Today’s technological landscape has made it easier than ever for small businesses to compete with larger corporations. For this reason, more and more small businesses are outsourcing their IT support.
If employees are getting more and more tech-savvy, why do we need IT support? Why not just pay someone to manage IT on top of their current role? That’d be much cheaper! And why do we even need IT support anyway when we can Google the issue?!? Well, we’re glad you asked, but there’s no need to be so melodramatic about it. Let us break it down for you.
Why outsource your IT support?
Outsourcing to an IT support company allows you to safeguard your business without breaking the bank. Fully managed IT support is a phone call away. And you can tailor your support services in line with your business goals and needs.
This is great news for small businesses. Especially those who require IT support but can’t fit an IT technician’s salary into their budget. Many companies outsource small business IT support at the start, with the intention of moving proceedings in-house as the business grows. However, with a variety of support packages available, more and more developing companies are realising that outsourcing is a viable long term solution.
You can scale up your package in line with your growth as you progress from a small business to a medium-sized enterprise. You might start out needing your data protected and your cyber security managed. Or perhaps you need an audit of your IT infrastructure. But as you scale up you will require additional services.
Maybe you want to add disaster recovery or cloud services. With outsourced IT support, you have more flexibility. No need to pay for training to enable an employee to manage another service. Simply change your support package and let the experts handle everything for you. You’ll also save time as you can ask a whole team of remote support experts for advice. No need to leave one person to figure everything out by themselves.
In-house or remote support?
Sure, you could hire an IT worker to support your business. They’d be working with you and your company. They might remember your coffee order and ask you about the barbecue you went to last weekend. They’ll help you if you’re stressing out over Office 365 and understand your company systems inside and out. This might not prove cost effective in the long run.
Cyber attacks are becoming frequent occurrences. But unless your cyber security is threatened, it’s likely your IT technician will be twiddling their thumbs. They’ll be adjusting margin sizes in Word for other employees and changing printer cartridges a lot of the time.
For medium to large businesses, in-house IT support makes a lot of sense. However, for small businesses this can prove to be an unnecessary expense.
Let’s say you choose to outsource this work. Nobody treats you to a caramel latte on a Friday afternoon, which is sad. And you have to ask your colleague next-door if they’ll help you convert things into a PDF. But you’re saving a small fortune because you don’t have to pay a technician’s salary and your IT needs are still supported.
Remote support solutions give you access to an entire support team of experts with excellent customer service skills. This is great. But it’s devoid of the personal approach and the company-specific know-how that the good old IT technician would have provided you with.
What if we told you that you can have both? Take the blue pill AND the red pill. Have your cake AND eat it. Hear us out.
Local IT support: the best of both worlds
Search ‘local IT support for small business’, not just ‘IT support for small business’. That one word added to your Google search can make a world of difference.
By opting for a local IT support solution from a company you know and trust, you can have it both ways. Reap all the benefits of remote support services while retaining the personal, face-to-face service.
The perks:
- Oh no! Catastrophe strikes. You need your local IT support provider for disaster recovery. Yes, they can help you over the phone or by email but they’re only down the road. They can send someone over in a jiffy to cast an expert eye over everything in person and talk about preventative measures.
- A local provider has local knowledge and will get to know you and your company on a personal level. They understand your context and can assess your needs better in person than a remote support provider can over the phone. Most remote services offer set support packages, but local services can tailor the support they provide.
- They can offer on-site support. Let’s say your team needs some training sessions on a new piece of software. Or you’re holding a meeting about cyber security and need an IT expert’s insights on implementing new changes. You call your local IT support team and they send over their best technician. He’s worked with you before and is knowledgeable on your company’s systems. They’ve selected him as he has a lot of experience in this area. On the way, he pops by that nice coffee place and treats you both to a latte.
Perfect balance is achieved. You’ve snatched the red pill and the blue pill and you’ve eaten them with your cake. You sit back and marvel at your stroke of genius. You pat yourself on the back for making a successful decision that aids your company’s growth.
How can we help?
Our team at Venom IT know it’s not all about the coffee and the small talk. But we also know it’s the little things that count.
Our personal service is backed up by industry-leading expertise. We provide professional IT solutions for hundreds of small businesses and tailor our approach to each individual case.
Whether it’s local IT support for your small business or remote services, get in touch. Our friendly team will talk you through the ways in which we can help you to reach your business goals.
