Jim and Cal’s technology company worked with a great set of clients throughout Maine. Small businesses needing help with Quickbooks and Microsoft Office support were glad to pay for Jim’s expertise, while Cal’s business sense unearthed interesting work opportunities with new and existing clients alike. One day they got a call from one of their clients, a realtor for whom they had set up an office network, as well as anti-virus and software updates for her workstations. She seemed to really appreciate their work, and was coming to them with a proposal. “I need to redesign my website. You guys do such a good job on everything else. Can you help me with that?”

Jim started to explain that web design and hosting wasn’t a service their company offered but Cal cut him off. “Of course we can help. Tell us a little about what you need and we’ll start sketching out a solution…” And just like that, Jim and Cal’s company offered web design services.

IT technical team

Acquire diverse technical talent through IT outsourcing.
Image courtesy of Cisco Meraki Blog

As a technology professional, you understand that the skills and talents involved in the IT sector are as varied and numerous as grains of sand in the desert. A team skilled at server configurations may have very little skill when it comes to Javascript development. At the same time, there are an immeasurable number of software solutions, hardware offerings, and service configurations, so what works for one customer may not be a good fit for another. Like any other business or market, however, one of the most important (and profitable) skills you can develop is an understanding of how to focus your own energy on the things your team is best at while utilizing outside vendors to provide strength where you are weak. Outsourcing the work that is a tax on your resources or isn’t fitting your expertise is a great way to build a successful business without turning your back on any customer. In Jim and Cal’s case, their knowledge of web-design is limited, but Cal knew just who to call outside of their organization to help get the work done.

IT outsourcing is most prevalent at either end of the service spectrum. On one end, you will find commoditized services like level one technical support call centers and phone answering services. Outsourcing these services can often be a cost-effective way to offer your customers an improved experience with your organization without sacrificing quality. Having a third party answer inbound calls or work simple support tickets is a great way to offload necessary tasks that take up precious time but don’t necessarily help pay the bills.

On the other end of the spectrum are specialized skill-sets like computer programming or intrusion testing. Just because you don’t know how to do these things at an expert level doesn’t mean you can’t offer complex services to your clients. These services are often expensive and whether you partner with the provider to receive a referral fee or contract with them to do the work on your behalf, finding technicians, engineers, and organizations with skills you lack to work with is a great way to build a business. As an added benefit, if your clients think that your organization can provide any technical service they require, then you are much more likely to earn a greater share of their business. Here are four benefits to adding outsourced IT services to your portfolio.

  1. Increased diversity of services.  Just like Jim and Cal above, it is unlikely that your company can handle every technical need you encounter in the market. Instead of declining to bid on technical work that isn’t your specialty, utilizing third party vendors will allow you to say “yes” more often when a client asks for a specific service or exhibits a particular need. From channel partners to skilled technicians, developing a diverse portfolio of provider options can pay huge dividends.
  2. Increase expertise.  Not only does IT outsourcing allow you to offer more expansive service offerings to clients, it also lets you offer deeper expertise and specialization than you could offer on your own. Working with service providers and partners that are expert in specific disciplines means you can offer not just more services to clients, but also a higher level of expertise than your competition. For example, Sharepoint is an application gaining in adoption and popularity among businesses of all sizes. Basic Sharepoint functionality is not complicated, but custom deployments require rare expertise. Finding a quality Sharepoint consultant willing to work with you is a great benefit for your customers and your bottom line.
  3. Increased integration.  Having a wider range of services and deeper expertise in your offerings means you have the ability to offer more complex solutions to your customers. Pairing web development and hosting together or VOIP with Office 365 Exchange email service allows your business to offer more complete solutions to clients, all on one invoice and with one point of contact – you.
  4. Increased referrals.  Bringing business to other IT professionals and organizations has a way of coming back to you. If you develop the reputation as an organized industry professional that brings profitable business to the desks of other professionals, those people will look to work with you in the same way going forward. Your ability to construct high-quality solutions in a variety of technical arenas will earn you a great reputation and have other professionals wanting to partner and work with you. Keep this benefit in mind when you are integrating outsourced IT services into your own offerings.

Outsourcing certain parts of your IT offering means that you can focus on what you are good at and leave the rest to someone else. Furthermore, the solutions and services you can offer your clients expand a great deal when you find third-party partners willing to work with you. From IT Help Desk support to Sharepoint consulting and all points in between, there are countless resources and vendors available around the world, eager to augment your company’s offerings. The tips above are intended to show you how to develop partnerships and relationships that expand your product offerings. Done successfully, IT outsourcing can put more money in your pocket and create more loyal customers for your IT service offerings. Click here to contact Mosaic NetworX about their expanded service offerings!