Business owners today continually look to improve productivity and efficiency in their company by simplifying their operating model.
One area where simplification has become increasingly important is IT. Managing IT can become increasingly difficult as companies have to address multiple issues such as cybersecurity, cloud services, data storage & access, communications, customer experience (UX), network configuration, and a host of other problems.
How are companies overcoming these issues? By outsourcing their IT to reputable Pittsburgh technology companies. With all the benefits of outsourcing your IT to specialists, there can also be some potential drawbacks. Let’s look at some pros and cons of outsourcing IT services in Pittsburgh.
Pros of Working With A Great IT Services Company in Pittsburgh
You Save Money in Operational Costs
If you are like most business owners, you are continually trying to find ways to save money in operating costs. Think for a moment about the cost associated with hiring an in-house IT department per employee:
- Salaries
- Benefits
- Training
- Equipment
- Facilities
When you outsource IT, you eliminate these costs instantly, which can equate to thousands of dollars in savings each month. According to a recent Forrester study, companies that outsource services such as IT save 12%-17% in operating expenses. If you require a large-scale IT infrastructure, your savings could increase.
You Can Focus on Running Your Business
Every team member in your organization must discern which tasks are worth their time and which tasks they need to delegate to someone else. Rather than shuffling these responsibilities from one staff member to another, companies are now outsourcing them to specialists who can handle the tasks better than the in-house employees.
IT is one of those areas that people in your organization either don’t have time for or don’t possess the skill to manage. Any attempt to handle IT issues, make any upgrades or learn new technology often ends in disaster.
Outsourcing Pittsburgh technology companies allows you and your team to focus on the most crucial aspects of your business without being distracted by technology. An IT consultant can handle the most critical areas of IT that sustain your business:
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud platforms
- Communications & mobile devices
- Business continuity & disaster response
- Data storage & sharing
Having a backup team that targets IT issues frees your team to focus on other areas of your business that are crucial to your success.
You Can Count on a Scalable IT Infrastructure
Digital transformation doesn’t just occur when your company decides to shift from a manual process to a digital process. That is just the beginning. Instead, digital transformation is an ongoing means of utilizing technology to springboard a company from one phase of growth into the next. The only way that this can happen without disruption is by creating a scalable IT infrastructure throughout the entire organization.
What do we mean by scalable? Simply put, scalability is the capability of your current system, network, or digital process to accommodate corporate growth in any area of your business. The best example of scalability today is cloud-based services or platforms. Cloud services seem to provide endless possibilities for collaboration, file-sharing, data storage, communication, and customer service regardless of how much or how fast your business grows.
However, not all areas of IT can accommodate corporate development so easily. What happens to your cybersecurity when you suddenly add an entire department to your company? How do you adjust your communication system when you want to adopt new technology? Where do you turn to when you need additional storage, and you don’t want to store your files on-site?
These are issues that Pittsburgh technology companies face regularly. Therefore, their role in helping your company grow is to provide scalable solutions that can accommodate business growth at any turn regardless of how large or how sudden. Rather than a, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, approach to IT, technology companies already assume that the ‘bridge’ is coming and create a network model to handle it in advance. This happens in the background while your team is running your business.
You Always Get the Right Vendors and Products
Outsourcing IT services means that you trust someone else to find the best products and services in technology today. An IT provider sources the right products and vendors for your company so that you don’t have to. You place your faith in their expertise and make decisions based on expert recommendations.
For best results, you should choose IT service providers who have a holistic view of your data and a proactive approach to technological disruption. They should be able to identify which products can:
- Protect your data
- Improve your internal processes
- Help you connect and communicate more efficiently
- Become a catalyst for business development
- Stabilize your technology infrastructure
- Leverage your company to compete in your industry
Cons Of Poor IT Services In Pittsburgh
You Have Less Direct Control Over Your IT
Trusting your IT with another company means relinquishing some or all control of your technology and placing it in someone else’s hands. While this may provide relief for some business owners, it can also create tension and stress with others.
Sooner or later, however, you will have to trust your IT provider if you decide to outsource your IT responsibilities. There are some ways you can overcome the trust hurdle and give up less control over your IT.
- Hire the most trustworthy, reputable IT company in Pittsburgh that you can find. Do not settle for a company that has not earned trust or established a strong reputation in the industry.
- Maintain a healthy line of communication with your provider. Communication will be the single most significant factor in establishing trust.
- Be willing to discuss your trust issues and concerns. Your IT consultant deals with these issues every day. They will understand and be able to provide solutions.
Your Expectations vs. What a Company Delivers
One of the most significant issues that arise with outsourcing your IT is a breakdown between your expectations and what a company delivers. Part of the reason why this gap occurs is that some companies are exceptional at advertising their products and services, but not so good at actually delivering on their promises. Another reason why you may experience disappointment with an IT provider is that you didn’t practice due diligence when searching for the right company.
Due diligence means that you undertake a rigorous screening process in finding the right IT company.
- Discuss education, certification, and other credentials.
- Look for online customer reviews.
- Get references from previous clients.
- Ask for a portfolio of past or current projects.
- Ask about the companies previous experience.
IT Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Right Hand partners with businesses across the Greater Pittsburgh Area to discover and implement IT solutions that protect the networks and data while fostering business growth. We want to help you become more efficient and profitable through the use of computers, mobile devices, servers and other technology that drive our world today.
To find out more about how we can help you with your IT infrastructure, then contact us today at (412) 254-4448. You can also message us at info@rhtg.net or start an online chat. We are here to help you!