Recent developments in cheaper, faster and more resilient connectivity coupled with more affordable services and the desire to benefit from the security aspects of housing all or part of a company’s IT function remotely has seen a rise in demand from the neglected SME sector. Peregrine Newton of The Bunker Secure Hosting, outlines the conditions that have brought about this fundamental shift in work practices

The largest companies have benefited from outsourcing all or part of their IT function off-site for many years. The benefits of such an approach are apparent – reduced and predictable costs, a level of service agreed in a contract, data security, expert support on hand 24/7/365 and the ability to add features and functionality as and when required. This approach allows them to concentrate on their core business without the worry of vulnerabilities in their back-office IT functions to handicap them. Other companies not quite as large have looked on enviously and hoped that they avoid the many threats to this vital business function on a daily basis.

The combination of a number of factors means that this luxury previously only enjoyed by the few is now becoming a reality for companies with as few as 100 employees. The Bunker noticed this size of organisation was being ignored by some of the bigger outsourcing providers and our recently launched IT Outsourcing service has been specifically designed for them. It offers fixed costs service contracts to companies that don’t have dedicated high-level IT staff to steer IT acquisition strategy which often leaves management feeling “out of control”. It therefore helps management transition from spiraling and unpredictable costs to reduced and predicable costs – the vicious to the virtuous circle. IT Outsourcing offers 24/7/365 support from cross-platform experts that are a phone-call away. Also, up-scaling and adding functionality is simple and the costs predictable. This level of service goes way beyond the traditional “support” function typical of SMEs, that usually means on-site support 9-5 and in-house technology experts being “on call” from home the rest of the time.

These companies stand to benefit from both a staffing and infrastructure perspective. Precious human resources are freed up to concentrate on driving the business forward while the need for a dedicated server room that drains resources both in terms of power and finance is no longer required. However, it isn’t just the physical housing of servers and hosting of back-end applications that IT Outsourcing handles; as well as the highest levels of data security and service from dedicated staff. This truly is an all-encompassing IT service, offering much more than the traditional view of IT “support”. Quite simply, the SME that wants to concentrate more on its core competencies will benefit from relinquishing its IT function.

Developments in technology have meant more reliable connections to bigger storage and faster communications. This enables the hosting of applications and services remotely and essentially allows IT services to be hosted anywhere, rather than in a dedicated server room in the depths of a company’s offices.

In parallel, the amount of data that even a relatively small company stores (and legally has to keep) has exploded – as the threat to this data from physical, digital and human attack has increased. The biggest threat to data is from within, with either malicious or accidental attacks. External attacks can be direct, such as hacking attacks or indirect from flood, fire, power brownouts or blackouts as well as a higher threat from terrorist strikes. When the recent rapid growth in smart mobile devices is added to the equation, this inevitable move towards remote, hosted services becomes even more compelling – a company’s executives can be anywhere in the world with wireless access to laptop and smartphone. The days of being grateful to be able to access even part of your company’s digital assets while “on the road” are gone – the modern worker demands access to every piece of digital data in a company, past and present, now and fast.

In addition to these permanent changes in business, where the IT function has almost “merged” with the modern executive, the recent economic dip has prompted many SMEs to look at their IT spend and how to make its investment work harder. An obvious benefit to companies is converting IT spend from a capital expense (CAPEX) to an operational expense (OPEX) – conserving cash and removing depreciating assets from the balance sheet while replacing them with a reliable and predictable monthly spend.

It is common for companies to outsource many functions and rent everything from office space to particular expertise – so the desire to “rent” IT is a natural step.  The capital expenditure associated with hosting IT functions in-house are multiple – aside from server room space, technology equipment, air conditioning and power costs are all unpredictable spends, adding to the “out of control” feeling. The fixed setup and monthly operational cost of outsourcing removes this ongoing worry while allowing for up-scaling at short notice.

These contributing factors - both technology and business-driven - have made the outsourcing of IT functions a reality for SMEs that were previously priced out of untethering themselves from the worry associated with an on-site IT department. With data centres on ex-MOD sites at Ash in Kent and Newbury in Berkshire, The Bunker is able to offer unprecedented security for a company’s digital assets away from the high-risk area of London as well as guaranteed power and very high levels of back-up supply should there be an unforeseen problem with the national grid.

IT Outsourcing frees-up the SME to achieve more while providing the flexibility, scalability, predictability and security that today’s industrial landscape demands. By centralising IT infrastructure, a company can regain control not only of its ever growing infrastructure, but more importantly their most expensive and most profitable business functions. That’s why it is an option that no company can afford to ignore.