Why Your Business Should Invest In An IT Operations Team

IT operations are essential for the success of any business, and a well-functioning IT operations team can go a long way to ensuring your organization's systems are up and running smoothly, your data is secure, and your employees have the tools they need to be productive and work efficiently. But how much thought have you put into investing in an IT operations and support team?

In this guide, we will explore what IT operations are and the top 5 reasons why your business should invest in an IT operations team.

What is IT operations?

Also referred to as IT Ops, IT operations is the process that encompasses everything from implementing, configuring, delivering, and supporting IT services from software systems and hardware to meet the needs of internal and external users within an organization.

IT operations play a critical function for any company that relies heavily on IT to operate at optimal levels, from computers to networks. With IT Ops at the helm of ensuring a business's IT services remain secure, reliable, and efficient, organizations of all sizes can take that one step further to achieving their goals and objectives.

Whether overseeing the operational IT infrastructure, managing IT services, identifying and solving IT-related issues, organizing budgets, and reporting on the performance of a business's IT systems, IT operations are highly valuable to a company.

Although it varies from business to business, often IT operations are not headed-up by one IT professional. Instead, the IT operations team structure comprises a range of talent.

• IT Support Specialist
• Network Support Engineer
• IT Project Manager
• Security Analyst
• IT Operations Manager

Discover more about these roles in our piece on how to build a successful IT department structure, which you can read here.

5 reasons to invest in an IT operations team

A well-functioning IT operations team structure can help ensure your business's IT infrastructure runs smoothly, your data is secure, and your employees have the resources to be productive and work efficiently. There are many reasons to invest in an operations or IT support team, but we’ve picked out five of the most significant.

1. An IT operations team can manage your cybersecurity

One of the biggest reasons why you should invest in an IT operations team is to help protect your business from the increased risk posed by cyber-attacks. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, in 2023, cybercrime is expected to cost organizations $10.5 trillion as cybercriminals become more sophisticated in their tactics.

While cyber-attacks can have a detrimental impact on a company’s finances and reputation, most worryingly is that 60% of SMEs that are victims of a cyber-attack go out of business within their first six months.

Thankfully, investing in an IT operations team can prevent your organization from becoming another victim and statistic at the hands of cybercriminals. An IT operations team can help protect your IT systems from cyber attacks by implementing intrusion detection systems and firewalls to monitor your systems for signs of malicious activity.

Moreover, if you invest in an IT ops team, they will implement the defense processes mentioned above and ensure your IT systems are compliant with industry regulations to protect your business from any legal issues relating to cybersecurity.

2. IT operations teams can enhance your business efficiencies

Investing in an IT operations and support team can enhance your business efficiencies. For example, an IT support specialist could use specific tools to automate once manual tasks like responding to complex technical problems that occur within your business's software, hardware, or network. Automating processes that once were completed manually can minimize downtime and free up your staff, allowing them to focus on other assignments and project that needs their attention.

Having a well-functioning IT operations team and augmented workforce can also optimize your existing IT infrastructure and introduce your business to deploying the latest technologies to boost the performance and efficiencies of your business. For example, they could introduce cloud computing into your organization to allow your employees to communicate and collaborate remotely and access necessary company data securely from anywhere in the world.

Additionally, an IT operations team can increase your employee productivity and efficiencies by providing your wider business with round-the-clock onsite and virtual IT support, enabling your staff to work with the confidence that if any issues occur with their software or hardware, it will be troubleshot seamlessly without effecting their project deadlines or other client and customer related work.

3. IT support teams are a cost-effective solution

Another reason to invest in an IT operations and support team is that it’s a cost-effective solution for your business in more ways than one. For example, you may find that your expenses are getting out of hand if you always rely on paying an outsourcing IT services provider for support each time you encounter an issue or need to make a significant update. Hiring an IT operations team can eliminate this need to essentially pay as you go.

When you invest in an in-house IT support team, you’ll no longer need to pay for specific subscription services or support, as you will have someone onsite or remotely accessible that you can rely on to assist your business with any IT-related issues, updates, or developments. The assistance provided by this internal IT support team can help you avoid costly downtime, something which can cost the average business $9,000 per minute.

Additionally, a dedicated IT operations team can help reduce your IT costs by negotiating better deals with vendors while also advising your finance department on IT-related investments that make the most financial and business sense.

Although the initial cost of hiring permanent IT talent could be high, you must remember this is a long-term investment that will help futureproof your business from a technology and IT perspective. If IT plays a significant part in your organization and you rely on it daily, it could be time to invest in an IT operations team. Moreover, the money you save in the long run can be put towards other business needs or your IT department.

4. IT operations support software and development updates

Investing in an IT operations team can support your organization when making necessary software and development updates while ensuring your business remains ahead of the curve and is equipped with the latest software, hardware, and networks on the market to support multiple projects.

IT operations and support teams can be hired in-house to perform these updates without the need for you to outsource or invest in third parties. As mentioned, investing in an in-house support team to implement these software and development updates as and when you need them will reduce the costs involved with downtime, something which can be increased by relying on a third party who may not be on-hand to help with immediate issues.

Investing in an IT ops team can also play a significant role in planning software development strategies for your businesses, ensuring internal technologies are aligned with the organization's goals and various project objectives. They can also be onsite to assess and report on the performance of your IT infrastructure and forecast when updates are needed to ensure your systems perform at optimum levels with maximum uptime.

5. Investing in an IT support team improves customer service

Every business should strive to deliver the best possible experience to clients and customers, no matter the industry it operates in or the size of the company. Your customer service can be further improved by investing in an IT operations and support team.

An IT support team can help create a positive customer experience by resolving issues quickly and efficiently, allowing clients to use your products and services while focussing on their work with zero downtime or interruptions. Investing in IT ops can also improve your customer experience by being on-hand to provide training, expert knowledge, and support to your client base, making them feel cared about.

By improving your customer experience with the help of an IT operations team, you can develop existing client relationships and retain partners while also building a positive reputation that helps you attract new business that will, in turn, increase profits for your organization.

Now you know the top reasons to invest in an IT operations team, you may be wondering how you would take the first step to build your in-house support team. Thankfully, we’ve covered this in our blog on how to build a successful IT department structure, which we provided a link to earlier in the piece.

The Final Word

By now, you should have a newfound knowledge of the key benefits of investing in an IT operations team. An IT support team can manage your cybersecurity, enhance your internal efficiencies, provide a cost-effective solution, support you with software updates, and improve your customer services; investing in an IT ops team is undoubtedly worthwhile.

Specialists in IT operations and support recruitment

At Franklin Fitch, we recognize how IT operations and support are crucial to our client's IT infrastructure. Our expert consultants can work closely with your business to understand your recruitment needs when it comes to hiring individual talent of all levels or acquiring whole IT operations teams. We'll help connect you to the talent you need to establish a productive workforce that can drive success for your business for years to come.

Learn more about our IT operations and support recruitment offering or contact us today to discuss your specific needs.