Outsourcing ICT Support
With new technologies constantly being introduced and cyber threats evolving, IT support is essential for any school.
Many schools and MATs maintain an in-house IT department for technical support, usually because they have not considered outsourcing support.
This blog highlights just some of the benefits schools and MATs receive from choosing to outsource their support to an education specific ICT support partner.
Experience
Outsourcing to an experienced support provider guarantees a breadth of knowledge that is not always otherwise available. Engineers representing a support partner working in your School or MAT will have a network available to consult if they do not know the solution to an issue.
Additionally, engineers will often be working across multiple schools and MATs, therefore they will bring ideas through seeing practical solutions succeed and deliver elsewhere.
Business Continuity
In the event your in-house team fall sick or resign, you have the headache of arranging cover or you run the risk of having lessons disrupted and some seriously unhappy staff. By outsourcing your support, it is the responsibility of your provider to arrange cover in the event of absence. Given that your provider specialises in support delivery and therefore have a team of engineers, they should be able to deploy cover at short notice.
Cost Savings
You would naturally think that having your own in-house support to be a cheaper solution. After all, the advantages offered by outsourcing must come with a steep price tag and running an in-house team might be worth it to save money. However, this is not always the case……
With in house support, it is not just the salary costs to look at, you also need to consider other factors you are paying out for, such as:
- Staff expenses
- CPD
- Second line support for your onsite team
- Hardware for your ICT staff
A further financial benefit of outsourcing your support is that you only pay for what you need. Most schools (especially smaller schools) do not require a full time ICT presence. However, talented engineers are unlikely to want to work on a part time, reduced hours basis. When you outsource your support, you can agree a schedule of visits, to support your needs and your budget. Between visits your provider should be supplying a service desk for remote support and issue resolution.
Outsource your IT support to SBS.
Along with experience, continuity, peace of mind and time savings, the company you work with will bring more to the table than you imagined. Some of these benefits will only reveal themselves with time.
Contact School Business Services and arrange for a FREE consultation with one of our talented ICT Education Specialists and find out how we can support you and your school needs.
Get in touch today
Please contact the ICT Service Desk on 0345 222 1551 • Option 1 or email ICTservicedesk@schoolbusinessservices.co.uk
