The biggest advantage with in-house IT staff is that the person is there on site day in day out always at hand. The biggest disadvantage of in-house support is generally cost.

For small businesses the cost of retaining a full time systems engineer with the associated need for management, training and resourcing can prove prohibitive. Even for larger businesses the cost of retaining a team with all the required technical skills is generally unrealistic. In practice most businesses strike a balance between in-house and outsourced IT support.

One of the common mistakes made in comparing the cost of outsourced services is to only look at the hourly rate. Usually this will be the most visible point of comparison. Whilst it is harder to compare the benefits that different providers may bring to your business it is often these less tangible attributes that determine the success of a working relationship.

The worst thing that a business can do in outsourcing is to abdicate responsibility for determining business priorities. A good consultant provides valuable advice; however that advice needs to be weighed against other considerations.

In selecting an organisation to handle your IT outsourcing requirements you need to ensure that you are dealing with people that can not just deliver technical answers and implement technical solutions. You need a partner that is listening to your business.

Accountability is all about ownership. When a problem exists in your business then clarity in who is responsible for hunting down the solution is half the battle. As people we all face competing demands for our time and our thoughts. Outsourcing provides a clear demarcation point that says that this person at this time is focused on this task to achieve this outcome.

Of course it’s critical that any outsourced provider has a point or report within your organisation to ensure that the alignment of their activities and your interests remain on track. This need not be a complex or highly formalised process but it is important for both parties that there is a clear point of contact and an ongoing dialogue.

Whilst it’s important that your service provider has a team of engineers that can resolve your problems it usually makes more sense to deal with the same engineer on a day to day basis. This way the local knowledge that they acquire in relation to your site can be applied on future visits. You want simple things solved with a simple phone call.