How does an IT support agreement save you money??

Spending money to save money?

No, I don’t think I am going mad! Hopefully this article will illustrate how sensible investment in IT support will more than pay for itself, and bring you benefits above and beyond relying on “in house” or “ad hoc” assistance.

Firstly, with an IT support agreement in place with a third party provider, you don’t need to employ a technical expert on staff in order to keep your network running. Also you won’t need to task this to someone who is already part of your team, potentially taking their time and attention away from their core role and abilities.

There is a clear cost associated to your time or someone else’s time within the business, when key people internally are looking after your IT. If you calculate the cost, it will be significantly more than you may have imagined and savings can be made by taking out an IT support agreement with an external, expert provider.

Secondly, a service plan gives you access to the expertise you need whenever you need it (your external provider won’t be impacted by your staff holidays or absence for example). The external supplier will be up to date with the latest technological developments and, more than likely have already experienced your problems, hence being able to provide speedy advice. A good IT support agreement should provide the necessary support to resolve the issue quickly, before it significantly impacts your business in lost productivity and in turn, revenue.

Thirdly, good quality support agreements lower the cost of maintaining your IT network over time, saving you money that you can then invest in other areas of your business. This is because proactive support by your provider means that as a business you are receiving the most benefit from your IT equipment and can consider any budgetary requirements in advance.

Finally we also find that some businesses still opt for ad hoc support terms. Such support is priced at the higher end of the spectrum, meaning that you are always paying a premium for the service required. It also means that you are a customer rather than a client and as in any industry a client is often serviced quicker and more favourably than a customer, again costing the business time and money. (Your regular support from an external provider is governed by strict Service Level Agreements, adding accountability, which doesn’t exist with many ad hoc suppliers) The lack of a long standing business relationship means that there is a little continuity with your IT function- certainly a benefit that a regular support agreement would provide for you.

The key point is it’s not always obvious that a regular support agreement will save your business money and time. However if you weigh up alternative approaches, it soon becomes clear that the support agreement is the best policy in terms of cost, quality, availability and continuity.