Information Technology Outsourcing

Often, the sourcing model operating at an enterprise does not meet its immediate needs. Its replacement is a real opportunity to increase the efficiency of its work. The transition from an internal model - insourcing - to an external one - outsourcing of information technology, as a rule, can be supported by many important reasons. But the advantages that the company receives as a result of such a transition quickly become visible, as they say, to the naked eye.

First of all, this is a significant reduction in the cost of maintaining and maintaining IT infrastructure than at the time when these functions were performed by the internal unit. In addition, the company gets faster access to modern technology. Its information system is maintained by highly qualified specialists, and it costs less to pay. Indeed, the selection of the right IT service employees is not an easy process, which often turns out to be a costly and time-consuming enterprise specializing in this field.

The main reasons for the withdrawal of internal IT departments to outsource information technology

•        Reduced maintenance costs for the information system.

•       Improving the quality of IT services by increasing the level of competition in the work of service providers.

•       The need for economic regulation of the cost and quality of IT services in the process of cost allocation between the financial services of an enterprise.

•        Improving the feasibility of using IT services while optimizing their costs.

•        Staff reductions due to the withdrawal of system administrators per staff.

•       Increased productivity per employee.

As a result, the internal division of the company, which previously brought only expenses, becomes profitable. The company receives another very serious bonus: the ability to fully concentrate on the main direction of its business activity, engaged in its development, which usually affects the general position of the organization very positively.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the problem that not all domestic enterprises are ready to transfer the maintenance of their own information system to an external profiled organization or to change the work of their own IT service. Although Western experience shows that the vast majority of large corporations and small firms have chosen outsourcing as the main sourcing model. What stops Russian entrepreneurs?

• 1.   Inability to choose a suitable outsourcing company.

• 2.   Fear of losing control of your IT infrastructure and becoming dependent on another organization.

• 3.   Fear that services will become worse.

• 4.   Managers are satisfied with the work of the internal IT department.

In the latter case, the company remains able to withdraw the current IT department to an external legal entity. Such a solution becomes possible only when there is trust in our own specialists and when the benefits of using an outsourcing model are obvious. At the same time, the company's management has guarantees that the quality of service of the information system will not only remain at the same level, but also increase.

Why IT outsourcing is beneficial for modern business

At the beginning of this article, we briefly listed the main benefits that an enterprise can bring to the use of an outsourcing model. Now let us dwell on this in more detail.

• Lower IT costs.As a rule, most companies are faced with the fact that it takes a lot of time, effort and finances to find, train and organize the work of an IT specialist. The company has to bear the costs associated with renting special premises, purchase expensive office equipment, furniture, training materials, spend money on specialist consultations and staff development. At the same time, the salary of even an ordinary system administrator can be a heavy burden for a medium-sized enterprise, not to mention the small one. After all, he will also have to pay taxes and fees. And if it is not one employee, but a whole unit, the costs increase significantly. At the same time, the cost of outsourcing information technology is much less than the cost of maintaining full-time IT specialists.

• Getting the company highly qualified service of its information system. In companies specializing in the provision of outsourcing services, companies employ only specialists with the necessary level of qualification who are able to solve problems that may not be possible for full-time employees. For most small enterprises, this is almost the only opportunity to get a professional with extensive experience and knowledge as an employee.

• Providing the customer with additional services. If necessary, the client organization can use such necessary services as consulting, IP-telephony, remote access and many others, which can be obtained even at a reduced price provided that a long-term contract is signed with an outsourcing company.

• Reducing the negative impact of such an eternal problem as the human factor. When outsourcing information technology, the company receives reliable insurance against the fact that its IT infrastructure may ever be left without service (if, for example, the system administrator goes on sick leave or on vacation, wants to quit or is unable to resolve the problem). An outsourcer will send him the same day to replace a specialist of equal skill level. A large-scale failure will be addressed by a team of employees of an external specialized organization. The client company will be able to no longer fear that its work will be paralyzed due to a technical malfunction, which will save it from financial and reputation losses.

• Responsibility of the IT service provider. The conclusion of the contract and the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the client and the outsourcer will ensure that the party providing the services will be financially and legally responsible for the violation of its obligations, which will encourage it to carry out its work as efficiently as possible.

The benefits listed are too powerful to be ignored. Therefore, companies that have not yet switched to outsourcing should seriously study all the benefits that this model can provide, weigh the pros and cons and make an informed choice.