It’s not uncommon for business owners to look outside their four walls for IT help, and this is especially true if you are in a growth pattern or looking for technology-based solutions to gain a competitive edge. When considering options, you may hear choices described as professional services or IT project management. Which should you choose?
Professional Services
Professional services are the right fit for ongoing IT needs. The options widely vary, from managed services that handle a specific area of IT, such as network management or cyber security. You can even outsource your entire IT operations to a professional services provider.
IT Project Management
Project management is ideal for a company that has an upcoming cloud migration, network upgrade, or transition to unified communications, among other projects. There are many benefits to working with an IT project management staff augmentation plan, including the following:
Specific Expertise
Even if you have an in-house IT team, they may not have the time or the specific skills you need for an upcoming project. For instance, if you are considering a network upgrade to a virtualized solution, it would be beneficial to work with an IT professional that has successfully migrated to virtualized networking.
Cost Savings
It always feels like a budget pinch when it’s time to consider outsourcing, but when it comes to IT project management, you’ll find several areas of cost savings. From the difference in hiring exactly the help you need versus an in-house employee with salary and benefits to the time and money your project manager will save by keeping your project focused, you’ll soon see the benefits of this investment.
Reduce Risk
Not only will they have experience with the technology, but a project manager can identify and mitigate challenges before they occur. They will be able to give insights before the project has started to determine whether it can be completed by your anticipated deadline. Then, throughout the process, they will help you avoid potential problems related to areas like cyber security and network performance.
Reduce Pressure on Your Staff
When implementing an infrastructure upgrade or migrating mission-critical software to the cloud, it’s tempting to task your amazing IT team with the job. But the result might be a stressed-out, overburdened team. Outsourcing IT project management is a good move for keeping your best talent; you give them better technology to work with, but you don’t task them with the heavy lifting of implementing it.
If your business is anticipating an IT upgrade, make the process easier by outsourcing to an IT project management services provider like Proper Connections. We help companies like yours transition to new technology, implement a cloud migration, or upgrade communications without compromising your budget, timeline, or day-to-day business operations. Contact us for more information.