The U.S. spends a whopping $1.5 trillion on information technology every year. In 2017 alone, state and local governments projected their IT spending at $101.3 billion.

How about businesses?

Well, the biggest spenders are those in the banking and finance sector, allotting 7.16% of their budget for IT. B2B firms and professional services are at 5.82%. The rest have IT budgets ranging from 1.51% to 5.77%.

The point is, everyone spends money on information technology because we all rely on it. Your small business does too, more than you might think.

But what if you have a limited budget? Then it’s time you consider outsourced technical support services for your IT needs.

In this post, we’ll show you why exactly you should outsource or make the switch to outsourced IT ASAP.

1. IT Work Is for IT Specialists

Setting up a firewall, migrating to the cloud, monitoring network infrastructures and networks…

“Say what again?”

If this question popped into your mind, it’ll likely be the same for your employees who aren’t IT graduates.

That’s because those are terminologies that only get thrown around in the IT sector. Well, someone in your current team may know how to set up a firewall. However, it’s unlikely they’d know what to do if the program detects malicious activity.

The point is, if you’re thinking of delegating IT work to people who don’t specialize in it, think again.

For starters, because these activities are best handled by pros. So, you can’t expect the best results if you let those without the know-how carry them out for you.

In fact, doing this sets your business up for potential security issues! A lot of people think cybercriminals only target big industry names (think Yahoo and Equifax). But no, everyone can be a target, including small businesses.

In fact, a Verizon study found that more than half (58%) of all cyber attacks happen to small businesses.

So, don’t have your non-IT-specialist employees wear the IT hat, nor should you think of wearing it yourself. Let info tech experts handle these crucial and sensitive tasks.

Such services have become more affordable anyway, which brings us to the second greatest benefit of outsourced IT services.

2. More Affordable Than an In-House IT Support Team

Budget is the most common reason small businesses shy away from hiring info tech experts. After all, adding even only one IT specialist to the payroll means shelling out an average of $65,498 a year.

For most, if not all SMB owners, that’s a huge financial responsibility. In fact, with the average salary of a small business owner only at $59,776, they may not even be able to afford it!

That was pretty much the situation back then. Until digital consulting services, such as outsourced IT services, came along.

Outsourcing IT (or any other service) is much friendlier to your pocket than an in-house team. For one, because you eliminate many of the expenses associated with an in-house staff.

Hiring a new member alone can already cost you. Pre-employment screening takes time, and as cliche as it may sound, time is gold. Background checks aren’t free either.

A Forbes article even went as far as to say new hires cost more than their salaries.

Then, there are the mandatory employee benefits (workers’ comp, disability insurance, etc.). Add to that employment taxes and other typical bonuses, and the costs goes up faster than you can say I – T.

This is where some of the greatest benefits of IT outsourcing come into play. The outsourcing company takes responsibility for most, if not all the above-mentioned costs. Yes, you’ll spend money for their services, but that’s pretty much all you have to pay for.

3. Reduced Equipment and Software Expenses

Some of the costs of having an in-house IT team go toward space, equipment, tools, hardware, and software. Not only do you have to buy all these, you also need to spend money on maintaining them.

Outsource your IT needs, and these are areas you’ll worry about less. Your chosen outsourcing firm will shoulder most of these technologies your business needs.

4. Flexible IT Service Offerings

Need specific network security services? How about remote helpdesk and server support? Perhaps you’ve decided that now is the best time to move to the cloud.

Whatever kind of IT service you need, you can choose to outsource them and them alone. You can work with an IT specialist on a project-basis or hire them for a specific number of hours a week. If you need 24/7/365 services, these outsourced experts also have you covered.

In short, flexibility is another of the biggest advantages of outsourcing. You can hire them only for the IT tasks you need, paying them only for these specific services. Even if you have them on-board year-round, you can still expect to pay them less than an in-house team.

Unsure what type of IT services best suit your business? New England Network Solutions has a list you can use as a guide.

5. Help with IT Emergencies

As much as many of us would rather not think about disasters, they can still happen. Acts of God, human errors, and other disasters like fires can put your IT data and assets at risk.

Speaking of risks, there’s also the potential for data breaches. In the first half of this year alone, 668 breaches already occurred. These resulted in 22.41 million records exposed.

Now, consider this. 60% of small businesses failed because of a cyber attack. Many of them ended up filing for bankruptcy and having nothing left because of it.

This is reason enough for you to have IT specialists monitoring your data and assets. They can also help with data backup and recovery, as well as disaster recovery. They can help with any IT emergency, period.

Bonus Benefit: Outsourced Technical Support Improves Employee Retention Rate

If you keep requiring your people to do tasks outside their roles, you risk burning them out. Burned out employees are quite common, affecting 77% of surveyed employees. Many of these people can’t handle the stress that they may end up quitting.

This risk is one you should avoid at all costs. Instead, invest in outsourced technical support services for your IT needs. Aside from helping boost your employee retention rate, they also reduce security risks.

Want more even interesting stuff that may help your business? We’ve got more useful tips in our blog you should check out!