Why Outsourcing Just Makes Sense For Ottawa Businesses

Why Outsourcing Just Makes Sense For Ottawa Businesses

Are there major gaps in your IT team?

The pandemic has led to high demand for tech-related skills, and a less-than-sufficient supply to meet it. Stats Canada reports a record number of vacancies for tech-related jobs in the first quarter of 2021, up 11% from the previous year.

Are you having trouble filling key positions on your IT team? Do you need additional IT resources from time to time? Is your current team overworked and falling behind?

Outsourcing may be the right call for your Ottawa business — discover more in our latest video:

The State Of Ottawa Employment During The COVID-19 Pandemic

The technology field is far from the only industry to be suffering from a lack of available skilled workers. Canada’s labour force participation has fallen to its lowest since August of last year, as potential workers look for better employment options, deal with healthcare issues, or prioritize remote work and time with their families.

At the same time, as businesses have increased reliance on IT systems in order to support new remote work models, IT positions have become much more necessary. IT Directors and Project Managers are included on a shortlist of key positions to have greatly increased in availability over the past year and a half.

The bottom line is that if you have gaps in your IT team, it won’t be easy to fill them. You’ll have to spend time looking for skilled professionals with experience, and you’ll have to offer them greater compensation than you might expect in order to attract them to the position.

In other words, hiring your own IT professionals is more difficult and more expensive than ever. That’s why you should consider outsourcing your IT needs (whether in part or altogether) with Fuelled Networks.

Why Should You Outsource Your Ottawa Business’ IT?

It’s important to note that outsourcing your IT doesn’t mean you have to lay off your current IT staff members. If you just need a project handled, or one key position staffed, Fuelled Networks can make it happen.

Aside from the flexibility offered by an outsourced IT support arrangement, there are a number of other benefits to doing so:

• Reduced IT Costs: Businesses that choose to outsource can convert unplanned IT expenses to fixed, predictable ones. This frees up capital for other aspects of your business.
• Reduced Downtime: Downtime is bad for business. And the main cost of downtime is not the fix itself, it’s the halt in your business’ productivity. If an IT-related or natural disaster occurs and takes critical systems offline, employees will be unable to complete their tasks, yet your normal business expenses will carry on. The fact is that downtime is often the result of poorly supported IT. The best way to approach downtime prevention is proactively – you need to keep an eye out for system issues that can spiral into total stoppages. You need to implement backup technologies and best practices to prevent outages. You need to enhance your cybersecurity to protect against cybercrime.
• Develop Confident Security: Security is one of the most important aspects of technology. While technology evolves and data expands, the number of ways your IT network can be compromised increases. For example, cloud services are widely used today. However, to ensure the security of an offsite server, it must be continuously monitored and assessed. We can deliver robust security skills and experience, helping to advise you on the credentials of vendors and conduct ongoing risk assessments to identify network vulnerabilities.
• Access Modern Technologies: Many businesses find it difficult to keep up with the latest advances in technology. Outsourcing with Fuelled Networks provides easy access to the latest technology so you can be more competitive in this technology-driven world. In addition, with IT services, these solutions are less expensive than if you purchased them yourself. Most IT companies have partnerships with vendors and can provide new technologies at a reduced cost.
• Scalability and Adaptability: As your business grows, your IT needs grow as well. Keep in mind that new service offerings often come with significant upgrades or new software programs. Fuelled Networks can provide the flexibility you need to change your products/services or add new ones when required. That’s not all though — outsourced IT support can be especially helpful as you continue with remote work…

The Limits Of Internal IT In A Remote Setting

The pandemic has also revealed where internal IT teams may be limited. It’s one thing to support an IT environment when you’re directly interfacing with it. It’s another to try to support dozens of home office environments, all with different hardware, levels of connectivity, and other differing factors.

Has your team been struggling to keep your staff supported? It’s understandable — many businesses’ IT support processes were not developed with a remote model in mind.

If your team hasn’t been able to deliver the support required, it’s likely led to some issues:

• Poor functionality for remote solutions deployed at staff members’ homes
• Compromised security in your extended network of home offices
• Less value for the investment you’ve made in your IT support

Give Your Ottawa Business’ IT Department The Resources It Needs

No matter whether your IT team is overworked or in over their heads, the solution is simple – get the extra help you need from Fuelled Networks. Via fully or co-managed IT services, our team of experienced technology professionals can work with your existing IT staff to help pick up the slack, and keep your business running smoothly.

Get in touch with our team to learn more about this service and what it will do for your Ottawa business.

Ernie Sherman

I have a strong passion for helping Ottawa Businesses, Entrepreneurs and professionals to become more productive and successful while allowing them to feel at ease and secure when it comes to their Information Technology needs. As the President of Fuelled Networks since 1998, I specialize in providing no-nonsense flawless and prompt technical support to Ottawa businesses, with in-depth consulting on Fortinet, Microsoft, Microsoft Cloud Stack and security. I strive to help businesses to succeed and take great pride in building long-lasting positive relationships and taking on a strong leadership role within the Ottawa community.