Outsource IT in the Mid-Market: The Ultimate Managed Service

By David Bellini 2

Where’s the money to be found by IT solution providers in this Great Recession? I’ll tell you what I’m seeing, it’s a takeover. A takeover of midsize companies’ IT departments by savvy solution providers. Now this isn’t a hostile takeover by any means. And this isn’t a new strategy either. Here are the details.

Perot Systems first made the Outsource IT play back in the 60’s, and found that it could save its clients upwards of 50% of their IT budget, and now I’m seeing successful IT companies like mine grow quickly and profitably by pursuing this business plan.

The Best Candidate

The perfect candidate to outsource is a midsize company, with their own IT department of 5+ people. Those folks cost big money; they are paying their salary, their vacation time, their benefits, their certification training, and more. They are also constantly buying software, workstations, servers, routers, and other IT equipment using their own source and trying to keep up with the latest IT trends, products, and services. Wouldn’t they like someone to come in and take care of all those headaches? Wouldn’t they rather have a regular, budget-friendly monthly expense than the rollercoaster of expenditures that don’t ever seem to stop?

That’s where you, the IT Solution Provider, enters with a plan that is a win-win for the client and your business. As the Outsource company, you swoop in and hire all their IT staff with a 90 day agreement. You keep the IT staff that you need, their best workers, and you get rid of the rest.  You have assessed their IT needs and made a recommended course of action, including putting as much of their infrastructure as you can into the cloud. You do as much remote work as possible, and streamline and automate their IT workflow.

The result is a healthy, steady revenue stream and additional qualified IT staff for yourself, and made your client’s business instantly more profitable. Plus, they can now put more focus and mental bandwidth where it’s needed most: their business. Outsource IT, it’s the ultimate managed service.

And talk about sticky! You will have agreements for standard managed services like helpdesk, antivirus, Exchange and any permanent onsite staffing. If you’re smart, you’ll also have other agreements for VOIP, managed print services, and maybe even HaaS.

What about you? Have you followed the Outsource IT trend?

David Bellini is president of ConnectWise. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsor program. Read all of Bellini’s guest blogs here.