Last Updated on June 25, 2023 by
Forecasters predict the global IT support services industry should grow at a rate of over 8% per year until 2026. That’s much faster than most industries nowadays.
It’s easy to assume that the pandemic is behind this upswing in outsourced IT, but in truth, it’s more complex than that. This market growth started long before 2020.
Keep reading to find out why IT support is a modern-day business tech necessity.
Table of Contents
Why IT Support Services Work in Modern Times
There are several obvious reasons for this upswing in the growth of IT services. These are the major drivers behind the increasing need for reliable outsourced IT professionals.
Remote Work Is Here to Stay
According to research by McKinsey, we haven’t seen the last of remote work, or at least a hybrid variety of it.
Businesses benefit from reduced costs when workers can complete their tasks at home. Many employees claim to get more done in the comfort of their home office.
With employees spread far and wide, an in-house IT team can’t service their needs efficiently. Yet, remote IT support services can assist any time of day or night.
Outsourced IT support is essential for businesses who want to enjoy work-from-home initiatives.
The Growth of Cloud Computing
In the last few years, cloud computing has experienced significant breakthroughs.
These solutions offer enormous benefits for business growth. Yet, they also pose considerable security risks.
Cloud services expose data to major risks like identity theft, invasion of privacy, and more. IT services offer ongoing monitoring to prevent and detect security risks before they pose a threat to businesses.
This monitoring can analyze every execution, network connection, and application taking place on cloud servers.
Increasing demand for cloud services means its spreading to increasingly sensitive areas. These include the IT and telecommunications industry, as well as a rapidly expanding corporate sector.
Thanks to advancements in the realm of cloud computing, IT services are focusing more on real-time data. This adds value for businesses looking for up-to-the-minute services to:
- Increase discovery of business opportunities
- Optimize remote access
- Boost operational efficiency
It’s only natural that the scope for IT infrastructure services progresses in line with these growing demands.
Certainty in Uncertain Times
Nowadays, businesses face ongoing uncertainties about the future of their industries and enterprises. A tech failure is the last thing they need.
A top-notch IT support services provider gives business owners the peace of mind they crave during this difficult phase.
Ongoing monitoring prevents unexpected tech failures that could eat into productivity and profits. If something does go wrong, they know that their service provider has the resources to sort it out as quickly as possible.
These outsourced services also perform ongoing maintenance. This keeps systems operating at their best for as long as possible.
These services relieve business owners of the time, effort, and expense of keeping these aspects in order themselves.
Changing Needs of Customers
We live in a time when instant gratification is the norm. Customers have come to expect efficient, speedy service across all industries.
Nowadays, service performance is as important as product performance.
They can perform their banking, order groceries, and download movies in an instant without leaving home. Streamlined drop-shipping services mean customers can receive their goods within a few hours.
All these aspects rely on tech to deliver this always-on, instant service.
These excessive expectations place a high burden on modern businesses. It’s a burden that’s greatly relieved by outsourcing professional services, like IT support.
IT services help fine-tune existing technology to meet customers’ demands. This eliminates the need for extra employees to keep up the pace.
Internal Benefits for Businesses
Apart from having a global impact, IT support also offers huge benefits for businesses on a smaller scale. This has led to even the smallest enterprises engaging these services, which fuels the growth of the industry even further.
These include:
Cost-Effectiveness of IT Services
Nowadays, businesses use a wide variety of tech in their daily operations. These include things like:
- Websites
- Communications systems
- Accounting platforms
- Customized internal systems
- Inventory control software
To keep these aspects maintained, operating efficiently, and updated, means hiring an entire in-house team with different specializations.
This is a costly affair and fraught with risks. For instance, unless you’re an IT expert yourself, it’s unlikely you’ll know what qualifications your new hire should have. So, you’ll need to pay an outside agency to find the right fit for your needs.
There’s a high demand for IT personnel, so you can expect to pay hefty salaries for the best candidates. Then there’s the risk your employees will receive a better offer before too long.
What’s more, an in-house team works office hours. You can expect to pay overtime if you need their help any other time.
When you hire an IT support company, they bear all the costs and the risks.
By spreading the costs among their customers, they can afford to invest in things that would cost you thousands of dollars. These include:
- Highly qualified and experienced personnel
- Top-quality hardware
- The latest software
- Top-of-the-range cybersecurity measures
- Ongoing training for employees
Likewise, their clients pay only a fraction of the cost to run this kind of comprehensive IT service.
Most IT support vendors offer a range of scalable packages to suit your exact business needs – you don’t pay for services you don’t need.
Around-the-Clock Service
Thanks to their remote capabilities and expertise, IT support vendors can employ personnel from around the globe. This means they can offer 24-hour service, without it costing their clients any extra.
Sometimes, favorable exchange rates mean that hiring personnel from overseas results in additional cost savings. They’re savings that the vendor can pass along to their clients.
Like most criminals, cybercriminals don’t go around announcing their presence to all and sundry. These vagabonds try to sneak into your systems when no one’s looking. i.e. during quiet times.
Except, when you have an outsourced IT support provider, someone’s always looking. Part of IT support’s function is to prevent security problems before they start, by monitoring your systems around the clock.
IT support services can also perform updates during these quiet times when they’re least likely to disrupt your workflow.
Enhanced Organization
Paper records are a thing of the past. They’re inefficient, impractical, and wasteful.
Technology offers far superior ways to keep track of employee data and performance records. You can create portals that only employees can access to view their conditions of employment, company policies, and more.
Human resources systems can help keep track of job openings, applications, and hiring criteria.
Data management of confidential employee details is critical, as is an efficient, secure backup system for customer information. IT support companies store these records offsite, so they’re safe from internal disasters such as fire and theft.
They help implement and maintain an effective data management strategy that keeps your sensitive information secure and hacker-proof.
Better Customer Support
IT support services can set up systems that enable you to assist customers quickly and conveniently. These may include comprehensive communication channels, like:
- Telephone
- Live chat
- SMS
- Social media
This increases your reach and your customer service levels. Better service levels mean better ratings, which lead to more customers.
IT services can monitor these interactions and ratings to provide valuable insights into how you can improve customer satisfaction.
During busy periods, it’s easy to hire temporary help when you have standardized, automated systems in place.
Marketing Benefits
Great customer reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations do much for your marketing efforts. Yet, IT services can boost your reach in other ways too.
IT support services ensure increased brand visibility with customized app development. These innovations drive customer engagement and give you an edge over competitors.
They amplify your marketing strategies with precise market research based on accumulated data. Tech can help you find new target audiences, analyze their needs, and build suitable marketing campaigns.
Algorithms can constantly measure customer buying behavior and measure transactions. This data is vital for planning new strategies, designing new products, and enhancing service levels.
In this way, IT support services can help you perform the following tasks more impactfully:
- Distribution
- Sales tracking
- Price allocation
- Promotions
- Introducing new products
There’s no limit to how IT support services can help you market and grow your business.
The Future Looks Bright for Managed IT Services
To sum up, IT support services are an integral part of the global IT landscape. They’re also vital for the daily operations of businesses everywhere.
As such, there’s no reason why this industry shouldn’t continue to experience phenomenal growth in the time to come.
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Apart from that, if you are interested to know about Various Roles of IT in Business then visit our Business category.
