What Are All Those DIY IT Projects Really Costing Your Company?

Handling as many IT projects and tasks in-house as possible can seem like a smart, cost-effective approach. If you already have IT staff on the payroll, why not have them handle the work instead of implementing automation tools or hiring an outside provider?

The problem is that companies expect much more from their IT departments today than ever before. They need IT to take a leadership role in delivering the latest technologies and AI-enabled systems to their workforce.

The costs of attempting to handle everything internally can include:

• Staff time: Skilled IT employees may spend hours on repetitive or administrative tasks rather than on strategic projects.
• Lost productivity: Routine troubleshooting and maintenance can pull IT staff away from initiatives that support the broader goals of the company.
• Missed savings: Internal teams may not have the specialized tools or knowledge to comb through invoices to identify billing errors, negotiate the best vendor terms, or uncover unnecessary services.
• Risk of oversight: Without specialized expertise or an outside perspective, audits and reviews may miss problems that a professional would spot.

Audits are a good example of a critical process that shouldn’t be left to employees to tackle.

While they may identify the more obvious issues and errors, a professional IT or security audit brings specialized experience and an independent perspective. It can uncover issues an internal team may overlook simply because they are too close to the environment.

Vendor negotiations present a similar challenge.

IT teams may understand their organization’s needs, but they may not have the time or market knowledge to evaluate pricing, contract terms, and alternatives. An experienced third party may identify opportunities for savings or better terms that justify the cost of its involvement.

Telecom management can also become a time-consuming administrative burden.

Reviewing invoices, tracking services, identifying billing errors, and managing vendor contracts takes time and specialized knowledge. A telecom expense management (TEM) provider can handle much of that work while giving internal IT staff more time to focus on technology priorities.

Outsource Strategically

Outsourcing doesn’t mean turning over your entire IT operation. Quite the opposite. You need your team operating at full capacity so they can deliver the level of innovation your company expects from your department.

Strategic outsourcing involves bringing in outside expertise for work that is:

• Time-consuming
• Highly specialized
• Repetitive or administrative
• Performed infrequently
• Difficult to evaluate objectively

When specialized professionals can complete the work more efficiently, identify savings your team may miss, or reduce the risk of costly mistakes, outsourcing will likely save more than it costs.

The good news …

Our veteran IT and telecom professionals have helped companies save thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars on their annual spend.

WinBill®, our leading-edge TEM solution, takes the burden of reviewing invoices for accuracy off the backs of your busy team. Our deep-dive forensic audit professionals can quickly identify areas where you may be overspending and tighten your vendor contracts to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.

Give us a shout, and we’ll walk you through common-sense solutions and tools to help you save money and optimize the skills and talents of your valuable team. We’re here to help!