Information Technology Outsourcing For Small To
Medium Enterprise

Corporate-class computing scales to SME market

SMBs (Small to Medium Businesses) succeed when they outrun and outsmart the competition. That means using faster, smarter Information Technology. Almost twenty years ago, when chartered accountant Pramen Prasad became a partner in Toronto CA Solutions, he decided that a 'paperless' office with the latest hardware and software would provide a real competitive advantage. He was right. That investment paid off with significant cost savings and an accounting practice with customers across North America and around the world.

A year ago, Prasad made another significant technology decision and outsourced his company's computing and communications capability to Network Integrators of Canada.

Managed Services Providers (MSPs) like NETWORK INTEGRATORS contract with customers to handle some or all of their Information Technology needs: network and security services; Internet and web applications; backup and data management; and, maintenance and support. Because the MSP can recover the costs of data centres, hardware and software upgrades and updated expertise from many different customers, it can provide high-quality services to individual customers at a more affordable price.

Managed Services became a necessity for Toronto CA Solutions, Prasad explained. "Although we're fully automated and paperless, and it's beautiful, it just became the next natural progression in that I have an IT manager on staff and I wanted to utilize him more on client-related and billable revenue generating projects, but he was dragged into our internal projects."

LEAP OF TRUST

Outsourcing to a complete package of managed solutions looked cost-effective, but there were other important factors in the decision, Prasad said. "Well, of course, then you run into the fears," he said. "If we needed technical support, how would we get it? We had the person in-house. How would we get it through a third party? How do they manage our data? Is it secure? Is it safe? Can I restore it on demand? Can they manage our web solutions and server, the hosting and the email, so that we're never down?" Given those concerns, it is no surprise that when the project moved ahead, the security services were the first to be implemented, followed by a robust backup and disaster recovery solution.

First steps are steepest

The president of Network Integrators, Rob Duxter said Toronto CA Solutions was an unusual project because Pramen Prasad is so knowledgeable about computers. In many other cases, he said, "People don't know what they need. In the majority of cases, especially in the smaller space, SMB customers require us to dictate exactly what they need."

Duxter said companies with more than ten computer users should look at their in-house Information Technology costs and compare them with the cost of managed services. "Up to about 50 employees there is no justification whatsoever for an in-house IT staff," he said. Over 50 users, he said, companies should look at the skillsets of their internal staff and see where outsourcing could fill the gaps.

Business owners should be prepared to spend time and attention at the beginning of an outsourcing project Duxter said because, "There is usually some upfront work to bring a SMB up to the industry standard baseline, putting in the pieces they don't have which might be security, backup and data management, remote access, or maybe a new server."

Prasad has referred several of his clients to NETWORK INTEGRATORS for managed solutions. "I thought it was appropriate for them because of the level they were at with their technology." Managed solutions can mean cost savings for novice IT users or organizations because it eliminates the learning curve required to properly manage Information Technology, he said.

THE BENEFITS ADD UP

"We've gone from a very traditional accounting kind of service, to a very advanced solution which lets us get the work performed very efficiently, which allows us to provide the real value to our clients, which is advisory," Prasad said.

Every morning when he turns on his computer, he can look at reports that help him to manage the business. "I get reports from my service provider about everything that everybody in the organization is doing, with respect to usage of computers or the Web. It shows violations. That makes me feel better. It's like a report card system," he said. "The thing I really welcome and appreciate is the one-page summary I get at the end of the month. It is a snapshot of our technology use. That tells me whether or not we are meeting our corporate objectives."

Prasad is a firm believer in making well-reasoned, well-timed investments in technology, because as Toronto CA Solutions has proved, the returns can be substantial. Today, he believes that smaller businesses should be taking a serious look at outsourcing their computing and networking functions.

"There is no reason why they should not look at that. I think two or three years ago, it was not affordable because there were very few good third party providers in the marketplace, but I think there are many more coming to join the existing companies in the marketplace," he said. "So, for the Small to Medium sized Business, I think it's affordable now."

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