With 2022 behind us, we at MainSpring look back on a year full of challenges and successes. In the midst of an IT landscape filled with complexity and risk, we are proud of the difference we have made for our partners and clients – meanwhile, we’re hopeful that we will make an even bigger difference in the coming year.
The arrival of 2023 brings with it many trends that will force businesses to rethink their strategy on many fronts. And while the future is never certain, two things are clear: organizations will be spending more money on IT than ever before, and increasingly that money will go towards outsourced technology services.
Don’t believe us? According to Gartner, worldwide IT spend will grow to $4.6 trillion, which represents a 5.1% increase from 2022. At the same time, outsourced IT services are growing at a compound annual rate of 8.06% – almost 3% faster! In this article, we’ll explain why this is a good thing for businesses, and why you should be next in line for IT outsourcing.
The coming storm
Today the global business landscape is changing more rapidly than ever before, and 2023 will see the accumulation of many trends that have been developing for years. With business operations increasingly tied up with technology, IT strategy will play a key role in how organizations prepare for and respond to the coming storm:
- Economic Downturn
In the midst of heightened global conflict and supply chain disruption, experts predict that the world economy is in for recession and turmoil. This will likely cause companies to pull back from increased investment and hiring; there will be a push for “making due” with better efficiency, labor-saving automation and cost reductions to offset potential losses.
- Rising Cyber Threats
Cyberattacks are increasing in both frequency and cost, as they have for many years. In 2023 that trend will continue, and organizations will need to keep cybersecurity in mind in their business practices, solutions and third-party partnerships.
- Talent Gap
IT talent has been difficult to find and afford for some time. Now, thanks to trends like “the Great Resignation,” it is also difficult to retain. Organizations especially need cybersecurity talent, and employees who can translate between IT concerns and business outcomes.
- . Remote Employment
Companies are continuing to participate in hybrid work models – by the end of 2022, 25% of all professional jobs in America will be remote. This has created an expanded network perimeter outside organizational networks that generates new vulnerabilities and challenges for collaboration.
- Tech Disruptions
Emerging use cases for AI, automation and increasingly complex SaaS tools are poised to transform businesses across every industry, creating a competitive gap for organizations who fall behind. Successful organizations will evolve with the changing order quickly, while those who don’t will suffer from lost revenue and brand equity.
How outsourcing can future proof your business
Having laid out some of the challenges businesses will face in 2023, how can IT outsourcing help to protect you?
- Stronger Cybersecurity
In 2023, cybercrime is expected to grow by 15%, costing global businesses $8 trillion by the end of the year. Ransomware, phishing attacks, growth in darknet markets, shadow IT, cloud misconfigurations and politically motivated cyberattacks are just a few of the dangers businesses will face from an increasingly volatile cyber landscape.
The right IT partner can offer the cyber expertise and toolkits that small businesses lack – meanwhile, they provide an extra pair of eyes for large organizations with their own cyber teams. They can also conduct audits, vulnerability assessments and vendor assessment to ensure your IT infrastructure is safe, complying with both federal and industry-specific security standards.
- Better Operations
With mission-critical business operations tied up in IT and software tools more than ever before, streamlining your technology stack is vital for improving efficiency, productivity, communication, and customer support.
An IT partner can provide the tools your employees need to succeed, aligning IT strategy with your business needs. Better tools can result in significantly better outcomes – for example, a Forrester study found that use of collaboration tools correlated with a 10% increase in productivity across multiple organizations.
- Expert Talent
In the midst of today’s talent gap, organizations are finding it increasingly hard to find IT experts, keep them on their team, and lead them in an effective way. Finding experts who also have the business experience to align IT strategy with long-term goals is even harder.
IT outsourcing allows businesses to access a pool of expert talent without having to hire and train in-house staff. This is especially helpful for businesses that have specific, technical IT needs that may be difficult to fill with in-house staff or that require a level of expertise that may not be readily available in the local job market.
- Navigate Disruption
Working with the right IT partner can help businesses to stay ahead of disruptions and ensure that they are able to stay competitive with the arrival of emerging tech – especially artificial intelligence (AI), automation and SaaS tools.
Certain outsourced technology partners – such as virtual chief information officers (vCIOs) – can improve your business resilience by proactively finding use cases for emerging technology and preventing your business from falling behind disruptive trends. They also help to keep technical debt at bay by replacing legacy systems and keeping your business on track to modernization.
- Cost Optimization
In the midst of a coming economic downturn, businesses need to ensure that every dollar goes as far as it can. In the past, we’ve written about the problem with cutting corners: spending as little as possible is not the most effective way to reduce costs over the long term. Making the most impact with the money you spend is the better strategy.
Ultimately, outsourced IT providers reduce costs in many ways. Above all, they can deliver high-quality services and solutions for a fraction of what it would cost to procure them in-house. The best IT partners also have years of fine-tuning which make their services maximally efficient and cost-effective.
The MainSpring difference
In the past, businesses have often relied on so-called “break-fix” IT partners who will answer the phone when there’s a problem and leave when it’s fixed. This is the standard of service many organizations have come to expect from technology vendors and third parties alike: beyond putting out third parties, they do little to contribute to the value of your business.
In recent years, a shift towards managed service providers (MSPs) has signaled that businesses are looking for a more customized approach to IT services – the managed services market is projected to reach $557 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 12.6%. But as we’ve explained in the past, not all MSPs are created equal.
A good MSP goes the extra mile: they are driven and engages, constantly adding value to their own services, finding new ways to help their customers stay ahead of the curb. Above all they help you to make better decisions based on your values and goals, shaping the solution to the client and not the other way around – this is the standard of IT service that businesses should look for in 2023, and for years to come.
To learn more about the MainSpring difference, contact us today.
