It can start the head spinning, keeping up with the latest IT innovations and new software appearing on the market. While it’s a continuing challenge, our relationship with business software, cybersecurity and IT systems has changed significantly over the years.
Here are just a few of the IT outsourcing trends you can expect over the next 12 months:
1. We’re Changing How We View IT
While the biggest benefit of IT outsourcing in the past has been how it can save on operational costs, businesses today are beginning to take a more holistic approach. IT isn’t just a necessary evil that protects us from cybercriminals but can help build a better business and provide huge benefits for customers.
2. Businesses Are Becoming More Confident
We have a greater understanding what we need and what is available when it comes to IT outsourcing than we did perhaps a few years ago. Business customers are likely to choose more than one company to work with when putting their IT support together.
This is actually good for the industry as a whole and should encourage competition and innovation to go hand in hand.
3. Sharing Responsibility
More players brings an additional challenge in that outsourcing partners may well have to work together to establish collective responsibility.
Greater competition and collaboration should also lead to more flexibility in things like contract type and length with customers no longer being stuck in ill-fitting contractual relationships with companies that aren’t delivering.
4. IT Outsourcing Combined with AI
The development of AI and other IT tools means that businesses are starting to look at the way technology can solve their administration and productivity challenges. The huge improvements in bots and AI that can take over traditionally time-consuming and menial tasks is one area in particular which will define the industry over the next few years.