Having a top-notch, in-house IT support team isn’t a luxury most small and midsize businesses can afford. Luckily, today’s companies (even young startups with minimal capital) can economically outsource IT security to the best minds in the business — minimizing their risk of security breaches in an online world. 

But while it may have started out as an economic necessity, IT outsourcing has come a long way in a very short time. Today, outsourcing offers several advantages that are hard to replicate with a small in-house team.

The Growing Trend of Outsourcing IT

These stats give a few important clues about how SMBs are thinking about outsourcing, and why: 

• 37% of small businesses outsource at least 1 business process
• IT services are outsourced by 34% of small businesses
• 57% of businesses outsource to focus on what they do best
• IT functions are some of the most frequently outsourced, including cybersecurity (81% outsourced) and helpdesk services (68% outsourced) 

The 7 Most Common Benefits of Outsourcing Your IT

Thinking of making the switch? Working with a managed services provider for IT security offers seven key benefits:

1. It’s a Cost-Effective IT Solution for SMBs

Hiring an on-site IT staff, keeping them trained on the latest technology, and investing in hardware and software can be expensive. But not keeping up with cybersecurity can result in financial ruin. 

Cue the sad violins, right? Not so fast. 

The true cost of IT outsourcing isn’t often what people think. Yes, you’re paying for an additional service, but that service can reduce your recurring in-house costs by up to 40%, The truth is, by working with a Managed IT provider, a company can save quite a bit of money and reallocate budgeted resources elsewhere in the business — a true win-win situation.

2. Get Access to Expert IT Professionals With Diverse Skills

You know how you sometimes don’t notice when things get messy in your own house, but it’s the first thing you see in someone else’s? 

The same thing happens with an in-house IT staff — even if they’re immensely talented and certified. They get “too close” to the internal workings of the organization. They monitor the same general analytics, identify and fix the same general problems, and fall into a bit of a rut by not facing new challenges. 

With an outsourced team, these experts carry the top certifications and have collectively seen it all. They can spot a problem a mile away. Plus, when a fresh security issue at your organization does arise, a provider’s diversified experience is pre-loaded to go to work for you.

3. Level the Playing Field

When trying to hire an IT security team, SMBs simply can’t compete with the massive budgets of their large-scale competitors. Outsourcing to an IT provider effectively levels the playing field. Suddenly, any company can have access to the same technology and expertise as the big shots, and get many of the same competitive advantages.

Plus, if a provider has already worked with similar organizations, they can also bring their insider knowledge of what investments bring the most ROI.

4. Avoid Persistent Attrition Challenges

Having a hard time retaining good IT folks? Get in line. 85.8% of organizations are currently experiencing a shortfall of skilled IT security employees. The industry is growing so fast that demand exceeds supply. 

Hiring and onboarding are resource-intensive, and at least when it comes to IT staff, there’s a better way.

5. Stay Focused

This is the big one. If you don’t believe me, take it from a Senior Contributor at Forbes. Trusting your IT infrastructure to an expert team allows you to collectively exhale with total peace of mind. Then, you can focus all your energy, creativity, and talent toward pushing your core business where you want it to go.

Companies that continually focus on what they do best tend to be rewarded with higher, more reliable profits. True, managed IT is just one way to do that, but managed IT also provides one niche skill that SMBs need most right now, and that’s comprehensive cybersecurity.

6. Keep Up With Security Upgrades

Data breaches can be very costly, and one of the top reasons businesses get breached is because of older, more vulnerable systems. They leave the door open for hackers to walk right in with their mayhem. Keeping that door shut and locked requires constant monitoring to ensure that all software and workstations are up-to-date. 

A talented, security-focused IT support partner has the most current technological tools to protect your data — now and into the future, as existing systems approach their expiration dates.

7. Get Advanced Network Security Solutions

Is your firewall up to date? Are all workstations and servers audited? An outsourced IT security partner will answer all these questions and more. They’ll also use layered security best practices to manage and maintain the right security strategy for firewalls, DNS security, automated software patching, anti-virus/anti-malware, and password managers. 

Plus, since the data is maintained off-site, it’s protected from local catastrophes like fire or flooding.

How To Get Managed IT Services for Less

At Marco, we take a holistic approach to security. We look at your management — along with your internal and external policies — to design your ideal security solution. We also provide your end-users the greatest amount of flexibility while securely protecting your information, applications, and network. It’s about working better together.

We also use a per-user pricing model for our managed IT services, which makes us remarkably affordable for SMBs. Click the link below to get a quick estimate!