I want to outsource my IT, but can’t find the right people. Help!

I am a business manager. I have an IT manager and a technician who report to me but I want to outsource. The business is no longer being supported by the technology we have and we need to span the void to let the company grow, but all the people that come to see me seem to be the same as the geeks I already have. What do I do?

This is the frustration felt by business managers in many medium-sized businesses and the reason is quite simply that a full-time IT strategist is not required to keep the systems working. So when the systems are not being developed a good technician can become the IT manager, which helps keep costs down and ensures the existing equipment is maintained. This is tactical management versus strategic development.

The problem you are facing is that you are looking for someone who understands your business and can align technology with your business goals. This goes back to the business plan and aligning the IT plan with it. This is not a job for a technician; this is a job for an IT strategist.

Technicians think about technology in terms of making it work and what features it has. This is kind of a “bottom up” approach that does not tend to play well with the management team in a medium-sized organisation. A strategist will look at the direction the business is taking and what systems will be required to support the business development and then will align technology with those business systems.

If you invite a technical company in, but just ask them for a proposal, you run the risk that they will just quoting to start solving problems as they may well do for a smaller company. You need to invite people to get to know your business and consult with you to build the solutions you require.

If you are going to outsource your IT support you will need to find an organisation that has strategic capabilities, not just sound technical capabilities. If the first advice you get is to fix this problem at a technical level, chances are you are too low down the food chain and you need to move to a larger or more competent firm to get a company that want to get to understand your company culture and business requirements before making changes.

Often we see this after a change in top-level management, when there is a renewed focus on driving growth. If the infrastructure has been allowed to degrade over the previous few years, there is a great opportunity to get a fresh perspective on how your technology issues can be addressed by current technology. It is worth persisting to find the right advisors. Who knows, maybe after that you can keep the in-house staff you have to do the ongoing tactical work if they are good enough.

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