Debating between in-house tech support and virtual tech support is common for modern business owners. The old model of always bringing on new employees whenever a need arises can seem difficult to break away from. However, the reality is that using in-house tech support will drain your resources much more quickly than virtual tech support. The overhead costs, infrastructure requirements, and time demands of an in-house tech support team make it an unrealistic option for the many businesses.

Overhead

Going with virtual tech support can save you a significant amount of money on overhead. This is partially because of the additional costs that come with having an in-house employee or team. The most significant part of overhead is generally the wage you pay the employee. It can become inordinately expensive when you pay someone fulltime but do not have a fulltime workload. Paying someone for time they do not have work to do is a complete waste of your money. Overhead also comes in the form of providing a physical space and necessary tools for your in-house employees. Finally, benefits such as employer paid insurance, paid time off, and 401k matches can all run up the cost of having in-house tech support.

Virtual tech support removes almost all of the costs mentioned above. You only have to pay for the time you actually need when you decide to use outsourcing for your tech support. The virtual tech team you hire will already have the tools necessary to get the job done. And, outsourced labor does not qualify for the same benefits as in-house employees. When it comes to overhead costs, virtual tech support is the less expensive way to go.

Infrastructure

Hiring and maintaining an in-house tech team will require you to develop an infrastructure to support that team. This will mean updating equipment, software, and your network as needed. If your company is growing quickly you may find that maintaining the necessary infrastructure requires a lot of time and other resources.

One of the major perks of using virtual tech support is that they will develop and maintain the infrastructure necessary for your project. As part of their job, your virtual tech support team will stay on top of the latest developments in technology and changes in regulations to ensure that your business and customers have the tech support they need.

Time Demands

In-house tech support will place more demands on your time (or the time of other key employees) than virtual tech support. To get the in-house tech help you need requires posting the job, interviewing applicants, and making a hiring decision. After you make a hiring decision you will have to spend time training and supervising your hire. This process will have to occur for each new member of your in-house tech team. In a growing business, time is a scarce commodity that you are likely trying to conserve in any areas possible.

Virtual tech support will cut out the need to be constantly hiring, training, and supervising new employees. When you initially find an outsourcing company to help you with virtual tech support it will be necessary to spend time training and establishing expectations. But, after that initial training, you will not have to spend much time dealing with these issues. This is because the leaders of the virtual tech team will take care of bringing on and training any additional help that is needed. You will still occasionally do some training or supervising but the demands on your time will be much less.

Virtual tech support is the clear winner over in-house tech support. You will save precious resources like money and time by going with virtual tech support. To learn more about what to expect from a virtual tech support team visit the Infinit-O blog.