it support

IT support services have become a necessity for Chicago-based businesses today. For starters, they offer a competitive edge in the highly competitive Chicago-based market.

Furthermore, this is informed by the wide range of essential services offered by Managed IT Support firms. Some of the wide range of services offered include:

  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Backup & Disaster Recovery
  • Network Management
  • IT Infrastructure Management
  • Remote Monitoring & Management
  • Cloud Services
  • Compliance & Regulatory Assistance
  • IT Consulting & Strategy
  • Vendor Management
  • Endpoint Security Management
  • User Training & Education
  • Business Continuity Planning

The above-listed is a lot but nowhere near the end of what these establishments do. Considering that all businesses in Chicago Illinois require some of these services, outsourcing for IT support in Chicago, Illinois, or anywhere else in the state or elsewhere is a great idea. You will learn some of the benefits of going this route if you continue reading.

Reasons Why Outsourcing IT Support Makes Sense for Chicago Businesses

The IT needs of every business are primarily determined by two things – the business’s area of core competence and its operational scale. Regardless, every Chicago-based business has IT needs. Furthermore, a lot lies in the quality of rendered IT services.

In light of this, no stone should be left unturned in getting premium services. This is why outsourcing is strongly advised, as opposed to engaging in-house staff members for this purpose. Some of the reasons for this stance include the following:

1. Reduced Expenses

Every business has a goal of generating a lot of revenue (making a profit). On the other hand, every business has expenses that eat into generated profit. IT services are one of such expenses in light of how important they are.

Be that as it may, businesses will be well able to reduce how much they spend catering to these needs if they outsource them. The reason is that hiring in-house staff members to attend to these tasks is more expensive. Some of the reasons why it is more expensive include the following:

  • Salary & Benefits
  • Recruitment & On-boarding Costs – Including having to recruit based on specialized expertise
  • Training & Development
  • Overhead Expenses – Such as allocation of office space
  • Infrastructure & Equipment Costs

Outsourcing is a lot more cost-effective because the same people offer their services to other businesses, besides yours. You can click here for more on this subject.

The good part is that reduced expenses do not translate to substandard services. Fortunately, some of the subsequent parts of this article do justice to this.

2. Focus on Business’s Area of Core Competence

Division of labor largely contributes to an establishment’s growth. Furthermore, the division of labor based on competence makes it much better. This is one of the reasons outsourcing these tasks makes a lot of sense.

For one, in-house staff members will have more or all the time needed to focus on the business’s area of core competence. Companies that engage in-house staff members for these tasks cannot say the same.

This is because some of the time required for addressing core operations will have to be shared executing certain operations. This could be operations such as management of IT infrastructure and troubleshooting of technical issues.

3. Expertise

One of the mysteries of Information Technology is that it is very diverse. As a result, it is almost impossible for one professional to know and understand everything relating to it. To this end, there would be a need to engage professionals with varying expertise in the IT field.

This can be very disadvantageous for businesses that go the IT route. For example, there may be a need to engage professionals with training and experience in cybersecurity, cloud management, hardware maintenance, vendor management, and a couple of others.

Hiring in-house means you have to bear the cost of having all these professionals (full-time), which can be very ridiculous. On the other hand, Managed IT support firms usually have a great pool of these professionals. As a result, you can leverage varying expertise, whenever needed.

4. Increased Efficiency & Productivity

Coming to terms with how much outsourcing IT services increases efficiency and productivity is very easy in light of the discussions so far. For example, your operations can be positively streamlined since in-house staff members have very little or nothing to worry about as touching IT tasks.

Also, technology-related complications that cause downtimes are usually avoided. However, risk mitigation also happens swiftly whenever these complications arise.

5. Regulatory Compliance

There are regulations relevant to how IT should be engaged in businesses. Of course, this is usually industry-specific.

For example, healthcare service providers are bound by regulations as enshrined in HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). For more information about HIPAA, you can visit: https://www.hhs.gov/.

By and large, Managed IT support firms are usually aware of these requirements and work towards ensuring that you fully comply with them. As a result, you are not likely to get on the wrong side of the law.

Conclusion

Outsourcing is the way to go for Chicago-based businesses interested in getting the best IT services. This is why some of the benefits of outsourcing IT tasks instead of hiring in-house staff members to execute these tasks have been discussed here. So, start making informed decisions from now on.