Benefits of IT outsourcing for application support

Therefore, companies employ application support engineers. Application Support Engineers are responsible for installing, monitoring, maintaining, updating, and supporting software applications. They are the ones who ensure the effectiveness of the program and initiate improvements. And no one other than them is responsible for predicting system failures and solving problems that arise.

Imagine the modern high-tech world, with its millions of applications, without IT support services. Needless to say it would be complete chaos. Failures in banking, healthcare and marketing systems, data breaches, customer frustration and business failures. Today, when the growth of a business directly depends on its technological maturity, professional maintenance and support for the proper functioning of applications becomes vital.

A company can hire its own application support engineers or outsource their responsibilities to an external provider. Having your own staff to handle application support ensures stability in a sense. But its cost, its inflexibility in terms of price and scope, and the limits of its expertise have more and more business owners looking for alternatives. As the world of technology evolves, outsourced IT support services are growing in popularity and could be a great solution for those who are ready for a change. In this article, we'll provide an overview of its value, various forms and pricing models, and some tips on how to choose the right provider and what to do next.

Benefits of outsourcing IT support

Along with obvious benefits such as higher business productivity, increased customer loyalty, improved transparency and the possibility of flexible payment schedules, outsourced IT support has other benefits worth mentioning. Among them are:

1. Adjustability. The number of services rendered can be adjusted to the needs of the company. This is different from having internal employees, which require fixed salaries and workload.
2. Better performance. Due to the growing number of IT vendors and stiff competition in the market, entrepreneurs strive to ensure the best possible quality. They are generally interested in establishing long-term cooperation with their customers. This is why suppliers offer highly specialized professionals to meet each specific request.
3. Cost savings. IT engineers are there 24 hours a day for emergencies, and they are available from day one at no additional cost for vacations, sick days, and office rentals.
4. Extensive knowledge base. Third parties employ versatile personnel and state-of-the-art technology. Plus, they have access to expensive licenses and scarce subscriptions that small businesses couldn't afford anyway.
5. Optimization of human resources. Outsourcing certain processes frees up internal staff to develop the brand, bring in new ideas, take better care of customers and therefore produce better products.

Varieties and Payment Options of IT Outsourcing Support

Currently, companies can choose an IT outsourcing model that suits them best. This choice depends on the volume, regularity and complexity of the tasks.

Depending on the scope of their project, a company can order:

• complete outsourcing, where vendors provide comprehensive support, including assessments and recommendations;
• selective outsourcing , involving only several aspects of the project. Depending on the location of the provider, the following types can be distinguished:
  • outsourcing ashore , when the client and the contractor are located in the same country;
  • offshore outsourcing , where the supplier is from a different country, continent and time zone;
  • a mixed approach , allowing the distribution of tasks between domestic and foreign companies.

When choosing an IT support outsourcing company to work with, keep in mind determining factors such as a communication barrier, cultural gap, and time differences.

The good news for many companies' budgets is that there are different pricing solutions available when outsourcing:

• dedicated teams, when a designated team works on your project for the long term, with fixed responsibilities and regular payments;
• shared teams , when payments are lower since the work is performed by a team serving multiple clients and projects at once;
• subscription fees , covering issues occurring on a monthly or annual basis for a fixed payment. This solution is suitable when the number of tasks can be easily predicted and they are mostly minor.
• incident-based approach , good for rare problems. It is based on payments made as needed to deal with sporadic problems.
• mixed model , appropriate when the number of tasks is more or less known. In this case, all additional numbers are paid for separately.

The main challenge when choosing the best pricing model is proper workload assessment so that customers don't overpay. It is good practice to review work results 1-2 months after the start of cooperation to adjust service requests according to the actual workload. You can also switch to another payment method based on your current demands.

How to outsource

So what should you do if you decide to outsource your IT support?

Step 1. Agree with your management. Let your bosses know that it is necessary to involve a third party company. Together you can determine the budget, scope, form and desired results of the services.

Step 2. Select the provider.

At this stage, it is important to find out as much as possible about the potential partner's experience, approaches, adherence to QC and QA requirements and data security policies, etc. Find the time to interview the engineers who will be assigned to your project. Are their skills and level of communication sufficient? Have they worked in your industry before? Do they have the same values ​​as you? Are they ready to learn more about your technology? If either answer is no, consider the implications when deciding in favor of that vendor.

Step 3. Sign a contract. When entering into business relationships, clearly define service delivery time, expected KPIs and payment terms. Engage your legal advisors to consider delays, inadequate performance, penalties and termination terms.

Step 4. Transfer tasks. This phase takes weeks, sometimes months. The service provider needs time to study your computer documentation and become familiar with the project.

Step 5. Monitor performance. Gather feedback from your app users, as well as your IT department, and scrutinize third-party reports. If you find that the quality of services is not satisfactory, note and evaluate all breaches of agreement, negotiate them with the contractor and, if necessary, change supplier.

Of course, the pros and cons of outsourcing IT support are up for discussion. Either way, apps are an integral part of how every business operates. A well-functioning application greatly improves the customer experience and generates profits.