Considerations for Choosing an IT Outsourcing Provider

IT outsourcing is becoming a common investment for enterprises looking for ways to reduce costs and maintenance. It can free IT personnel to engage in strategic planning and in helping line of business managers optimize their business processes with the right technology.
What began initially as data storage services in the cloud, or Software as a Service (SaaS), providing specific applications in the cloud has now expanded to a variety of IT outsourcing options for enterprises and even small- to mid-size companies. The emerging approach is that of the Everything as a Service (XaaS), in which companies consider every aspect of their IT operations and determine which segments can be outsourced to a service provider.
IT outsourcing offers a variety of benefits to the enterprise, and can be a resource when there is a skills gap in the organization, but there are a few important considerations that should be fully addressed before choosing a particular provider:
Conduct a total cost of ownership analysis. While cost savings remains one of the main motivators for choosing a cloud services provider for IT, this is a good opportunity to partner with the finance department to determine true costs. Elements such as additional security management may impact costs significantly.
Determine whether your service provider has worked with similar companies. If you’re outsourcing your network management through Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in order to take advantage of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology, you are likely motivated to choose IT outsourcing because you don’t have an in-house specialist in SD-WAN. It can be difficult to get a contracted IT manager up to speed on a particular industry or IT configuration, so find out whether the provider you’re considering has experience with companies similar to yours.
Determine a plan for an unfulfilled SLA. Your service level agreement (SLA) should detail the terms of your IT outsourcing, along with measures in the event of a failure to fulfill the agreed-upon services. Before hiring a services provider for your IT needs, you need to know what you’ll do if they don’t follow through, and you should ask if they’ve ever had a customer with an unfulfilled SLA in the past.
At Clarksys, we partner with you to manage your suppliers, freeing you up to focus on your transformational goals. When you’re considering IT outsourcing, let Clarksys align you with the ideal service provider. Contact us for an appointment.