Could Cutting IT Costs Save Your Startup? There are some things that are inevitable when you’re starting up in business. You’re going to be spending much more money than you probably anticipated – and a lot of that money is likely to be going on IT expenses. Painful right? The thing is, there’s a workaround that doesn’t compromise on anything. If you’re looking at IT staff salaries and wondering if you’re in the wrong line of work, you’ll be pleased to know that you don’t have to build your own IT team. You’ll also be pleased to hear that deciding against building your own IT team isn’t going to compromise on what you get from IT. The secret is – finding a good managed IT service provider. If you can, you’ll save yourself the enormous amount of money and hassle that’s involved with nurturing your own IT team – and you’ll be bringing onboard an expert group of professionals that can potentially push your business in directions you didn’t know you could go. What’s wrong with in-house IT? On the surface, it perhaps sounds like an in-house IT team is bad news. In actual fact, that’s definitely not the case. IT teams can be the oil that keeps a very large and complex machine moving. The question isn’t whether or not in-house IT teams are valuable and talented – it’s more about whether or not now is the right time for you to be building that team. Think about it this way: The recruitment of one staff member is going to cost you somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000. Now, that’s assuming you only need one person to run your entire IT infrastructure. More realistically, small startups generally require 2-3 people to get their IT systems into place and keep them running. So, that’s more like $12,000 – $15,000. Even if you’re sitting on that kind of money right now, don’t forget – this is recruitment cost. You haven’t paid a salary yet. Add your recruitment cost to the cost of training, accreditations, and baseline monthly staffing cost – and you’re suddenly looking at a figure that’s potentially $25,000 or more. IT is the backbone of your business In many cases, this kind of cost is somewhat justified – after all, IT is going to be the foundation that most modern businesses are based on. Get this right and you’ll have solid systems that’ll take you from your humble beginnings to your first million-dollar year. The thing is, you can get this kind of service without the outlay. In fact, you can probably get a service that’s far superior. While there are some financially secure IT managers and general staff that may think your startup is worth them taking a risk for – the majority won’t think this way. Not because you’re not talented or you have a poor business plan – simply because they’ve got bills to pay – and startups are not a sure thing. So, you might not get the cream of the crop. Great IT service providers do get the cream of the crop though. They can pay well, they can keep people up to date with costly accreditations, and they can promise a dynamic and unique working environment where the scope to learn a huge amount about the systems that power countless startups and enterprises. What’s more, if half of those startups fold, they’ve still got plenty of customers – so there’s solid security too. Where would you go if you were an IT professional? In short, talking to a managed service provider isn’t just going to save you money – it’s going to buy you an outstanding team that’s at the...