Outsourcing IT Inside America
You shouldn’t be afraid of outsourcing IT in America any longer. In our modern world of global expansion, almost everybody has experienced the frustration of calling a service number only to end up speaking with someone on the other end of the line who barely speaks the same language and doesn’t understand what you’re trying to tell them. Why does this happen so often? The short answer is that it mostly happens because more and more customer service, technology support and information technology (IT) jobs have been farmed out to overseas companies that offer to provide these services at a substantial savings to the company hiring them.
The type of situation described above has created something of a negative stigma around the word outsourcing and has caused many people to complain about American companies shipping jobs overseas. Nevertheless, outsourcing isn’t, in and of itself, a negative thing. Outsourcing is simply hiring individuals or companies outside of your business to perform specialized work that you don’t have the money or resources to perform with an internal team.
Outsourcing IT in America
Even if you’re just starting to look into outsourcing your services, you’ve probably found that there are many, many companies in India, China, The Philippines, South America and elsewhere that offer a wide variety of services for significantly less than it would cost to hire your own team. However, cost savings should never be the only factor you consider when making a decision as critical to your success as to which company to outsource work.
As mentioned above, outsourcing is simply working with people outside your company in order to have specialized work done. Yes, this can be done on an international level, but what you gain in price you often lose in quality commitment, reputation, and business and cultural compatibility. That’s why outsourcing IT in America is a growing, thriving industry.
In order to avoid the negative connotation sometimes associated with the word outsourcing, some people prefer to call this type of venture as “rural sourcing” or “near-sourcing.” Whatever you call it, it’s a great way to gain the specialized talent you need without many of the difficulties of hiring, training and maintaining a large, internal IT team. And while outsourcing IT in America may cost more than some overseas options, it can still typically be accomplished with significant savings over maintaining an internal team. This is especially true if your business is located in one of the many high-priced metropolitan areas in our country.
3 Advantages of Outsourcing IT to an American Company
As we’ve discussed above, low cost should never be the sole reason you choose an outsourcing company. Below, you’ll find three key advantages to choosing an IT outsourcing company inside the United States.
1. Fewer Cultural and Language Barriers
Generally speaking, people who live and work within the same state or even country have much more in common when it comes to language, background, and business culture than they have in common with people from other countries. These commonalities tend to make communication with an American outsourcing company easier and more pleasant. If you’re looking to outsource IT services, this can become very important.
The IT industry, like any specialized industry, practically has its own language. Having a common frame of reference with the people at your IT outsource company can help you understand each other despite difficulties caused by the use of industry jargon. Adding an actual language barrier or cultural barrier on top of an industry language barrier could have the potential of creating a catastrophe.
2. Direct Access to Your IT Supplier
There are many different circumstances under which you may need to visit or communicate directly with people within the company supplying your outsourced IT services. When you choose to outsource your IT services in America with an outsourcing partner like SSI, it is much easier to facilitate this type of direct access because you don’t have to worry about traveling internationally. Additionally, on-site meetings and inspections are far simpler without factoring in overseas travel.
3. Fewer Time Zone Issues
When outsourcing IT in America, you’ll find fewer issues connected to working with people in far different time zones. Within the continental United States, you’re never more than 3 hours different from someone in another time zone. On the other hand, working with an international company means accounting for time discrepancies of up to 12 hours or more. Under the wrong circumstances, these types of time discrepancies can cause serious issues in both communication and getting work accomplished.
Your business is important. Not just to you, but to everybody that relies on it for employment, products or services. Choosing to outsource specific, specialized segments of your business model can help your company to not only survive, but to grow and thrive. Nevertheless, outsourcing your company’s IT services is a big decision that should not be made lightly. That’s why we encourage you to weigh all of your options carefully before making a decision that can have a huge impact on your business and your bottom line. If you would like to discuss how outsourcing to an American IT company can benefit your business, we encourage you to Contact SSI Today.
