For many businesses, having reliable and responsive IT support is crucial for operations. As technology continues advancing, the decision between using a local IT company versus a national or offshore provider is an important one. There are advantages and drawbacks to both approaches.
In this article, we’ll explore the key factors for business owners to consider when weighing up IT support options.
The Benefits of Local IT Support
Working with a local IT company has some major perks. Here are some of the top benefits of using a local provider:
Faster response times
With IT technicians close by, they can quickly arrive on-site when technical problems arise, should the issue require physical intervention. Although many IT problems can be solved remotely, not all of them can, and less IT-savvy team members may feel more secure with an in-person approach to fixing problems when needed.
Having rapid support can minimise downtime and disruptions for your business. If the network goes down or critical systems crash, delays waiting for non-local IT personnel can mean extended periods of costly downtime. Local techs can be at your office within the hour.
Hands-on troubleshooting
With physical access to your office network and equipment, local technicians can do more in-depth diagnostics and troubleshooting.
Being onsite allows them to investigate issues inside your systems and infrastructure. Problems can often be pinpointed and fixed faster with direct access.
Familiarity with regional challenges
Local providers understand issues common to businesses in the area, like local power and internet infrastructure quirks. They can plan contingency measures for regional problems like blackouts, storms and telecoms outages. Non-local providers can lack this local insight.
Relationships and trust
There are benefits to regularly working face-to-face with a local team. You can develop rapport, share institutional knowledge, and have confidence they genuinely care about your business' success.
Tailored services
The best local IT firms will get to know your business needs inside out over years of working together. They can then customise services, support and solutions rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Other providers tend to offer more generic solutions.
When non-local IT Support Pays Off
While local providers have advantages, IT support based out of town can also be a practical choice for some businesses. Reasons to consider non-local support include:
Cost savings
Offshore and national providers can offer economies of scale. Lower overheads and larger teams allow them to offer competitive rates local companies may struggle to match. This makes national IT support appealing for budget-conscious businesses.
Read our blog on “How much you should be spending on IT support”
Specialised expertise
National firms may have access to more niche skills and experience supporting specific industries, technologies and systems that local generalists lack exposure to. This can benefit complex IT environments.
24/7 availability
With offshore support, technicians in different time zones can provide emergency assistance outside normal business hours. While many local IT services do offer around the clock support packages, they may charge a premium if there’s limited staff availability.
Scalability
Larger providers can rapidly add staff and resources as needed to match business growth. Any local firms which are small businesses may have less flexibility to scale support capabilities quickly.
Making the Right IT Support Choice
When weighing up using local versus non-local IT support, consider your business' specific needs and priorities. Factors like your IT budget, growth plans, vulnerability to downtime and relationship preferences will inform the ideal choice.
Here are some questions to guide your decision making:
- How quickly do you need on-site support when issues arise?
- Is it vital to have an in-person working relationship with your IT provider day-to-day?
- Does your business rely on niche industry-specific solutions and expertise?
- Is cost or value for money the most important factor for now?
- Does your disaster recovery plan rely on on-site support or will remote support suffice?
- How quickly are you expecting to grow and scale operations?
- Do you prefer placing trust in a local provider you can meet face-to-face?
For many small enterprises, the close attention and rapid response times of local IT support make it the better choice. For larger businesses willing to sacrifice responsiveness for lower costs, non-local support may offer more advantages.
Partner with SpiderGroup for Reliable IT Support in the UK
As fellow local business owners ourselves, at SpiderGroup we understand how crucial responsive, tailored and cost-effective IT support is for success.
As a medium-sized business located in the well-connected city of Bristol, we like to think we’re the best of both words. We’re well placed to be able to visit many of our clients on-site when necessary and are dedicated to offering a personal, friendly service and to tailoring what we offer to precisely fit the tech needs of our clients.
However, we also offer high quality remote tech services across the UK for a competitive price and have a large enough team to have a wide range of expertise and experience across the world of IT and tech.
We offer flexible services to suit companies of all sizes and industries. Contact us today to learn more.
