistent Billing Provides Budgeting Benefits
Another area where outsourcing your IT helpdesk needs can be beneficial is budgeting. Technology budgets can be quite complicated. You’re balancing the reasonable lifecycle of hardware, software, and the unexpected IT needs of the business on an annual basis.
One way that you can add some consistency to your budgeting is by working with an outsourced IT provider. Instead of massive unexpected bills for services that you weren’t anticipating, your technology services provider will work with you on a retainer basis so you can spread your costs more equally throughout the year. This allows for a higher level of predictability when you’re working through your annual budgeting period.
In Conclusion
Whether you have an in-house IT team or not, outsourcing your IT helpdesk needs can be extremely advantageous. With outsourced IT services, your business gains around-the-clock protection for your data and network, robust backup and recovery platforms, access to professionals who can help quickly upgrade hardware and software, and advanced security processes and procedures for your business. Together, you’ll find that your operations and service levels are higher for both internal and external constituents when you’re working with an IT solutions provider to support your everyday business and IT helpdesk needs.
