IT Support Options – How Much Time Does an In-House IT Team Really Have for You?

There’s no denying that pretty much every business is dependent on technology. And that if we want to work productively, stay competitive and grow, that technology needs to be 100% reliable. Agreed then that IT support is a business essential if you’re going to avoid damaging downtime and productivity hold-ups. But if you’re thinking about employing your own in-house IT manager or team, there are some very important facts you need to know first.

On average, an in-house IT team spends 86% of its working time just keeping the IT systems functioning as they should. Granted, there’s a lot to do. Dealing with support requests, managing backups, monitoring for cyber threats and handling general everyday issues and maintenance all add up.

But when you think about it, that leaves just 14% of their time to deal with unforeseen issues that have the potential to cut into productivity. And even less to work on new initiatives and projects.

Picture the scene. There’s been a system crash. It’s brought everything to a standstill. Staff can’t work, customers can’t place orders and production has ground to a halt. Your in-house IT support team is summoned to deal with the emergency. Now all those other jobs that take up most of their time are side-lined whilst they get everything back up and running. It’s far from an ideal scenario.

“An in-house IT team spends 86% of its time just keeping things up and running”

We mentioned that an IT system needs to be 100% reliable. But if it’s going to deliver maximum benefits, boost productivity and help an organisation to grow, then business technology also needs to be right for the job, and up to date.

The trouble is that the in-house IT support team is busy spending 86% of its time on day to day tasks. And they’re behind on those tasks, because they had to stop and deal with that system crash.

This means they don’t have time to concentrate on looking at potential new technology initiatives that could improve productivity, enhance staff morale and boost customer experience and competitive edge. No time to look at hardware upgrades. To weigh up whether there could better software solutions to suit the specific needs of the business.

Outdated hardware is prone to errors and failures. Legacy IT equipment is often incompatible with newer systems and software. Maybe it was an old IT system that caused that crash that took your IT support team away from their everyday tasks?

UK private sector employees are wasting an entire working day every month due to IT issues, at a cost of £35 billion to the economy, according to YouGov and Managed 24/7 research.

“Employees waste a WHOLE DAY every month on IT problems”

The study found that almost 6% of an employee’s productive time is wasted on IT problems, equating to 27 minutes every day, or a whole day every month. The most common IT problems experienced by workers are slow running systems and equipment, and outdated kit.

If only the in-house IT support team had the time to focus on improving and bringing current systems up to date. But they only have 14% of their day free.

What’s the alternative to in-house IT support?

The alternative to in-house IT support is outsourced IT support. This can be supplied on a pay as you go basis, or as an IT support contract where you have a set number of hours you can call off as you need them.

With an IT support contract, there will be a Service Level Agreement in place to guarantee response times, and you’ll be given priority over ad-hoc support requests. You’ll also have access to an IT helpdesk for everyday issues, and proactive monitoring to identify system issues before they escalate into downtime.

And here’s the key benefit. As well as taking care of all of the above, your IT support company will also have the capacity to step back and look at the bigger picture, analysing where improvements can be made to boost productivity, reduce risk and help you meet your business goals. In other words, you get 100% time commitment to 100% of your IT needs.

Get the most out of your technology with an IT support contract from ClearTec IT.

At ClearTec IT, we support our clients’ business growth plans by using technology to make them more productive.

With an IT support service contract delivered by our fully qualified experts and Microsoft accredited technicians, you’ll have access to all the time you need. Time to keep everything running smoothly day to day, and time to plan for the future too.

Buy hours in blocks and enjoy Service Level Agreement-backed response times and complete flexibility.

To learn more about how our IT support service works and how ClearTec IT could become your trusted productivity technology partner, creating solutions perfectly tailored to your business, you are welcome to get in touch.