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Some tools and resources are essential to the daily productivity and efficiency of the company. Employees in many cases rely on the functionality of network technology, computer equipment, and computer peripherals such as printers in order to get their jobs done. That means that if these devices or equipment break, work stops.
It is imperative to have the equipment fixed as quickly as possible so that normal business operations can resume. A service or repair technician should only be a phone call away. But does it make sense for the repair technician to be a salaried employee of the company?
The Case For Outsourcing
The answer to that question depends on a few different factors including how often repair services are necessary. For a small or medium-sized enterprise that may only need computer equipment repair services periodically, it may not make sense to pay an employee, plus all of the benefits and other expenses that normally entails.
Lance Lapworth, sales manager for IT service company Reliable IT, says, "Many small-scale companies do not have a budget to hire a full-time IT person to handle their needs on a daily basis. Employing an [IT repair company] gives them the ability to have coverage and safeguards them when IT issues arise."
Larger companies may have full-time computer repair staff at their main office site, but employees who work from home or travel a lot and small branch office sites hundreds of miles away still pose some difficulty. The expense of providing a full-time, salaried computer repair technician for each office or remote site is too large to justify in most cases.
By hiring an IT repair and service company to provide the maintenance and troubleshooting for the company, you can leverage trained, certified technicians with cutting-edge skills and education to provide cost-effective maintenance and repair even for employees who work from home.
IT Repair & Service Companies
Do a search on consultants.apple.com and you will find hundreds of companies at the local and national level that can provide those services for your company. A smaller company may prefer dealing with a local computer repair service, while a larger company with more remote or branch offices scattered about the country may need to look at a computer repair service provider that is capable of servicing its needs nationally.
Remember, certifications are an important part of the IT outsourcing equation. Engineers should be certified on the current versions of any of the product they are working on.
Spending Wisely
For many companies, outsourcing computer service and repair just makes sense on many levels. From a financial standpoint, the 2005 10th Annual Salary and Certification Survey in Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine found that the average salary for an A+ certified technician was $56,602 a year. Then there is the ongoing expense of continuing education and training to make sure he keeps up with technology.
The cost of hiring an outside firm to provide computer maintenance and repair services can vary greatly depending on a number of factors such as how many employees or sites are being serviced, what types of equipment are being serviced, how quick you expect the service to be provided, and many other considerations. In the end, though, you can often get the expertise your company needs and save significant money at the same time.
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