It isn’t easy for small businesses to get off the ground and run in today’s ever-changing and rapidly expanding business world. Starting a business is expensive, time-consuming, and stressful. Thankfully, there are ways for small businesses to help accomplish their goals and become successful without totally breaking the bank.
Outsourcing to offshore software engineers is a great way for small companies to get their much-needed business practices done in a timely, cost-effective manner while adhering to budgets and timelines. Small businesses routinely outsource things like payroll processing, distribution, accounting, and many other important functions. Every small business in the digital age must also figure out how they will handle their need for information technology services when it arises. This is where outsourcing comes especially handy.
What is IT Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the process of hiring a third-party individual or company outside of the organization to handle certain business activities. There are three types of outsourcing: onshoring, nearshoring, and offshoring.
Offshoring is the practice of outsourcing to a third-party provider in a foreign country typically in another continent. This version of outsourcing is helpful as the costs associated with it are normally much lower than with a nearshore or onshore provider due to a lower cost of living.
Nearshore outsourcing is when the hired company is located in a country neighboring that of the hiring organization. While it offers the same benefits as offshoring, nearshoring means that the country is closer in proximity, culture, and a closer time zone for easier access. Onshoring is when the third-party company is in the same country.
IT outsourcing in particular is the hiring of resources outside of an organization to manage and handle the information technology functions of said organization. These outsourcing providers help companies with everything from web design, application development, and software management to developing and maintaining entire IT infrastructure system layouts.
How Can Outsourcing IT Help Small Businesses?
Not many businesses fully understand just how beneficial outsourcing their IT needs to offshore developers can actually be. While it’s true that many companies choose to partner with a third-party provider to save money, there are many other benefits and reasons why it’s a beneficial business practice.
The benefits of outsourcing IT for small businesses include:
- Risk Reduction – No matter the industry, every business operates under a certain amount of risk. The lesser risk, the more profitable a business is likely to become over time. The same risk applies to data and information technology systems. If a business doesn’t have the necessary protection in place to prevent massive cybersecurity issues, they are putting themselves at major risk. These protections include things like firewalls, encryption, two-factor authentication, and more. With a wide range of experience and tools, IT outsourcing providers help strengthen internal practices and external walls to ensure that clients stay protected.
- Predictable and Lower Costs – Nearly every type of small business depends on computers, networks, and software to get the job done, but not every business can afford or has a need to hire a full-time, in-house employee to manage their IT needs. Outsourcing means that companies don’t need to pay a full employee salary, benefits, insurance, and such to take care of their IT needs. Instead, they simply pay for what they use at a monthly or hourly rate depending on the contract. This also allows for more flexibility as businesses are able to scale their IT teams up and down when needed. This is impossible to do with an in-house team without constantly hiring and firing employees.
- Increased Performance – There is no way that a small team of employees can have the same resources, expertise, skill, flexibility, and time to compete with a company specializing in information technology. An outsourcing provider ensures that organizations stay up and running at maximum efficiency at all times. To accomplish this with an in-house team would take an exorbitant amount of time to hire the right skillsets and cost a significant amount.
- Quickly Implement New Technology – Quality IT outsourcing companies keep clients updated on the latest and greatest in the world of technology. They also have the resources available to get started on new projects right away. Handling the same projects and updates in-house might take weeks or months to hire the right employees, train them, and provide the necessary resources and support that they require. IT outsourcing companies bring high levels of skill and experience to each project and eliminate the need for extra time or money due to a lack of know-how.
IT outsourcing helps small businesses protect their data as well as their clients while lowering costs and reducing overall risks. It helps small businesses stay up-to-date on new technologies and keeps things running smoothly with the help of experts in the field that may have been otherwise unattainable. This practice helps small businesses achieve their IT goals while still being able to grow.
