Do you still handle all the IT operations at your startup? Are you finding it harder to meet all your IT needs in-house? If so, it is important to understand when to outsource IT solutions for your business.
Startups across industries face myriad challenges in the current business environment. A recent survey shows that 90% of startups fail.
If you have a new business, it’s important to appreciate the role of IT in improving your business performance. Adopting IT solutions for a startup helps boost efficiency, security, promote productivity, and meet regulatory requirements, among other things.
However, running a successful IT infrastructure in-house requires a lot of capital. You need a full team to run your IT systems. Your business also has to budget for emerging IT technologies.
Without enough resources, it becomes harder to manage successful IT operations. Now that cash flow problems are the main cause of startup failure, you have to find a quick solution.
Outsourcing your IT is a smart business strategy to overcome financial hurdles. If you want to enjoy the plethora of benefits brought by IT, you need to know when to outsource.
Is It Time to Outsource IT Solutions? The Tell-Tale Signs
Most new business owners try handling all aspects of the business. Without the necessary capacity, handling IT in a startup can lead to chaos. If you want to enjoy the multiple benefits of IT in your business, you have to outsource IT services.
An IT solutions provider offers a wide array of services. They include building the IT infrastructure, software development, software application maintenance, database management, and data backup, and recovery,
These experts also provide IT support, IT BPO, data centers solutions, cloud computing solutions, network administration, among other services.
Outsourced IT will help your startup with cost-cutting, improving risk management, increased availability of your IT systems, higher productivity, and much more.
How do you tell if it is time to outsource IT services? Here are some signs:
1. Rapid Growth for Your Startup
It is the objective of every new business to grow fast. A lot of time and resources goes into building this foundation for success. If your business plan is solid and the market is favorable, you’ll start experiencing growth and meeting your revenue projections.
However, such growth comes with new challenges. In the beginning, it is easy to handle all your IT services in-house. With the expansion of your operations, however, you need more resources, including personnel, technology, and capital to run the show.
This is where a reliable IT solutions provider comes in handy. These professionals help your startup scale smoothly. They provide the necessary expertise and resources you need for your IT services.
2. If IT Negatively Affects Your Core Business
Most entrepreneurs try to cut costs by managing everything in-house. It’s a great idea at the beginning, but with time, it will affect operations.
Your IT services will soon demand more from your employees, which will, in turn, affect efficiency. If more of your employees’ time is now going to offering IT support and maintenance, it’s time to outsource IT work.
Outsourcing your IT operations gets you a full-team of IT experts to handle every aspect of the IT operations. This, in turn, frees your employees to focus on the core business. You can read more here to learn why you need the outsourced IT service and enhance your core business.
3. You Have an IT Skills Gap
IT is important, but due to capital constraints in startups, it doesn’t get a big budget vote. This means a rudimentary IT system without skilled IT personnel.
The small team has to run the core business activities in addition to the IT services. With time, a skill gap will emerge. Your employees will suffer burnout, and the IT system will not help your startup.
At this point, you need to bring in IT professionals to help you scale. Outsourcing your IT solutions helps bridge the IT skills gap. With a professional IT team, you can leverage the benefits of a fully powered IT infrastructure.
If skill shortages have started compromising your business objectives, it’s time to outsource.
4. IT Hiccups are a Problem
If your business operations face intermittent downtime and other IT-related issues, it is time to outsource. When you outsource IT projects, you have a better chance of meeting the client’s expectations, regulatory requirements, among other things.
5. Tight Budget
As your business grows, so will the demand for financial resources. If you have an in-house IT team, you will find it harder to sustain it on a tight budget.
For a startup, cost-cutting should always be a priority. For instance, you can outsource IT service desk as a solution to your IT support issues. This unlocks more resources for your business.
It is cheaper to outsource your IT operations than running a full in-house team. If the cost of an in-house IT team is unsustainable, it is time to outsource.
6. Time to Market Is a Problem
In a highly competitive global business landscape, quick time to market is crucial. If your startup starts experiencing hiccups where short deadlines are important, it is time to outsource.
Slow launch of products to the market can ruin your business. You need to calculate the heavy cost of slow time to market versus the cost benefits of outsourcing essential IT solutions.
These IT solutions accelerate the time to market and help your startup stay ahead of the pack.
7. High Turnover of IT staff
If your IT staff turnover is high, your startup might not have the capacity to pay these experts enough. You might also have no solid IT strategy to motivate these experts to stay.
Outsourcing your IT solutions to a qualified team overcomes this challenge.
Winding Up
Your startup requires an efficient IT system to operate smoothly. When you outsource IT solutions, your business has access to more skills and resources.
You also attain the capacity to compete effectively by leveraging the latest technologies from your provider. It’s also a smart idea to unlock resources for your business. Your employees can now focus on other crucial business activities to grow your startup.
The best IT solutions provider handles everything in the background and ensures your business runs smoothly. These professionals bring in cutting-edge IT solutions to your startup, which gives you a competitive edge in the market.
Is it time to outsource your startup’s IT solutions? Check out our IT blog sections for more tips and expert business advice.
