How Can Outsourcing IT Services Help You Grow Your Business?

The information technology (IT) sector is ever-evolving, and with these constant changes, it becomes more and more challenging for small businesses to not only keep up-to-date but to expand. 

37% of small businesses choose to outsource one business process, at least, and IT services are one of the top two on the list, according to Clutch. 

In fact, global IT outsourcing contracts are worth a whopping $66.5 billion. It's evident that IT is a popular outsourcing service, but how can IT outsourcing for small businesses help them grow, especially if they’re still in the development stages?

Let’s take a closer look at how to grow your business online by incorporating business IT outsourcing solutions to help boost your bottom line.

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How To Grow Your Business Online Using Outsourcing IT Services

1. Strategic IT Expertise

Whether or not you have an internal IT team, using outsourced IT services can only benefit you. If you have an internal team, having an outsourced IT team can only open up the possibilities for additional expertise and alleviate your team of any non-core tasks. 

IT roles are also specialised, so it stands to reason that you would rather hire an IT professional than hire an inexperienced professional to handle technical tasks. Utilising IT outsourcing for small businesses is a great way to Implement IT-focused strategies that have been tried and tested, especially if your budget is tight. Saving on hiring an internal IT team is a surefire way to grow your business. 

2. Cutting Edge Technology

Utilising the expertise of specialised IT professionals can only benefit your business. IT experts will likely have access to some of the best tech available. In fact, some services may even provide advice or actual tech hardware at a reduced cost. 

Outsourcing IT teams also ensure they are up-to-date with the latest strategies and trends. Most IT companies are adamant that their employees receive regular training. This ensures that the IT outsourcing company provides its clients with the best possible services.

3. Improved Operations

Using IT outsourcing for small businesses will probably require some form of automation across your business. This means that hiring IT outsourcing services can help manage specific processes, so they run effortlessly and seamlessly. 

This allows you to focus your internal resources more efficiently, save on costs, and free your team up to focus their efforts on their area of expertise. The ultimate result — freeing up resources that you can dedicate to the development and growth of your business.

4. Reduced Security Risks

With most businesses moving into the digital realm, cyber security is quickly becoming essential to running any successful business. As soon as you can prepare for a cyber attack, hackers or cyber criminals can readjust their strategies. Not having a secure cyber system in place puts your company’s and client's sensitive data at risk. All it takes is one cyber attack or data breach to ruin your company's reputation. 

Rather than having to funnel money into a crisis campaign to help manage reputation damage, not to mention the loss of business and revenue, it's better to have a solid plan in place to prevent this from happening. Having an outsourced IT team means your business will be monitored around the clock, so you can rest easy knowing your business is in good hands and allow it to grow. 

5. Lower Costs

Having an in-house team of IT professionals only really makes sense if you have a substantially big business. There is no need to have an entire team on-site if their expertise isn’t needed daily. You’ll be wasting resources in more than one way: it will not only be a waste of time for your hiring personnel but your IT hires too. 

IT outsourcing for small businesses means you won’t have to worry about things like paid time off, health insurance, or replacing outdated software or broken hardware. You’ll be able to simply budget for services needed monthly, and repurpose finances in other areas that can help your business grow.

6. Enhance User Experience

Having a website that is easy to navigate, responsive, and has a quick page load time is key. As most internet users use their mobile phones to search, it's imperative that your website is optimised for both desktop and mobile. 

Most mobile users have said they will leave a site if the page load time is longer than 4 seconds. Additionally, 70% of consumers said that page load time affects their decision to make purchases — websites with a page load time of 1-2 seconds statistically have higher conversion rates. 

Another way to improve user experience, especially if you have an eCommerce site, is having a remote IT team, which also allows for better customer support. If your client has issues, let's say completing a purchase at 1 am in the morning, it helps to have offshore IT support on hand, possibly in a different time zone, to allow for a quick fix. 

The better your user experience, the higher the conversion rate, the likelihood of return customers, and those customers recommending your services or products to others, leading to organic business growth.

7. Less Downtime — Proactive Support

In a digital age, all businesses rely on some form of IT. And as the digital landscape is constantly changing, it's inevitable that challenges or glitches will pop up and need to be resolved. 

Outsourcing IT support services, especially offshore outsourcing, means you have a team on the clock 24/7. This allows you to not only stay ahead of potential problems but tackle any IT-related issues as soon as possible, with minimum downtime. Why is this important? As the saying goes, “time is money.” 

The longer your website is down the more sales or opportunities to make sales are lost. In fact, according to Unitrends, 37% of small to medium businesses have lost clients due to their websites being down. A lower revenue or fewer clients means less chance to scale or grow your business — outsourcing IT support services is the ideal solution.

Choosing an IT Outsourcing Business

Finding the best IT outsourcing company with the skills, experience, and expertise to meet your business needs can be challenging. Here are some questions to ask before signing up for IT outsourcing services:

• Does your preferred IT company offer cost-effective IT solutions?
• Will the IT services relieve your internal IT team of pressure? 
• Is your chosen IT company continuously striving to innovate to maintain a competitive edge?
• Does the service offer help to your end users with 24/7 technical support?
• Will using this IT outsourcing business Improve productivity, efficiency, and performance?
• Will using IT outsourcing services increase scalability and flexibility?
• Will this empower your internal team with new digital functionality and capabilities?