Information technology today is closely intertwined with traditional business areas, so more and more companies order IT services for organizing and maintaining computer infrastructure. Qualified technical support brings many benefits to entrepreneurs: it increases labor productivity, maintains equipment performance, and saves wages. With its help, you can ensure the smooth operation of the enterprise and respond in a timely manner to critical incidents in the workflow.
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What Are IT Services?
Without qualified support of IT systems, it is impossible to achieve safe and stable operation of the company. Partial or complete failure of computer equipment can lead to the loss of important information and subsequent financial losses, so the IT infrastructure of the enterprise requires maintenance, configuration, and intervention in case of an emergency.
IT services are a wide range of organizational and technical solutions aimed at qualified support in the field of information technology. These include:
- design of IT systems with the selection of software and necessary equipment;
- maintaining computer networks in working condition;
- diagnostics and prevention of computers, office equipment;
- configuration, maintenance of servers, workstations;
- organization of access to the Internet;
- providing anti-virus protection and regular data backup;
- recovery of equipment after failures.
In large enterprises, all these activities are usually carried out by internal IT departments, but if their maintenance is too expensive, third-party organizations are involved in the provision of IT services. The main requirements that apply to such companies are the effective planning of new solutions, the guarantee of return on investment, and the ability to quickly adapt existing infrastructure to changing business processes.
Types of IT Services
Since the provision of IT services involves the involvement of several participants, each company independently chooses for itself the types of services it needs. Most often, service providers in the field of information technology distinguish the following main areas of their activity:
- IT outsourcing;
- IT consulting;
- IT outstaffing.
IT Outsourcing
IT outsourcing is the transfer by the client of the current functions of maintaining IT systems to an external company. The service is provided on the basis of a contract, and the contractor guarantees the customer the accurate fulfillment of all tasks. IT outsourcing enables companies to reduce the costs associated with hiring and retaining employees, obtain favorable conditions when purchasing software and office equipment, and significantly improve their efficiency. The outsourcer provides a clear plan for infrastructure development and provides a single entry point to perform the necessary tasks.
The scope of activities of the involved organization includes:
- audit of computer infrastructure;
- maintenance and repair of computers;
- installation and configuration of software;
- ensuring the safety and security of data;
- administration of corporate services;
- consulting support.
The service helps to achieve stable operation of the information system with the prompt solution of force majeure problems. Specialists are responsible for the full functioning of the local network, servers, e-mail, protecting or restoring data, quickly fixing any possible malfunctions and critical errors.
IT Consulting
IT consulting is based on a set of works aimed at creating or reorganizing the company’s IT infrastructure. Specialists evaluate IT systems to ensure they meet business needs and establish an effective information technology management structure. The company’s IT services in the consulting field may include:
- audit in the field of IT technologies;
- development of a strategy for the development of the existing computer system and business continuity;
- assessment of the effectiveness of the applied corporate systems;
- optimization of IT infrastructure.
Outstaffing
This IT service assumes that a third-party organization becomes the official employer of the employees of the client company, while the personnel continues to work in their enterprise and perform their previous functions. Thanks to this approach, the company gets rid of the need to maintain personnel records and reduces its payroll costs by about 30%.
Advantages of IT Services
Technical support and maintenance with the help of third-party organizations ensure the stable operation of the information system at the enterprise. Thanks to a professional IT service, business leaders can count on a number of benefits:
There is no need to waste employees’ time on maintaining the IT infrastructure, which allows you to free up resources for the priority activities of the company.
The organization receives quality service from experienced technicians and system administrators.
The efficiency of the information department of the company increases – the implementation of a clear strategy developed by outsourcers optimizes business processes.
The company receives transparent prices for IT services with regular reporting on the service provided.
The entire volume of services provided is prescribed in the contract, so the client can exercise full control over their quality.
With the involvement of third-party companies, the fault tolerance of the entire IT system as a whole increases significantly. The enterprise has the opportunity to reduce downtime associated with equipment failure, and the business becomes more competitive and flexible.