Guest Contributor

Is it Time to Hire IT? Pros and Cons

By | Samantha Higgins

An effective IT consultant partners with a client. They advise them on ways to use information technology to meet business needs and overcome common challenges.

But before you hire an IT professional, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of what it will mean to your organization. In this article, we’ll take a look at the reasons it makes sense to hire IT as well as the potential downfalls.

Pros of Hiring IT

First, we’ll look at why hiring IT is a good decision.

1. Better Productivity

Business innovation comes from partners and employees communicating in harmony and openly practicing timely knowledge-sharing. In order for employees to share important information with others, they require the use of things such as:

  • Servers
  • Seamless, fast internet connections
  • Central databases
  • Smartphones
  • Email

But if these systems aren’t performing at their peak, communication will suffer. When communication suffers, productivity suffers.

With the many complexities of communication technology, a qualified professional in your area will definitely help your business.  For example, if you live in New Jersey you might search for IT consulting NJ. A qualified professional can make sure all of your business’s vital communications run smoothly and without interruption.

2. Get an Edge Over Your Competition

IT consultants undergo ongoing training that allows them to bring innovation into your business. This keeps you up-to-date with advancements in technology while remaining one step ahead of your competitors. You never know when you might notice something that will give you a huge advantage over the competition.

When you hire IT you also hire the necessary skills to allow your business to stay on the cutting edge of trending software, hardware, and network applications.

3. Lowered Costs

Hiring IT will reduce many of your expenses, such as recruiting, training, vacations, insurance, and wage increases. All of this is taken care of for you. You are only paying for their services.

You’ll also reduce space and daily material expenditures. Most of the time, your IT professionals will not be working on-site.

4. Better Security

With so much corporate hacking and cybercrime attempts, it’s important that your information is safe and secure. This helps prevent private information from being accessed or stolen by criminals

A professional IT consultant should be extremely well-versed in all things related to data security, including encryption.

This protection is an absolute must for any business looking to avoid costly, reputation-damaging data attacks.

5. Fast Access to More Talent

Experienced consultants have years of work experience and specialize in elaborate skills that are hard to find. Even better, most firms have entire departments of specialists that focus on only one or two areas of IT support.

This gives your business access to more talent that you’d be able to hire on a full-time basis.

Cons of Hiring IT

Being overly dependant on your IT consultants can impact your business in a negative way. Let’s take a look at some cons of hiring IT.

1. Knowledge That Doesn’t Transfer

If you ever end your relationship with an IT consultant or firm, the knowledge they have about your systems walks out the door with them. If there isn’t a calculated knowledge transfer and data documentation effort, you could be in a lot of trouble when and if they leave.

2. Can Be Expensive

Due to their level of skill, experience, and short-term availability, hiring IT can cost you a decent amount of money.

This becomes even truer if you find that you have a difficult time managing their time. When operating times need to be extended for specific projects, the costs can start to pile up.

3. Continuity Issues

If you need to change consultants at any time, you can lose a lot of continuity in the transition. The new team will need to get familiar with your processes and systems, which takes time and money.

Though each new consultant will come with their own unique ideas, they may not be experienced in the specific challenges your business faces.

Is It Time to Hire It?

Before you make the decision about hiring IT, take some time to weigh the pros and cons. IT consultants can quickly improve the performance of your staff, but you want to consider all potential factors before making a decision.

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