Is it time you joined the growing legion of corporate executives who’ve discovered that outsourcing your data center is an advantageous solution? They’ve learned that outsourcing can be more than a viable alternative, it can be a very savvy investment in your company’s future.

Here are five reasons why.

People.  

Your HR department is probably struggling to find and attract the most desirable, highly-qualified IT staff to replace retiring in-house experts. You can’t afford downtime, missteps or sluggish response while younger generations get up to speed with older systems, especially when both costs and customer service are on the line.

Outsourcing links you with top performers who are fully conversant with your systems as well as emerging technologies.

Equipment.

And on a related note, your legacy systems themselves are closing in on retirement age. Things may still be going well, but one of these days your current arrangement simply won’t be able to provide the comprehensive, seamless, reliable functionality you count on.

Moreover, older systems can be balky when it comes to interfacing with newer technologies and applications you’re already bringing on line or which you know you’ll need soon. Processes and systems that don’t mesh smoothly cause expensive disruption and unnecessary frustration, diverting people’s time and thought away from productive work.

Planning.

Outsourced staff are part of your team, contributing broad skills and knowledge to help identify additional opportunities to increase efficiency, expand or enhance services and even develop new revenue streams. That adds up to better use of all resources. And you can be confident that you’ll have what you need to meet long-term goals and short-term benchmarks and timelines.

Outsourcing your data center also assures predictable costs, making financial planning and forecasting easier and more accurate. You get one line item instead of numerous expense inputs scattered throughout multiple functions or departments.

Disaster response.

Let’s be honest. Risk management is boring. And it’s not a profit center. It’s all too easy for busy executives to short-change non-mission-critical functions in favor of business activities that directly drive revenue. But failure to properly protect your technology against disasters large and small can have a devastating effect, bringing your entire enterprise to its knees.

“Disaster” comes in numerous guises – not just the horrific natural disasters we see on the news, but security breaches, equipment breakdown, software malfunction, etc. Outsourcing your data center gives you more – and more effective -- disaster response and recovery options such as off-site location and full system redundancy. It’s easier to meet industry best practices and government requirements. And outsourced solutions can be surprisingly cost-effective.

Savings.

Reducing operations costs is a must-have survival skill for every company, regardless of size or global position. Margins are narrowing, and retaining customer loyalty is tougher than ever. Often it’s the lure of significant savings that marks the entry point of interest on the part of C-suite execs to explore outsourcing’s potential value.

If you can’t see through the windows and walk through the doors that open for you in the future, no data center arrangement will be of much value. Savings buy opportunity, and ultimately that’s what keeps you competitive.

Outsourcing your data center can help increase productivity and streamline work flow,  increase uptime, mitigate risk and reduce ongoing out-of-pocket expenses. All those things help feed a healthy bottom line.

Photo Credit: FutUndBeidl