IT Outsourcing Services

Alternative Resources Corporation Cambridge Technology Partners Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Datacentrix Holdings Limited

Idion Technology Holdings Jost AG MSH INTERNATIONAL SERVICE AG Sun Microsystems Inc.

Sykes Enterprises, Inc Ucs Group Limited

Guide to IT Outsourcing Services

Maximize the cost-effectiveness of your information technology budget by outsourcing IT
By A.S. White

IT outsourcing has been one of the most talked-about options in the information technology market in recent years. Some of the discussions have focused so heavily on the negative effects of outsourcing IT internationally that many business owners have become leery of information technology outsourcing as a whole. But IT outsourcing solutions can be incredibly beneficial to your company when used effectively.

Many people don’t know that there are huge lists of domestic providers of IT outsourcing services that can save your business time and money. These IT outsourcing firms focus on maximizing the cost-effectiveness of your budget by providing IT professionals to your company that are not your direct hires. When you eliminate the hiring costs of these people, the overall savings are a substantial reason to IT outsource.

When looking to maximize the stretch of your budget with outsourced IT professionals, among the key points to consider are:

1. The location of the IT outsourcing service;
2. The type of work for which you’re considering technology outsourcing;
3. The duration of your information technology outsourcing project.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Work only with domestic IT outsourcing companies There are so many people that have strong negative feelings about outsourcing IT internationally that you carry huge risks if you choose to do so. From local and federal legislators looking to punish companies who 'take jobs overseas' to your average customer who finds working with a foreign representative off-putting, it's just not worth it. Instead, focus on domestic IT outsourcing options that are readily available and more business-friendly overall.

I recommend:  Onshore offers IT outsourcing services utilizing rural American workers. By training these workers in high-tech jobs, they create a win-win situation of allowing you to IT outsource domestically as well as providing the employees with skills that will serve their careers well. Avazpour offers domestic IT outsourcing for companies with 20-300 users.

Outsource IT positions with the highest hiring cost per employee When working in IT human resources, it's important to know your hiring cost per employee. Between the actual hiring process and any necessary training, jobs with high turnover such as call center and customer service positions can cost an inordinate amount of your budget for every hire. These are the best types of positions for IT outsourcing because the help desk outsourcing firm will instead assume these massive hiring costs.

I recommend:  Katalyst offers outsourcing solutions for those high-skilled technical support positions that can be difficult to fill. If your needs are more customer service-oriented, LiveOps offers a variety of both inbound and outbound solutions.

Choose IT outsourcing for small, highly specialized projects While it's easy to focus on large IT outsourcing solutions, it's also important to think about utilizing outsourcing for those smaller specialty projects that pop up from time to time. If you're looking to purchase some new hardware, redesign your website or maybe work with a client on a new portion of his business, it can be more cost-effective to outsource these smaller projects than to hire someone new or train an existing employee in the necessary skills. Often, you can find individual freelancers for these outsourcing projects.

I recommend:  Elance offers listings of web and programming professionals that specialize in providing IT outsourcing services for projects small and large.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Be sure to poll your own employees to see if someone has a hidden skill before turning to IT outsourcing. They may just surprise you.
• Network with other local business professionals to see if there are any local providers of IT outsourcing services. Locals can sometimes know your needs better than those across the country.