Is it necessary for your company to have its own IT team? We think so, but not the traditional in-house IT department that most companies might be thinking about. Let us explain.
Managing your company’s expansion might be difficult. It’s difficult to know when to hire fresh personnel. Deciding when you need to hire a professional IT department can be even more challenging.
The majority of businesses lack a dedicated IT staff. It’s not that it wouldn’t be beneficial to their company. It’s just that having an in-house IT staff necessitates a significant investment of time and money.
What might you and your team accomplish if you had your own IT department? IT is becoming increasingly crucial. Data is rapidly becoming a company’s most valuable asset.
Yes, establishing an in-house IT department may be costly. And there’s a danger your company won’t be prepared for it at all. A dedicated (or, outsourced) IT department, on the other hand, could be just what you need to optimize your team’s potential if you take the time to set it up properly.
Today, we’ll show you why you should consider establishing a separate, outsourced IT department. We’ll walk you through what it is and show you some indicators that you’re ready to hire IT help.
So keep reading to learn more about what the correct IT solutions can accomplish for you and your company.
What Is the Purpose of Having a Dedicated IT Department?
A dedicated IT department allows small firms to take advantage of the benefits of having their own IT department without having to hire staff. Confusing? Not at all.
As previously said, data and data management are becoming increasingly crucial. Small enterprises must be able to stay up with the times. A full-fledged IT department, on the other hand, might bankrupt small to medium firms.
A dedicated IT department can help with this. For a fraction of the cost, small businesses may get the same IT help as large corporations. As a result, businesses can concentrate on developing and scaling without worrying about whether or not their systems will support them.
A dedicated IT department that provides IT services on a project or subscription token basis can assist you in accomplishing this. You are not required to bring them in. They are not a member of your team.
When you hire them, though, they become part of the team and are there to assist you with any IT issues that arise.
You Can’t Do It By Yourself
It’s easy for business owners to believe they can handle everything on their own. The majority of them believe that no one can perform as well as they can. While this is true, it is also true that someone can do it well enough.
You may believe that because you’ve grown up with current technology and are computer savvy, you’re qualified to manage your company’s IT demands. While we like your self-assurance, we recommend that you consider leaving it to the pros.
You’re supposed to be concentrating on making the most use of your time. Growing your business is what an entrepreneur does! How could you have time to grow your business when you’re busy putting out fires left and right? Windows won’t start? Faulty Wi-FI? Hard disk corrupted and you lost all your business data? These are all problems that you should not have to worry about (or waste time solving).
You should be free to focus on your products, services and business growth. You can do this without breaking the bank if you hire a professional IT team.
The Costs Of IT
What are your options if you don’t have a dedicated IT department? Alternatively, you might hire an in-house IT department. Let’s have a look at the price of that.
According to payscale.com, an IT support specialist’s average annual compensation is roughly RM200,000. You’ll also have to spend for training, hiring HR personnel, and other administrative costs. According to experts, this may cost you another RM260,000.
However, those are the figures for a single person. You’ll need to hire an IT crew. At least one or two extra support specialists may be required. You’ll also need to hire an IT manager to handle the show.
Having a good IT department in-house can cost you well into the six figures after everything is said and done. According to industry experts, a competently run IT department can cost a company anywhere between RM1 million and RM1.6 million.
By employing a dedicated IT service, which includes Asia E-Pros’ solutions and outsourced IT support, small businesses may get the same quality of help for a fraction of the cost.
Signs That You Need a Full-Time IT Department
“Does my company require an IT department?” you might think. While having a professional IT staff or service is the preferable option for small businesses, it still costs money. Budgeting is especially critical when your company is tiny.
As a result, you must ensure that your organisation is prepared to outsource IT services. Here are the telltale signals that it’s time to delegate your IT duties to the experts.
1. You’ve Been Hit By Cyber Attacks
If your company has just been the victim of a hack, you might want to consider hiring some outsourced IT help. At some point, most firms will be subjected to a cyberattack. It’s only a matter of time because so much of our business is done in the cloud.
Small firms account for a substantial percentage of hacking victims. It can cost your squad a lot of money if one of these attacks is successful. It can cost you money in the form of lawsuits, lost sales, and reputational damage.
Some firms are fortunate enough to survive a cyberattack with minimal damage. In either case, it’s a good idea to hire a specialist IT solution after a hack.
They can provide you with skills that you don’t have in-house. They can also assist you in seeing things from a different perspective. A fresh set of eyes on an issue is always beneficial.
2. Your Team is Suffering From Burnout
If you’re lucky enough to already have a small IT team, you’ll want to keep them as sharp as possible. It’s a definite way to overburden them if you rely on them for every single IT task, big or small. As a result, your IT personnel will be exhausted, overworked, and have low employee morale.
When staff are in this state, essential details begin to go between the cracks. Adding a dedicated IT department to your team will relieve some of your team’s responsibilities.
They can now concentrate on more hands-on IT activities such as software upgrades and small repairs. They can then delegate activities requiring more sophisticated IT abilities to your dedicated team of experts.
Less stress, less pressure, and fewer headaches all equate to improved overall performance.
3. Issues with Customer Service
You must have a strong internet presence for your firm to succeed. As a result, issues will arise frequently. When will you have time to service your customers if you spend all of your time putting out “IT fires”?
The most crucial duties of your business are attracting new customers, catering to their requirements, and caring for the clients you already have. Customers want you to cater to them in the new era of business. Customers want you to cater to their specific requirements now more than ever, according to sales and customer service experts.
They expect a personalized experience from your company. And they want it now more than ever. Customers will go elsewhere if they have a terrible experience with you.
Worse, your clients may take to social media to complain about their unpleasant experiences. That is the absolute last thing you want for your company.
Leaving IT to a dedicated IT staff will allow you to focus on the people who brought you here in the first place: your customers.
4. Wasting Money and Time
Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated every day. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to stay up with the pace. It may be time to outsource your IT if cybersecurity threats are taking up too much of your time, thoughts, and money.
Hiring a dedicated IT service allows you to get more rest and spend more time on the things that matter. It also allows you to spend your money more wisely.
It’s difficult to budget for IT services if you don’t know how much they’ll cost each month. And if you’re frantically attempting to run your IT department on your own, that’s exactly what will happen. As you do everything it takes to keep your cybersecurity afloat, costs will fluctuate.
You can keep better track on your spending with dedicated IT services. Month after month, you can count on that cost to be the same. This frees up your time and energy to focus on more vital elements of your business, such as marketing and customer service.
5. You Deal with Private Information
You can’t afford to make a mistake if you work in a field that deals with sensitive data. Data compliance regulations apply to some businesses, such as healthcare and government employment. The healthcare industry is the most popular of these.
HIPAA regulations are well-known. These rules control how healthcare personnel handles patient information. Patients’ personally identifiable information must be kept safe at all times.
If healthcare personnel break these laws, even if it’s by accident, they could face severe fines and legal consequences. If your industry has similar regulations, you might want to explore outsourcing your IT and cybersecurity.
An IT firm that specializes in dedicated IT services will have resources that you don’t have. They’ll have the most up-to-date technology and cybersecurity on hand to ensure that your data is kept safe at all times. They also have the financial means to hire the industry’s best and brightest.
As a result, you’ll have access to cutting-edge technology and creative solutions.
6. There is a Lack of Innovation In Your Company
Business innovation is aided by information technology. Smarter apps, better data storage, faster processing, and more information distribution are the outcome of innovation. Businesses run more efficiently as a result of innovation. In addition, innovation adds value, improves quality, and promotes productivity.
The following significant shifts in business have resulted from information technology innovation:
- Shopping online is more efficient than going to the store.
- Digital marketing is more cost-effective than traditional media such as newspapers, television, and radio.
- Going to clubs is less efficient than social networking.
- Voice over IP (VoIP) communication is more efficient than traditional telephony.
- Cloud computing outperforms a private computer network in terms of efficiency.
- The following are characteristics of businesses that have embraced the innovation paradigm:
- They arrange their business more precisely.
- They have a more effective marketing strategy.
- They have a bigger global sales volume.
- They have a better organised management system.
- They employ real-time monitoring.
- They provide immediate client service.
In reality, long-term business success is difficult to imagine without the help of information technology.
7. You Don’t Have a Contingency Plan
It is unavoidable that your system will be attacked. That’s why cybersecurity is such a crucial component of what specialist IT services can provide. You must, however, safeguard your system on the backend in addition to cybersecurity.
You and your team must have a backup and recovery strategy in place if a hacking attempt gets past your front-end security procedures. You’ll also need a backup strategy in case your server or hard drive fails.
Choosing what needs to be backed up might be difficult. Especially when you’re working with the files of a whole company.
One of the advantages of having a dedicated IT department is this. The IT experts with whom you’re working can show you exactly what needs to be backed up. They can also help you decide which form of backup to get.
It may make more sense for you to backup your data on-premises, depending on your organisation. A cloud or hybrid solution may be beneficial to other organisations. Your dedicated IT staff is responsible for determining what is best for your company.
They may utilise this information to assist you develop an effective disaster recovery system once they teach you what to back up and how to back it up.
Dedicated IT Provides Results
If your small business is having any of the issues listed above, you owe it to yourself to look into hiring a professional IT team. Whatever IT services your team requires, our team at Asia E-Pros can help.
To learn more about how to get started, contact
