When it comes to running a business, there are a lot of moving parts and departments. As your business grows, it can become increasingly challenging to keep up with the need for manpower. This is especially true when trained, skilled workers are required, such as IT departments and companies.
Using remote third-party IT outsourcing is an alternative is a growing trend among companies across the nation and worldwide. Remote outsourcing departments such as IT and customer support come with benefits, but it also has drawbacks and limitations.
If you are considering making a move to remote outsourcing for your IT department, check out the following pros and cons as well as an alternative solution to remote IT outsourcing to help guide you to the right decision for your company.
Pros
- Cost-Effective
The number one draw for most companies to turn to remote outsourcing is cost-effectiveness. Many Asian and South American countries have become hotspots for an abundant IT workforce at a lower cost than within the United States. Using outsourced workers to handle the high demand in IT allows companies to increase their profit margins while still meeting their growing demand.
- Widely Available Workforce
As mentioned above, many countries offer a vast workforce that can provide your company with many competitive options for IT. This widely available workforce also allows your company’s IT department to operate with flexible hours. Outsourcing also relieves the burden on your local management teams by enabling the remote companies to manage the outsourcing teams on-site.
Cons
- Language Barrier
While the language is not always a concern with outsourcing, it is relatively common for customers to find themselves struggling to understand the accent of the IT or customer service representative on the other end of the line. Sometimes, this can cause frustration for some customers, which can have drastic adverse effects on customer satisfaction with your company. Depending on the level of English skills of the outsourcing company employees that you choose, communication can be hindered when trying to explain complicated instructions, which can lead to an ineffective call and unmet customer’s needs.
- Less Control
Outsourcing your IT support or any other department comes with the double-edged sword of having less control. On the one hand, allowing another company to handle your IT support and employees can allow your management the freedom to pursue their main tasks without additional burden. The flip side is that you are left with less oversight of how your IT support is handled. Monitoring, training, and quality control can all become issues when dealing with a company located in another country where it becomes more difficult to monitor closely.
- Negative Impact on American Workers
Remote outsourcing can be somewhat controversial in terms of the impact on the American workforce. By moving all or a portion of your IT support to a remote site that is outside of the United States, you may be making a negative impact on the economy and missing out on the opportunity to provide jobs to your local community. It is important within American culture to celebrate patriotism, and many customers look favorably on companies that keep their workforce and outsourcing within the United States.
- Lack of In-Person Support
One of the biggest cons of choosing remote IT support is the lack of in-person help for issues that have to do with physical IT problems. Remote outsourcing for IT support in regard to actual hardware requires shipping and can incur long delays for your customers. Not only does your customer have to wait, but it becomes much more challenging to ensure the quality and careful handling of your products.
On-Site IT Support Solution
An excellent alternative to remote IT support is to outsource using a local IT support provider. What makes on-site outsourced IT support different from remote outsourced IT support is that on-site outsourcing is a workforce of local people reachable by phone or in-person who can provide service to your customer’s home or office directly.
Not only can it give you more control over the quality and care of your products and services, but it can also provide a genuine human touch and face-to-face customer interaction, which can boost overall customer satisfaction. By using local IT support, you are also supporting your local economy and U.S. workers. Learn more about in-home computer repair here.
Final Thoughts
Outsourcing can be a great benefit to your company. However, the type of outsourcing can have a significant impact on your company’s success and customer satisfaction. It is essential to thoroughly research your options before deciding on how to outsource your IT support.