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OWN ENGINEER OR SERVICE COMPANY?
Project implementation, support and development is a lengthy, multilevel process. The question that most companies are faced with is which is better? - to outsource these activities to an independent specialized provider, or to keep an extra employee on the payroll.
On the face value, it could seem that having an in-house function is always cheaper and more reliable. The main consideration here is obviously cost. The belief is that your own employees' work is cheaper than services of another company. It is so indeed, if IT system build-up and maintenance is seen solely as a cost.
However, if you consider that the information system is part of you business, the cost – benefit ratio is a better guide in taking the right decision. Here a qualified specialist becomes more competitive than own staff; the company has experience in all kinds of IT-related problem solving, a qualified staff, and therefore more possibilities to achieve maximum efficiency in the implementation and subsequent operation of your LAN. Importantly, your employees get a chance to concentrate on their core tasks.
There is another important issue: a lot of people believe that a LAN must be built by permanent employees, who know the organization structure better. In practice, however, this is a risky way to go. Experience shows, that losing such an employee, for whatever reason, is often a major crisis, which can disrupt the IT system operation in particular, and the whole business in general, thus causing substantial losses. Using an IT service provider involves no staff risk.
Advantages of working with an independent service company:
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Services are performed by a qualified team of professionals, working on LAN design and support
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An independent provider can bring in a lot of new technologies and services
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It has competence in different fields at the same time
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It reacts quickly to common customer's problems
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An independent company has no reasons to conceal problems, and cover up mistakes and violations
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It keeps management fully informed because it shows company work
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It has access to additional resources (people, equipment, technologies)
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It holds legal responsibility for the quality of work
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It values its reputation above all
Disadvantages of independent Service Company:
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Insignificant time delays when unplanned equipment failure occurs.
Disadvantages of own engineer:
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Ability to perform tasks limited by own knowledge, which may be not enough for complex solutions
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«Irreplaceability» and «unaccountability» - nobody in the company can control or replace the specialist
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Aspiration to increase own level at the expense of company, unjustified equipment purchasing and unjustified delays of company development, struggle for own prestige and job
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Social guarantees, taxes etc.
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Permanent workload is a problem
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Separate work place and equipment
Advantages of own engineer:
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History of system development
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Quick response to most problems in system
The conclusion is that both alternatives have their own advantages, as well as disadvantages. Therefore the most rational decision is combining both:association of own IT-manager and independent professional service, provided by an external organization, such as «Ronix Systems». This approach does not require the IT-manager to be a professional in computer networking. All that is needed from the IT-manager is a clear idea about the company’s needs, problems, capabilities, and corporate culture. The development of optimal solutions of given problems and further system support can be outsourced to a company like us.
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