IT Outsourcing- A Smart Way to Reduce Costs and Increase Focus on Your Business.

IT outsourcing is a business strategy that allows enterprises to focus on their core business activities where they have a competitive advantage. Companies achieve this by outsourcing the non-core activities to third parties. 

 IT outsourcing helps small and medium-sized businesses to get quality work done at a lower cost. It also opens new opportunities for them to concentrate on their core activities.  

 i2e is an IT service provider with a team of experts who are certified in technologies such as SharePoint, VR & AR, Tableau, SAP, etc. Our team will understand your business and implement solutions that fit exactly in your business model. 

There are many types of IT outsourcing, curious to know what they are. Then, read on as we tell you all that you need to know about IT outsourcing. 

IT Outsourcing Models 

Which Services do Companies Usually Outsource? 

Companies usually outsource non-core business processes and those that support the core services.  

• IT requirements: In this modern era, IT has become a crucial support service for the functioning of the business. IT service providers can help configure, monitor, and maintain the IT systems including network servers, computers, and laptops. They also provide technical support and solve technical glitches. 

• Employee onboarding: You can outsource the activities required while onboarding new employees. With an increase in work from home situations, services such as license procurement and assignment, hardware procurement, OS and AV installations, SSO configuration, etc., can be given away to third parties who carry the expertise. 

• Administrative tasks: These include the day-to-day activities that are necessary for the core business functions.  Policy rule configuration in O635 admin centers, app protection, and conditional access configuration, work from home infrastructure configuration, and asset tracking are some of the administrative tasks which can be managed by an IT service provider. 

• Remote support: While you take care of the core business activities, you can delegate the support tasks which can help your employees perform better. Some of the supporting tasks include a help desk portal for remote support, security configuration, development of chatbots for automated support. 

• Staffing: You can hire the best professionals as per your project demands without the hassles of the recruitment process. With IT outsourcing, you will have the flexibility to expand your team without investing in overheads. 

• Hosting services: If you are a manufacturer who is trying to sell products online, you can outsource the hosting to an IT service provider. The managed IT services usually consist of Webhosting, Private VPS, Cloud hosting, etc. 

• Networking and backup:  It is advisable to have a reliable source to look after your networking and backup functions, but you need not overspend on it. The managed IT services company will look after the Firewall setup, VPN configuration, full and incremental backups, etc. 

Now that you are aware of which services can be outsourced, next we will tell you the things to keep in mind while choosing a managed IT service provider. 

Things To Keep in Mind While Searching for Managed IT Service Provider 

It is important to hire the best IT service provider, as the success of your project depends on them. Here are a few aspects to keep in mind while searching for an IT service provider. 

1. It is crucial to assess the company’s size. This factor depends on the nature of the product. For example, if it is a major product, then go with a medium-to-large player in the market as they would have the numbers and expertise. But if your project is a simple one, then go with a smaller player as you would get a competitive quote. 

2. Know their expertise and compare it with the skill set that is lacking within your company. One way to do it is checking their certifications. 

3. Communication plays a key role in IT outsourcing. Understand their communication and collaboration capabilities before entering into an agreement with them. 

4. Evaluate their past work to understand the way they complete their projects. You can also pursue their references to understand their core values better. 

Along with getting the task done with half the estimated cost (if done in-house), IT outsourcing also helps the company to learn new skills, get expert advice and deliver projects within the timelines. So, it is a clever business strategy to delegate the lesser important tasks so that you can focus on your business.