Hiring a managed IT services provider (MSP IT) can result in numerous advantages for your company. They can definitely deliver value and savings to your business by leveraging their competencies and technology. But getting an MSP IT company also has its disadvantages. It would be better if you could weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.
If you’re operating out of South Africa and are currently considering whether you should go for managed IT services or keep your in-house team, you might want to consider the services of a professional managed IT provider, such as Johannesburg IT company Netsurit. Here are some of the pros and cons of utilizing managed IT services.
Pros of Managed IT Services
- It’s Cost Effective
Getting a managed IT services provider can help a small business bring down some of their operational expenses. They don’t have to maintain their own IT unit.
Some companies even have an IT department with several teams and numerous staff. They pay for the salaries, benefits, and paid leaves of all these IT professionals, plus staff. They also spend for the hardware equipment used by IT staff, as well as trainings. These are just some of the expense items that can be lessened by hiring a managed IT provider.
IT companies that provide managed IT services employ numerous employees to provide service to their client businesses. But they’re able to leverage their staff time and workflow efficiency because they’re servicing numerous clients. This means they’re able to use the same number of staff and still service numerous clients. This reduces their operational cost per client, allowing them to earn profit from the margins of efficiency and operational scale.
- It Lets You Make The Most Of Their Core Competencies
A client business is able to piggyback on the core competencies and expertise of their managed IT services provider. MSP IT companies have staff who have decades of experience with resolving the IT issues and addressing concerns of clients. They’ve already experienced servicing numerous aspects of the IT systems, networks, infrastructure, platforms and applications of various clients. This has allowed them to build up group intelligence on the most frequent issues encountered by clients.
Their group knowledge or intelligence enables them to solve problems in less time and use less resources compared with some in-house IT staff. This means less downtime for your company and workforce. With their services, you get to reduce the impact of IT issues on your productivity and efficiency.
For some IT companies, the group intelligence has already evolved into core competencies. They’ve already mastered the competencies and skills needed to deal with IT issues to a degree that allows them to carry out their tasks quickly and effectively, such as managing databases, utilizing multiple network technologies, and applying public and private cloud technologies.
- It Offers Round-The-Clock Support
Another advantage of employing managed IT services is that you can ask providers to offer 24-hour technical support services. Many IT companies are ready and willing to provide this kind of service. This would entail additional payroll costs if you’re going to hire in-house staff to do graveyard shift. You’ll have to pay for their overtime and graveyard shift differential rates too.
Even if could you afford to hire your own staff to do graveyard shift, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be worth it. There might not be enough work for them to do at night and in the wee hours of the morning to be worth their pay. Managed IT services can do the same for you, but they cost you a fraction of the cost.
Cons of Outsourcing IT Services
- It Leads To Loss Of Immediate On-Site Support
One of the disadvantages of getting managed IT services is that your business will lose immediate on-site support. There are MSP IT companies that provide on-site support as well whenever needed by the company. But this often takes time. If the incident happens at night, they’ll most likely have to wait for the next morning before they can process and work on the ticket.
If there was an in-house IT team on site, they’d be able to resolve the issue without waiting for several hours for the MSP IT to process the ticket. They would’ve been able to provide immediate on-site support to resolve the IT issues and concerns of the client’s internal teams.
Most MSP IT companies now provide services through remote troubleshooting and desktop assistance. They use remote troubleshooting software to access the client servers and computers and address the issues even though they’re not on site. But there are issues that can’t be resolved remotely, such as when the issue involves a hardware issue or malfunction.
Another instance is when the network connectivity of the client company goes down. The remote teams won’t be able to service the client’s issues by using remote troubleshooting software because the client doesn’t even have internet connectivity in the first place. In most of these incidents, clients report the issue by using their office land phones or mobile phones to contact their MSP IT consultant’s hotline.
- It Causes Loss Of Synergy Between The Business And IT Teams
When a company outsources its IT requirements, resource management, and issue resolution, the internal synergy between the business teams and the IT teams is lost. The managed IT services provider does deliver solutions and provide value to the business operations by ensuring that the company’s IT resources and capabilities are ready and available for their dedicated uses. In most instances, the MSP IT company delivers excellent service.
But the MST IT company does so from the perspective of an IT company servicing an external client company. What is lost is the synergy between two internal teams working together to achieve the goals and objectives of the company. An MSP IT company meets the IT requirements of the company. But it can’t be engaged to drive its capabilities to achieve the larger business goals of the client company.
- It Prompts Loss Of In-House IT Learning
Another disadvantage of getting managed IT services is that your company will lose its institutional knowhow of IT resource management. Part of what makes business organizations succeed is that they continuously learn and accumulate institutional expertise and experience of how to do business in their industry and markets. Every aspect and department of a business accumulates a lot of knowledge that helps it improve operational excellence.
But if a company outsources its IT requirements, it will cease to acquire and accumulate learning about that specific area of competence. All the learning from troubleshooting diverse situations will be transferred to the MSP IT provider.
This may not seem immediately relevant, but the internal IT team can convey their insights to the leaders from time to time. They can, for instance, give suggestions on how the IT capabilities and resources of the company can be deployed to create more value or deliver more revenues.
Conclusion
There are both pros and cons if you decide to go with a managed IT services provider or stay with your in-house team. Getting an MSP IT company can lower some of your operational costs, which will help you save and generate more profits. However, it has its disadvantages, such as losing immediate on-site support. It’ll help to consider these benefits and drawbacks before you decide to hire a managed IT services provider.
