Six Benefits of Outsourcing IT Projects
Handling IT projects or IT outsourcing them has long been the subject of spirited debate between industry professionals, experts, and business leaders. Even politicians have occasionally waded in, given that outsourcing and offshoring often go hand in hand with negative consequences for American workers. But outsourcing IT projects can have tremendous benefits for businesses and even support job growth. Businesses that outsource production, distribution, or administrative projects can speed up completion rates, save money, free up staff time, operate more efficiently, strengthen project security, and access needed IT expertise.
Speed up completion times
When you outsource your IT projects to the right vendor, you receive a dedicated and knowledgeable team with the time and resources to get your project done. You don’t have to worry about last-minute priority directives from the CIO or CEO that derail your project’s timelines, because once the project is in the vendor’s hands, you merely need to check their progress. Further, IT support services firms usually have access to technology that you don’t or can’t easily obtain, helping them complete your project faster.
Many vendors have established offices in different parts of the world. Taking advantage of varying time zones, such a vendor’s project teams may be able to work on your project 24 hours a day, with teams in one time zone handing it off to teams in another after their shift ends. Using such a vendor can dramatically reduce project completion times.
Save money
Outsourcing your project can also help you save money in various ways. When you work on a project in-house, you may need skilled workers you don’t already have, as well as access to specialized software and hardware. It’s often far more expensive to obtain those resources than to outsource your project. For example, if you need to hire several programmers with specialized skills, you’ll need to pay recruiting costs and cover their salaries and benefits. Hiring can lengthen your project timeline, which can cost you additional money. An IT vendor can help you avoid new labor costs and keep your company financially elastic.
If necessary, you can also scale up your project more efficiently and save money. Consider a five-person in-house IT team working on a new e-commerce platform whose company is suddenly inundated with demand. They may decide to hire contract or full-time workers, lengthening the project completion time and increasing the costs. Or they can bring an experienced vendor to work alongside their team and have the resources they need from Day 1 to get to the finish line. Alternatively, if the company had outsourced the e-commerce platform to a vendor from the outset and then faced surging demand, the vendor could redesign the project scope to meet the demand and add the necessary internal resources to implement the revised project seamlessly.
Free up staff time
Many IT projects do not directly generate revenue, such as replacing outdated systems or deploying new IT software and hardware. Nonetheless, they are no less vital to business operations or necessary to improve productivity. Engaging most or all of your team in these projects prevents them from effectively managing daily operations, cybersecurity, or other priority projects. Outsourcing your project can help free up your IT personnel’s time to focus on critical and revenue-driving projects.
Operate more efficiently
Perhaps you estimate completing your project may take six months, based on your organization’s past experience, in-house resources, and other factors. An experienced vendor who’s completed dozens of similar projects will likely approach yours from a different perspective. They may be able to find significant time savings by using different methods and streamlining particular processes. Not only can they complete your project quicker, but the insights they share can help you plan and complete other projects more effectively. They also may be able to help you achieve even better project outcomes than you anticipated.
When you can achieve those project outcomes rapidly, your entire organization can reap the benefits more quickly. You also increase your capacity to take on other work. For example, a company that planned to adopt an AI-powered CRM platform might have projected it would take six months to deploy in-house. If an IT vendor does this in three, the company may more quickly recognize new sales opportunities and grow more business revenue. In turn, you may have more money to take on more projects or hire new staff.
Strengthen project security
By placing your project in the hands of a vendor, you can shield it from cybersecurity attacks that may befall your organization. While the vendor may be subjected to hacking attempts, most IT firms dedicate a considerable amount of resources to their own cybersecurity to protect client assets. They also often have cybersecurity experts on staff who help them continuously shore up their defenses. Outsourcing can also insulate your project from the fallout of a natural disaster or emergency that affects your headquarters, as your project work will likely be located offsite.
Access needed IT expertise
You’ll likely pick an IT vendor with extensive experience in their field. They may have industry-recognized experts on their team, worked on high-profile projects for major corporations, or have specialized experience that few others in the industry have. As great as your in-house team is, they may not be able to match the breadth and depth of talent of some of the top IT service providers. When you outsource, you’re able to access a new wellspring of IT talent that cannot only help you complete your current project, but also help you plan, design, and implement additional projects as well.
Outsourcing IT Projects? Call V&C Solutions
If you have one or more mission-critical yet time-consuming or specialized products, V&C Solutions can help. Working with firms throughout San Jose and the San Francisco Bay area, our talented team of IT experts can help you tackle projects, ranging from helping you manage cloud adoption to assessing and strengthening your cybersecurity. We also offer managed and co-managed IT support services, allowing our team to work hand-in-hand with yours to achieve the best outcomes for your business. For more information and an initial consultation, contact us today.
