Uncertain Times
As businesses consider outsourcing information technology departments, how do local and overseas companies compare?
QUAKERTOWN, Pa., September 24, 2008 – With the economy in an uncertain state, rising prices can be found everywhere around us – food, gasoline, and many services are affected by this trend. The business and information technology sectors are no exception. Yet as companies work to stay afloat maximizing budgets and productivity, it becomes imperative thatthey can function smoothly. Information technology (IT) can be the foundation to an effective and efficient business, and as IT costs continue to rise congruent with other services, many business leaders wonder how to properly allocate their technology budgets.
While some companies rely on internal information technology departments, others do not have the personnel or knowledge to handle the extensive planning, monitoring, implementation, and maintenance required to build a solid IT base. In efforts to reduce costs without compromising productivity, many organizations are outsourcing their IT function to both regional and overseas IT firms.
Offering, sometimes, significantly lower prices, overseas services often seem like appealing solutions, yet Michael T. Irving, president and CEO of Keynetx, Inc., a mid-sized Quakertown, Pennsylvania-based, business solutions firm, suggests that these short-term cost savings might not last over the long haul. “The level of performance that some overseas firms are promising has yet to be seen,” says Irving. “Our experience is that these companies tend to offer lower hourly costs, yet tack on additional fees with little regard to budget as projects change in scope.”
The challenges of working with overseas information technology firms are significant – time differences, response times, values, and language barriers, to name a few. “We have found that new clients turn to us after their work with overseas firms has failed,” Irving says. “The challenge that many companies face is effectively managing their IT projects that are being completed and overseen on a different continent. It can be difficult to keep projects on time, on target, and on budget.”
Working with a regional or national business solutions company such as Keynetx, Inc. offers a company several advantages according to Irving. “Unless a company is an IT firm itself, it may not have the time or expertise to build and maintain reliable information systems that will, in turn, reduce costs,” says Irving. “We have built our own business on helping other companies find solutions, most often through information technology. We allow professionals to keep their focus on their business by assuring that the information technology foundation and infrastructure in the company remains in place,” he says.
Regional firms also offer the benefits of face-to-face accountability. Irving says, “We feel highly accountable to our clients. We obviously do our best to quote projects as completely and accurately as possible, yet in circumstances where we need to make additions to our original projections based on the changing circumstances of a project, we always communicate these additional costs to clients before moving forward, often face to face,” says Irving. “We can work with clients to decide on the best ways to work additional costs into the budget, or complete the work over time to spread out the costs,” he continues. “In the end, we want our clients to be happy with us and the business solutions we provide.”
Some regional and national firms can also be a resource for staffing. While some information technology components can be maintained remotely, companies such as Keynetx, Inc. have the ability to physically work on-hand and in-house to monitor systems, preventing problems before they arise. Further, by contracting with a regional IT firm, some companies may be able to secure an in-house, specialized IT support team without the overhead costs of a permanent staff.
With businesses today dependent upon being connected to customers on a global level, it seems to make more sense than ever to consider the use of regional and national business solutions/information technology firms to manage and support the systems that keep this interconnectivity possible. Offering accountability, competitive pricing, and a customer focused approach, companies like Keynetx, Inc., offer a sensible solution to business needs in today’s global marketplace.
About Keynetx, Inc. Based in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, Keynetx, Inc. is a leader in the development, implementation, and management of business systems. Founded in 1999, Keynetx offers a customer-focused approach to high quality, cost-effective business solutions. Keynetx currently provides consulting services through off- and on-site working relationships with a focus on full life-cycle database management.