In today’s business world, having the right IT support in place is critical, and as we become more and more reliant on technology, that can mean companies face ever-growing costs around investment in the maintenance and services needed to keep processes working. That’s before the business even considers its plans for growth and innovation. However, it doesn’t have to mean busting the IT budget every year, and there are ways to ensure you get the tech support you need at an affordable price. One such option is to outsource your IT support in London to a provider who can offer a flexible and scalable service model.
Pay As You Go
Using a pay-as-you-go system, your business can hire an outsourced IT team to provide the tech support you need, but won’t have to pay out for the hardware, software and maintenance you don’t need, or can’t afford just at the moment. It also means that you don’t have to pay out for a permanent in-house IT team, who will require decent salaries, plus other benefits. Good news for the CFO, who needs to see where investment in IT is going, and what value it brings to the company, but also good news for the rest of the staff, who can continue to work knowing they have the tech support they need, when they need it.
The flexibility this approach brings is a huge benefit to companies with ambitions to grow, because as more resources become available and new IT assets are needed, the service agreement can be increased to provide the additional support required. On the flip side, a business facing tough times can also save on costs by reducing the level of IT support they have, and can downsize the amount of computing power they use in order to focus on business-critical processes.
Hybrid IT Solutions
Many companies planning to grow but keep costs down are looking to the cloud as a way to increase capacity, processing power and scalability, while eliminating the need for costly servers that may only last a few years, and a flexible outsourced IT provider can meet these needs easily.
It doesn’t have to be a case of cloud versus traditional IT infrastructure either. Many companies feel safer in the knowledge that their systems and data are held securely on-site, and are thus reluctant to move entirely to the cloud, but a hybrid IT system offers the best of both worlds.
Your outsourced IT team can help you integrate your current IT infrastructure with cloud computing solutions, and as you scale up or down, can increase or decrease the capacity and support required.
OpEx, Not Capex
Fearing that they won’t have the ability to support growth, many companies invest heavily in their IT infrastructure and end up owning IT assets with a capacity they don’t yet need. Rather than going for this major CapEx cost, as an OpEx cost, a flexible and scalable approach means you only pay for what you do need, but can quickly ramp up capacity and service levels to meet growing demands.
Seeing Into the Future
Figuring out your current IT capacity needs is one thing, but making the right decisions about your future needs is a more difficult task, and another big benefit of a scalable IT support service is that they will work with you to determine what you need now, and what you will need as the company grows.
By monitoring and analysing your processes and usage, they can help you devise an IT roadmap that will mean you always have the capacity and tech support you need, when you need it, ensuring continuity while also future-proofing the business. They will implement, maintain and monitor the hardware and software that you require, but will also have the flexibility to install a capacity for growth.
This means they can not only provide a proactive machine maintenance service, but also offer a real-time picture of how each part of the business is using its capacity. This can inform the company when it comes to knowing where they need to invest further, or scale back, and can include a safety buffer that earmarks when capacity is nearing its optimum levels, so that more can be brought in ahead of time.
Incremental increases in computing power and capacity can be added quickly and conveniently by your outsourced IT team, meaning no down time or risk to business continuity.
IT Consultants
Moving from an in-house IT team to an ‘IT as a service’ model, as with any other major change in business, involves planning, which is why it is a good idea to consult with a reputable outsourced IT specialist well in advance of making the switch.
They can advise on the most efficient way to adopt this approach, turning the focus from the IT architecture you have to how it can best work to produce the services you offer, and what is needed to improve this process, and they will do so in the business terms you will understand. They shouldn’t cloud the decision with IT jargon. They should also give a detailed outline of the areas you need to assess, such as security, your network, etc, if you do incorporate third-parties into the equation.
They should also provide training where necessary, in order to help the current work culture evolve and get used to having IT as a service. This may include training in using the IT service desk, ticket management, etc.
A detailed service level agreement should also be mapped out to clarify exactly what services will be provided, what is in and out of scope, and any additional costs such as fixing a major tech disaster, so there are no nasty surprises come billing time.
Change can be scary, but moving to a flexible and scalable IT service provided by an outsourced IT team can mean that in a short space of time you will see your business avail of the capacity to grow and innovate, while also costing less than the traditional heavy investment in IT assets and in-house support.
The team at Optimity can provide you with the outsourced IT support your company needs to cut costs and take a scalable approach to business growth.
Find out how we can help you by getting in touch, or start the process by booking an IT audit with us:
