Customer Service
Cost-benefit analysis of outsourcing your IT service desk
Whether or not to outsource a business’s IT services is an extremely crucial decision, especially in this digital age. The technology used by most organisations today is growing in complexity and sophistication, and it is unrealistic to expect a small in-house team of IT professionals to maintain these elaborate systems successfully. This is why more and more organisations are opting to outsource IT services and hand over the responsibility of managing their systems to third-party IT service providers.
Outsourcing IT support refers to the use of a third-party service provider to manage a business’s technology needs. This may include providing technical support, helpdesk services, IT troubleshooting, and installing or maintaining the business’s IT infrastructure.
In-house vs outsourced IT services
Outsourcing IT services can prove to be more cost-effective and simpler than maintaining an in-house team while still providing businesses with access to the technical expertise needed to keep their IT infrastructure running smoothly. Let us now examine the basic operational differences between in-house and outsourced IT services.
- In-house IT departments are usually comprised of a small team tasked with troubleshooting technical issues that crop up on a day-to-day basis. On the other hand, third-party IT service providers usually offer a well-staffed helpdesk that provides round-the-clock support.
- While small in-house IT teams can’t offer much more than low-level, end-user technical support, competent IT service providers are continuously crafting and implementing procedures to keep systems up to date and even offer strategic IT consultations.
- Salaries and benefits to just two in-house IT professionals can amount to well over $150,000 annually, depending on the size of the organisation, while outsourcing their tasks can cost as little as $100 a month per user.
- Businesses that choose to maintain in-house IT departments will have to spend extra to cover any hardware issues or damage. At the same time, service desk outsourcing companies may also offer hardware management services and cover related expenses.
Benefits of outsourcing IT support
There are several benefits associated with outsourcing IT services, and we will highlight the most common of them.
Cost savings
The most obvious benefit of outsourcing a business’s IT support is that it eliminates the costs of hiring and maintaining an in-house IT team. This means that organisations do not need to spend on training, salaries, benefits, taxes, and more while still enjoying comprehensive IT support.
Agility and flexibility
Service desk outsourcing companies have the technical expertise to offer more varied and flexible solutions for tech issues than in-house teams. They can offer quick resolutions to problems and adapt to a business’s changing requirements swiftly.
Dedicated teams
Leading service desk outsourcing companies will usually offer businesses a dedicated team for all their IT support needs, especially if they are working together on a long-term project. This arrangement ensures that organisations consistently receive a high level of service from a team that is evolving and adapting to ever-changing conditions.
Higher productivity
Strategically leveraging IT outsourcing can considerably boost productivity and efficiency. It frees up internal teams to focus solely on core business processes and strategies rather than having them worry about technical issues, while the service desk outsourcing company ensures that all systems and infrastructure are running optimally.
Cost analysis of IT outsourcing
We have already established that maintaining an in-house IT team can be quite expensive. A single desktop technician whose duties include maintaining hardware and software and troubleshooting minor issues costs the company around $50,000. IT managers and other senior team members can expect to be paid upwards of $90,000. Let us work out how much an in-house IT team would actually cost based on different organisation sizes.
Small businesses with less than 50 employees may be able to make do with a single IT manager who will need to be paid around $90,000 a year. A lone IT manager might be overwhelmed if the organisation grows to around 75 to 100 employees, necessitating that a junior technician be hired as well. This takes annual expenses up to about $140,000, and if the business demands an IT director come on board to manage compliance issues, this will drive expenses up to over $250,000 per year. Larger organisations may require the expertise of a qualified CISO to head the IT department, which can push combined IT team salaries up to well over $350,000 annually.
However, outsourcing IT services can cost as little as $60,000 a year for a small business, between $90,000; $130,000 for a medium-sized business with around 75 employees, and around $200,000 for a larger business with around 125 employees. The cost savings here are clear, and combined with the efficiency, expertise, and other benefits that come with an outsourced IT team, taking this route seems to be the obvious choice for businesses of any size.
How can Infosys BPM help with outsourcing IT support?
The Infosys BPM Service Desk Services offer businesses access to IT professionals with a high level of technical expertise and modern technologies such as problem analytics, robotic process automation, and more. Reach out to discover how your business can benefit from IT service desk.
