Outsourcing IT services is when a company contracts a third party to maintain its IT systems.

Many people think that outsourcing IT services is just a recipe for a technical and logistical disaster, but if done right, it doesn’t have to be like that. In fact, despite popular belief, there are a number of benefits to outsourcing IT services.

To make the process of outsourcing IT services easier and to increase the chances of your outsourcing experience being a good one, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to outsource IT services below.

What types of IT outsourcing is there?

Before you outsource IT services, you need to understand the different types of IT outsourcing available:

• Offshore outsourcing: This is when you send IT-related work to a company in a foreign country like China, India or Russia.
• Nearshore outsourcing: This involves contracting third parties in countries that border your own. An example of nearshore outsourcing would be if a company in France hired a third party located in Germany to provide IT services. The idea here is that you would experience fewer travel and communication problems.
• Onshore or domestic outsourcing: This type of outsourcing involves contracting an external provider located in the same country as you. They can provide IT-related work either remotely or on-site.
• Cloud computing: This involves contracting an external service provider to deliver IT-related services via the internet.
• Project-based outsourcing: Sometimes you need experts outside of your team for a particular project. In this case, you would hire contractors to take on a specific job.

How to outsource IT services

Follow the steps below to minimise hassle when outsourcing your IT services:

1. Evaluate your IT needs

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Before you do anything, evaluate what your IT needs are. Doing this will allow you to identify exactly what you need and how much help you require from third-party contractors.

2. Establish your budget

As with all things in life, when it comes to outsourcing your IT services, you get what you pay for. Don’t just go for the cheapest option. You don’t want to end up with high school-level work as this could have a detrimental impact on your operations. Having said that, outsourcing doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg either.

To get the most out of outsourcing, identify what you can realistically spend. Once you’ve established a budget and you understand your goals, it will be easier to find the right help you need from third-party contractors.

3. Pinpoint potential barriers and challenges

Although you can't always avoid the hassle that comes with hiring external help, planning can reduce the number of challenges you could be faced with:

• Time zone differences: If you decide to hire contractors on the other side of the world to you, then you need to think about how you’re going to manage time differences. If you don’t sort this out at the beginning of a contract, this could slowly become a problem, especially if your work is time-sensitive and you need quick responses. If this is the case, perhaps consider hiring someone locally.
• Language barriers: This will especially be the case if you hire contractors that speak a different language to you. Consider enlisting interpreters or invest in language classes for contractors, particularly if it's going to be a long-term partnership.

4. Create a communication plan

If you don’t want to wait a month to receive an email from your contractor, then it's important to create a communication plan. A communication plan starts with setting expectations, which should be established from the very beginning.

Let contractors know how frequently they should be communicating with you. For instance, if you want everyday communication, be upfront about this. If the contractor cannot provide this, then maybe they're not the right fit for you. Conversely, if your contractors are going to be working on slow-burning projects that don’t need constant communication, then be clear about how many updates you’d like on the project, i.e. weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

Not only do you need to ensure that your contractors are communicating with you effectively, but you also need to provide them with the support they need to complete the work.

Sure, they may be highly skilled in IT, but only you know your business and its IT infrastructure. To complete the work, they will likely need answers from you, so make sure that you are responsive too.

5. Don’t be afraid to part ways

Just like how some employees aren’t the right fit for your company, not all contractors will be the right fit either.

Outsourcing work will always be a risk and you'll never truly know if a contractor will be the right fit until they start working for you.

However, when searching for potential contractors or IT service providers, get a feel for each contractor before you enlist them. During the initial talking stages, ask yourself the following:

• Are they a good cultural fit?
• Do they have good communication skills?
• Do they have the technical experience needed to succeed in the role?

If you can’t answer yes to all these questions about a potential contractor, it's time to move on and look elsewhere. Likewise, if you discover that the contractor is not a great fit for the company when they have already been hired, don't be afraid to part ways.

The longer you ignore incompatibility, the more your business will suffer as a result and the more chance you have of your outsourcing experience turning into a real-life nightmare.

Want to outsource IT services?

Making the transition between an in-house IT team and outsourcing IT services is a big step for a business. Whilst there are potential barriers and challenges along the way, understanding how to minimise issues throughout the process makes outsourcing a lot easier.

Want to get more help during this transition? Feel free to contact us or join our mailing list for exclusive cloud transformation guides and more.