Computers are impossible to escape from these days. If you’re running a business, you almost certainly rely on digital systems. According to statistics, around 77% of jobs now require a computer.
This reliance on digital technology means most businesses have an IT support system. IT support is always a difficult decision for businesses as you need to balance cost with performance.
So what are some of the factors that affect the average cost of IT support for your company? This article lists 4 of the most essential elements.
1. Internal or External
One of the most significant factors in determining your IT support rate is whether the company is internal or external. Hiring an internal team is usually the most expensive option as you’ll need to pay those employees a wage and give them all the tools they need.
On the other hand, your costs are somewhat lower when you hire an external team. The downside is that an external team will have multiple other clients.
2. Setup Costs
Another factor to consider with the cost of IT support for small businesses is the setup costs. All kinds of IT systems will need to be set up before they’re operational. For example, you might want to implement a support ticket system through an external company.
Any company you hire will need to set up the technology first. In some cases, this might take several days of labor. The more complex the system you want to implement, the more the setup will cost.
3. Data Storage
Data storage costs money, and the more data you store, the more it costs. Whether you’re storing data internally or externally, you’ll need to pay for storage space.
If you want to practice good data security, you’ll need to have multiple copies of everything. This can quickly push up your costs if you have a lot of data to work with.
You should resist the urge to cut corners in this area, as data loss can be devastating.
4. Local vs. Overseas
Remote assistance technology means you don’t even need to be in the same country as your IT consulting company. This means you can save a lot of money by outsourcing your IT to a cheaper country.
While overseas support might be cheaper, it can introduce issues like time zones. Some IT problems will also involve physical hardware. An overseas team may struggle to investigate those kinds of issues.
Now You Know the Cost of IT Support
There are certainly many ways you can cut the cost of IT support if you want to save money. With that said, your company relies on your IT systems to operate. You shouldn’t cut the costs so much that you don’t have an IT company you can depend on to keep you up and running.
If you want to learn more about some other technology-related topics, check out the rest of our blog posts.
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