Last year we made the tough decision to finally outsource our IT in the business and we learned a lot through this decision. Previously we had been committed to not outsourcing much of the business and trying to keep as much in-house as we possibly could. Ultimately however, no business can operate without outsourcing some areas and the importance in reality is to ensure that you outsource the right areas of the business. For us, seeking out IT managed services providers was all about making sure that the computing systems which we so heavily relied on, were protected and were constantly updated so that we could give the best experience to our customers.
Throughout this process I learned a lot, most importantly why it is so important to outsource areas of your business, something which we had previously been reluctant to do.
Increased Quality of Service
One of the main reasons for outsourcing your business is to improve the level of service that you are able to give. In the case of the IT systems for our business for example, we are not computer engineers and we have no idea what to do if things go wrong, we know far less about the security which we would need to keep ourselves protected. With this in mind we decided to outsource to a company which could deliver the high quality of service which was needed and as a result we have put our business in a much better position. No matter what it is that you outsource, you must ensure that you have selected a company which is going to improve the quality of service.
Saving Money
One of the biggest lessons which I learned about this was that outsourcing, when done correctly, is about saving money rather than spending money. This is because you are investing in a service that is going to help you take your business to the next level, a service which is going to greatly improve your business’ ability to make money. This is why we outsource and this is what it can deliver when you get it right. The golden rule which I have learned is that outsourcing should never be seen as a cost, it is always an investment, assuming that you get it right.
Increasing Productivity
And finally this is about increasing productivity in your workplace and ensuring that everyone working within it is allowed to do the job that they are paid for. If you have a restaurant then you wouldn’t expect your head chef to take care of marketing any more than you would expect a marketing exec to get into the kitchen and head up service. We all have a role to play and we don’t always have to keep things in house for the best levels of success. This is why we aim to look outside of the business in order to improve it.
These are three clear reasons why it is so important to outsource the business.
