Is IT outsourcing the best way to go?

For a small firm outsourcing usually covers IT operations, not software or other projects. There are several components: network, desktop, email, servers, backup and recovery, and security.

A large company would outsource to Perot Systems(Dell), EDS (HP), or IBM. There are not very many comprehensive offerings for small firms and if there were they would be prohibitively expensive.

To keep it very simple here is what I suggest.

Network and security. Outsource to a Managed Security Service Provider. Sometimes this is a service offered by your reseller.

Email. Start looking at hosted "in the cloud" email solutions.

Backup and recovery. Also look at hosted services.

Desktops/laptops. Purchase extended support contracts from your manufacturer, Dell, or HP.

I will be posting articles on this soon.

Scott, I highly recommend reviewing the following articles to gain insight into your options.

IT In Crisis – Three Priorities for IT in 2010. Part 1
http://www.itanswers4u.com/Wordpress/?p=215

IT Strategies: Past, Present and Future
http://www.itanswers4u.com/Wordpress/?p=84

Bottom line is this. What are your business objectives and will outsourcing help you get there? Don't do something just because others are doing it.
I've been involved in outsourcing deals that have turned out great while others have gone very bad. There are many factors to consider in this decision including these.
Is your company culture such that would embrace an outsourcing arrangement?
Have you clearly mapped out the scope of responsibilites between what your staff would do and what the outsourcer would do?
Are your Service requirements clearly defined and can they be effectively communicated?
Done right Outsourcing can be a great vehicle to drive you towards business goals. It can cut costs, share risk, gaurantee system performance levels, enforce operational standards along with other benefits. However, Outsourcing done poorly can set you back 1 to 2 years.

First things first though, review the articles mentioned above and firm up your business obejectives. Then you can determine how (or if) outsourcing can help.

If you'd like to discuss your options or my comments please feel free to contact me.

I agree with Richard, but you should also look at a Hosted UC Solution that will include your voice platform and on premise handsets. You should be able to get the whole system in SaS for around that $500 monthly price (not including the network access).

Check out our tips on choosing the right IT outsourcing provider: http://bit.ly/ITOutsourcingTips

Or feel free to email me with any questions.

As the co-owner of a managed hosting provider, I would also say that you should only look for those vendors that have strong customer loyalty and are willing to give you personalized service, 24x7x365, as part of the package. When you have limited staff to deal with IT issues in the first place, there's nothing more frustrating that being just another support ticket, you know? You should be able to regard your IT or managed hosting vendor as an extension of your own team. Email me if I can help you. - Laurie

IT outsourcing is certainly one option. It might depend on how much IT infrastructure and local knowledge/skill you have available amongst your staff as to how much you want to outsource. Generally, the greater the discrepancy between the level of support required and the local technical knowledge, the more you'd want to look at having a third party take over some or all of the work.

Having served both in house and as a consultant for multiple organizations there are pro's and con's to everything.

Virtual offices, or hosted Applications is a great cost effective option for a 10 person operation. I'll spare you the details as others have outlined them, however, what happens when your internet goes down? A 10 person operation is more likely to be dependent on the need for up time than a 1000 person operation. At a 10 person operation that could translate to significant impact on order processing, fielding customer calls, or missing critical emails -- not to say its not a worry at a large company, but they're better equipped (and usually have lots of redundant resources) to handle that sort of thing.

Your best option is to really evaluate the needs of your business.

Maybe you don't need a regular consultant so-to-speak but a time and materials maintenance plan. Numerous companies out there that gear exclusively to small business and will help you on an as needed basis. They will do limited maintenance (monitor/setup backups), updates, virus scan management, stuff like that. They will also typically trouble shoot -- depending on the maintenance plan -- and have on call resources. Sometimes in small cities the local computer store offers such a thing for small businesses.

What you really need to focus on is how many problems do you have, and is it worth it to have an IT service.

Scott, what does your company do?

There are many options for obtaining the right technology services for your organization, but much of it will depend on what you do today, what expertise you and your team has, and what you would like to be able to accomplish.

Outsourcing can run the gamut from having everything remote to your office, to a mix of internal and external equipment, with a part-time resource from your vendor who is on-site. Finding the right technology partner who can help you attain your initiatives and guide you in the right direction pertaining to this and other questions, is the first step.

You've received quite a bit of good advice in the responses above. Once you understand the pros and cons of each option, you can make a great business decision.

-ASB: http://xeesm.com/AndrewBaker

Hi Scott,
Depends on the goal, as Jeff points out. It's a question of the philosophy within your organization of 'buy vs build'. Without knowing the details, I would venture to guess that it might be a good decision to outsource your IT needs, based on the size of your company.

There are IT companies out there that are in business precisely to serve as IT consultants/depts for firms like yours so that you dont have to expend funds/resources to create an infrastructure to support your current requirements.

While it might seem that you have more control if you create a team internally to support your IT needs; it would be optimal to strategically align yourself with a company that offer the services that fulfill your needs immediately.

Sometimes managing an outside firm gives you more flexibility and control.

Depending on your needs, I can probably point to some companies that fit the bill.

Best,
Bob

Dear Scott,
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