Outsourced IT support means working with a third-party company to cover your technology needs, which of course includes standard break-fix support and help desk access to ensure that your organization runs smoothly and has the resources it needs when technology doesn’t cooperate. Depending on your managed IT provider, those services should also include strategic IT support, which means going beyond break-fix to provide a technology strategy and roadmap that aligns with your organization’s broader goals.
Outsourced IT support (also called managed IT services) can take many different forms depending on which provider you’re evaluating, but there are some standard benefits. For one, the access to expertise is much higher than an internal IT team. In choosing managed IT services, your organization gains access to a large team of experts with different backgrounds and experiences. The cost of outsourcing your IT support can be more budget-conscious, as well. In most cases, it’s far more economical for a small- or medium-sized organization to outsource IT services, rather than hiring an internal IT team. Doing so also provides more flexibility and scalability.
This page is an informative starting point, but it’s essential that you carefully review the services offered by each organization under consideration.
What Is Outsourced IT Support?
Simply put, outsourced IT support is when a business leans on an external provider for its internal IT needs. This relationship looks different for every organization. Some choose to rely fully on their external IT partner, while others use a managed IT provider’s wealth of experience to supplement their own internal IT team. Whatever your situation, outsourcing IT provides help in supporting your organization’s essential processes—the essential elements that make your business function—without needing an internal IT team.
Outsourcing IT support is a strategic move for organizations, offering a variety of different benefits that prioritize operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. One key advantage is the wealth of experience gained through partnering with specialized managed IT services providers. These professionals often bring diverse skill sets and a deep understanding of industry best practices, honed through servicing various clients across different sectors. This breadth of experience allows businesses to tap into a reservoir of knowledge, ensuring that their IT infrastructure is managed and optimized with a high level of expertise.
Managed IT service can also lead to significant cost savings. The recruiting cost for hiring and training a single employee in 2022 was $4,700. Keep in mind, that number excludes the sunk price for “lost candidates” and does not take into consideration the intense competition in this industry.
There’s also the cost of keeping an internal IT team onboarded—with base salaries ranging anywhere from $45,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on the role—and the tech industry’s significant 13.8% turnover rate in 2023.
Instead of bearing the expenses associated with hiring, training, and keeping an in-house IT team, your organization can leverage the economies of scale provided by outsourced IT support providers. This flexibility can result in substantial cost reductions, freeing up financial resources for other critical aspects of organizational growth without worrying about IT support. In essence, outsourced IT support enhances your organization’s technical capabilities at an overall cost savings, fostering a more resilient and agile business environment.
What Services Are Offered by Outsourced IT Support Providers?
When selecting a managed IT support provider, understand that similar service names can mask vastly different offerings. “Help desk support” from one provider might be 24/7 staffed; from another, on-call with after-hours billing. What appears identical in a proposal can cost your organization far more than you expected.
Key services to evaluate include help desk support, cybersecurity, IT consulting, infrastructure management, and mobile device management. The right provider offers a package that addresses your full range of technology needs.
A solid offering includes frontline help desk support for immediate technical issues, IT consulting for strategic planning and roadmapping, and cybersecurity services that detect threats, prevent attacks, and respond to incidents. Quality providers become strategic partners who understand where you are now and plan for where your organization needs to go.
A valuable partner should deeply understand your current circumstances and strategize for your future requirements. As your organization grows, maintaining a comprehensive and flexible service portfolio becomes crucial to seamlessly scaling your IT solutions without disruption. Such adaptability minimizes downtime, enhances performance, and plays a pivotal role in ensuring sustained growth. An exemplary managed IT service provider, equipped with a diverse range of expertise, evolves into a strategic partner by addressing your immediate needs while strategically planning and mapping out your future technology and business expansions.
What Are the Advantages of Outsourced IT Support?
The advantages of outsourced IT support, as mentioned above, primarily fall under the following categories: cost-savings, level of expertise, and scalability.
Cost Savings: Using an outsourced IT support provider eliminates, or at least lessens, the need to employ, train, and retain a fully staffed internal IT team. Technology is essential for organizations to function. Technology is also notoriously not a one-and-done investment. When things go wrong, when you outgrow solutions, when technology fails, you need a dedicated team at your back. A team that gets things back up and running with little to no downtime for your organization. If growth is a goal, you’ll also need that team to be proactively looking at market trends and new technology solutions that push your business forward. For small to medium-sized businesses, the cost of building and maintaining that team internally is massive with base salaries ranging between 45,000 and 200,000 depending on role and responsibilities. Using a managed IT service provider allows you to push your organizational goals forward without breaking the bank.
IT Expertise: Choosing to go with outsourced IT support brings your organization a significant level of expertise. Professionals inside the managed IT service provider specialize in diverse aspects of technology, offering a depth of knowledge that is challenging to maintain in-house. outsourced IT support teams often consist of specialists in cybersecurity, project management, and system optimization. This breadth of expertise ensures a swift response to any emerging challenges and the implementation of industry best practices. With the collective knowledge of an outsourced IT support provider, your organization benefits from a broader skill set, strategic insights, and the latest technological advancements. This heightened level of expertise empowers organizations to navigate complex IT landscapes, foster innovation, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
Scalability: Opting for a managed IT services provider ushers in unparalleled benefits for technology scalability within an organization. These providers are adept at aligning technology assets with business growth trajectories, ensuring seamless scalability during periods of growth. Outsourced IT support providers work as your strategic partner, designing flexible infrastructures that effortlessly accommodate increased workloads, new applications, and expanded user bases. This adaptability not only minimizes disruptions during expansion but also optimizes resource utilization, promoting cost-effectiveness. Outsourced IT support providers leverage the latest technologies, providing scalable solutions that evolve alongside organizational needs. This proactive approach to scalability ensures that businesses can readily embrace innovation, implement new technologies, and swiftly adjust to market dynamics. All of this is towards the overall goal of operational agility and futureproofing against unforeseen challenges.
What’s the Best Way to Choose an Outsourced IT Support Provider?
So, an outsourced IT support provider seems like it could be the right fit for your organization. Now comes the hard part, figuring out exactly which organization to partner with. This can be a time-consuming and confusing task. As mentioned previously, managed IT service providers often look like they all offer the same or similar IT support services; only once you’ve drilled through the marketing fluff and into the actual meat of the offering do the cracks start to show.
Here are some things to consider when evaluating different managed IT service providers.
Pricing Models: Many pricing models exist in the world of managed IT service providers, some more inclusive than others. The level of support you receive depends heavily on which model is in play so it is important to fully understand what you’re signing up for. The important takeaway is to ask questions. Make sure you get all the information you need and compare it with the other providers. Some specific areas to dive into include:
- 24/7 Support – Is this fully staffed or on call? Does it become billable after business hours?
- Support Team – The support team is the heart of the outsourced IT support provider. Not only that, but that team will ultimately be responsible for making sure your organization’s relationship with technology is as seamless as possible. Is this team employed by the managed IT services provider or is outsourced? Does this change during after-hours? How is that team set up to ensure that your experience is consistent and positive? GadellNet uses a PODS (Point of Dedicated Service) model that ensures that you receive the same team every time you call in.
- Technical Offerings: Considering the breadth of technical systems managed by the outsourced IT support provider, a comprehensive evaluation of their capabilities is imperative.
- Security: Assess their approach to cybersecurity, taking special consideration to understand the tools employed and the level of support offered.
- Backups: Verify the management, maintenance, and testing protocols for backup solutions within the environment.
- Applications: Confirm the support for critical applications, ideally outlined in the agreement with insights into the provider’s relevant experience. A robust MSP should offer insights into the strategic management of essential technical facets crucial for your business operations.
Customer Service Levels: Beyond cost considerations and the actual tech, evaluating the level of service a provider commits to is paramount. Pay special attention to metrics related to response and resolution times. Make sure you receive agreements detailing the average response and resolution times. Look for indicators of the outsourced IT support provider’s client satisfaction rates, emphasizing the importance of transparency in sharing data. A dedicated Client Account Manager serves as a crucial liaison, ensuring a personalized, proactive approach to your IT services. This individual becomes a technology copilot, intimately acquainted with your business, and elevating the overall service experience.
Ask the Right Questions: During the vetting process, be thorough in your inquiries. This decision directly impacts day-to-day operations, efficiency, and employee satisfaction. Seek clarity on all fronts, from potential exclusions to the escalation processes if something goes wrong and any additional charges you could face.
Case Study: Indiana Manufacturer’s IT Improvements Increase Employee Productivity and Job Satisfaction
In the face of unprecedented growth, an Indianapolis-based manufacturer confronted escalating IT challenges that hampered productivity and employee satisfaction. Their existing IT support infrastructure proved insufficient for the expanding demands; they needed a comprehensive solution to reduce downtime and enhance operational efficiency.
Issues Identified:
- Unreliable Wi-Fi
- Dysfunctional phone systems
- Delayed support for critical IT issues
- Network performance issues due to misconfigurations, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
GadellNet’s Managed IT Services Solution: GadellNet’s consulting team collaborated with the client to form a strategic plan that addressed the issues the manufacturer was having. The plan encompassed a customized onboarding process for transitioning to GadellNet’s outsourced IT support, network rearchitecting and interconnecting their five locations.
Key Actions:
- Swift restoration of phone system functionality within 24 hours.
- Implementation of new firewalls across all facilities, fortifying cybersecurity.
- Overhaul of the internal network to enhance performance.
- Improvement of Wi-Fi connectivity across all locations.
- Introduction of a robust password policy and secure sign-in processes.
Results: GadellNet’s intervention resulted in a comprehensive modernization of network infrastructure, cybersecurity, phone systems, and other critical IT components. Urgent issues were resolved within 24 hours, with complete network updates accomplished in two weeks.
Since the intervention, GadellNet continues to provide ongoing outsourced IT support services tailored to the company’s evolving needs. This approach supports both immediate requirements and positions the manufacturer for future growth opportunities.
The manufacturer’s collaboration with GadellNet not only addressed pressing IT challenges but also fostered a modernized, streamlined intranet. This case exemplifies how a managed IT service provider can significantly impact productivity, cybersecurity, and overall operational efficiency, ensuring a resilient and growth-oriented IT infrastructure.
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Trends in Outsourced IT Support
AI: AI has reshaped how organizations work with technology by automating routine tasks, refining processes, and strengthening decision-making. AI-driven tools analyze large datasets to predict problems and surface solutions before they compound, reducing downtime and improving efficiency. Tools like Microsoft Copilot lower the barrier to entry with plain language queries instead of coding expertise, while AI chatbots handle customer interactions with flexibility and nuance that feels conversational. The tradeoff: AI integration promises higher productivity, but you do need safeguards. Never feed proprietary information into open platforms like ChatGPT. These systems retain data, and what you input can be queried later.
Cloud Services: There are several emerging cloud services trends to be aware of when evaluating outsourced IT providers that are reshaping the industry landscape. The increasing adoption of multi-cloud strategies enables organizations to optimize performance and plan for scalability. There is also an increased emphasis on security and compliance within cloud environments, especially with AI integration. Still, organizations are projected to invest heavily in cloud solutions. According to Garner’s forecast, approximately 75% of businesses will embrace a digital transformation strategy around cloud solutions as the foundation. Outsourced IT support providers are here to help your organization embrace this trend, offering strategic guidance for how best to utilize this technology and implement these solutions.
Security and Data Privacy: Cyberattacks and data breaches are growing more sophisticated and costly. Gartner reports global spending on security and risk management surpassed $215 billion in 2024, a 14.3% increase from 2023. Organizations now treat secure data handling as a top priority. Security requirements have shifted from simple passwords to multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, employee training, regular audits, and compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA. An outsourced IT support provider can implement these protections and keep your organization aligned with evolving regulatory demands.
Conclusion: A Partnership with GadellNet Powers Businesses
Outsourced IT support, when paired with the right partner, ensures your organization uses technology to meet its goals. You gain access to diverse expertise, substantial cost savings, and seamless scalability.
Managed IT services are a strategic move for any organization looking to grow without being held back by technology limitations. For more information about how GadellNet can provide critical IT solutions to transform your organization, download our sell sheet.
