IT outsourcing means delegating the responsibility for managing and maintaining your computer network systems to a third party, instead of hiring your own staff. In a typical outsourcing relationship, the outsource company will provide one or more engineers on-site on a regular schedule (anywhere from 4 to 40 hours per week), and provide on-call support for issues that require attention outside the scheduled visits.

We love to support IT departments, but some companies prefer not to have their own IT department. For companies evaluating the need for an internal IT staff, consider the following pros and cons.


Pros of having in-house IT staff:

• On-site support always available
• In-depth understanding of all technical issues, large and small
• Highly predictable labor costs
  

Cons:

• Less incentive to document technical issues thoroughly
• Less time for professional development and testing of new technologies
• Less exposure to different approaches and solutions to technical challenges
• High cost and risk associated with turnover – all eggs in one basket
  

Outsourcing all or some of the IT functions in an organization can provide an excellent solution – offering much of the benefit of a complete IT staff without the downside.

With ESI as your IT outsourcing partner, you get:

• On-site labor on a predictable, regular schedule, with 24x7x365 emergency support.
• In-depth understanding of all technical issues, shared by more than one engineer.
• Highly predictable labor costs, without the need to provide benefits or deal with vacations, sick days, etc.
• Well written and thorough network documentation.
• Engineers who are constantly exposed to and trained in new technologies.
• Engineers who’ve worked in many different networking environments.
• No risk of turnover because we provide at least two engineers for every outsourcing engagement.
  

Some technologies require in-house support – no ifs, ands or buts. For example, if your firm provides real-time financial data to your clients from a database you manage, you need someone available to bring that database up instantly if it crashes. But not all technologies are like that.

Many network services can be managed remotely with necessary maintenance performed on a regular basis on-site. Companies with a mix of technologies can often benefit from outsourcing some technology support while keeping other functions in-house.

For more information, or to arrange a meeting to discuss your outsourcing requirements, email us at info@esient.com.