WHATEVER line of business you are in and whatever its size, IT remains central to its success and further growth. At the same time, however, the pressures on IT delivering what you need now and for the future have never been greater.
Not only are IT departments wrestling with skills shortages, they also have to face things like mounting responsibilities placed on them and the expanding IT real estate that they have to manage.
This is exacerbated by the pace of change, especially driven by vital cyber security requirements and cloud computing, while the expected 2018 implementation of the islands’ response to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation is anticipated to create significant further demands and obligations.
These developments place further pressures on IT departments and, even if the necessary staff are available, there are inevitable pressures on head-count and cost.
Resolution IT, Guernsey’s leading specialist outsource providers of innovative IT solutions, support and managed services, has been increasingly aware of the difficulties this has been causing for business and has been working to produce cost-effective remedies for them.
Resolution’s response to these pressing issues is the Hybrid IT Department – a partnership between your existing in-house capability and its own highly skilled professionals – made available when you need them or have to carry out specific project-based tasks.
Positive benefits
Since offering this ‘hybrid’ service, Resolution’s client response demonstrates some very positive advantages:
Projects are completed when previously they might not even have been started.
- Clients gain access to qualified and experienced personnel for as long as necessary without having to recruit their own staff
- Enhanced access to vendors, suppliers and support channels is possible by tapping into Resolution’s own extensive networks
- Hybridisation frequently adds lasting value to existing teams through improvement to skills and knowledge acquired by working alongside Resolution’s own specialists
- Clients’ own user base and stakeholders benefit from an improved service from their internal IT department without headcount changes.
No downsides
Are there any problems with adopting a Resolution Hybrid IT Department strategy for your organisation?
To date, the company’s experience suggests there are few, if any. However, there are a number of misunderstandings or concerns that can arise at various levels when this approach is mooted that might require managing.
The first is that bringing in external specialists implies job losses or that an individual’s position is at risk. Another is that Resolution’s involvement might be taken to suggest an individual or a team are lacking in some way.
In each case, the key to successful involvement is ensuring IT departments understand that Resolution’s presence is purely in a support role to enhance existing capabilities, provide additional skills or experience that might be needed in the short term only, or simply to supply some much-needed extra IT hands at peak times when workloads or projects require it.
Cost concerns are also inevitably raised but experience indicates that Resolution’s hybrid approach is exceptionally cost effective, provides full transparency on fees and charges and avoids the employment and HR costs of recruiting your own IT experts.
In addition, Resolution is committed to building lasting, value-for-money relationships with its clients and is happy to discuss fully costed solutions ahead of any involvement.
What to do next
In today’s business environment, the modern IT department will be striving to provide the best possible service, solutions and customer service to its users. With Resolution as your virtual ‘right hand man’, you can guarantee getting the best from your team – whatever demands are placed upon them.
For more information please contact Resolution IT – www.resolution-it.co.uk
Pierre Jehan, Client Services Director.
