Business leaders are demanding innovation and looking squarely at the IT department to lead. From data transformation to artificial intelligence to machine learning—the list can be overwhelming. When piled on top of the day-to-day workload and backlogged projects, it becomes an impossible task to deliver on what senior leaders want. Where is your team going to find the time to innovate?

The answer is through efficiency.

But achieving efficiency requires more than simply buying a tool, improving a process or developing a culture of “working smarter not harder.” It also means knowing when to outsource certain job functions.

When to consider outsourcing:

  • Does the task require a special technical skill but little knowledge about your specific business?
  • Is the task a core competency of your department?
  • Do you find the job function hard to keep filled with the right talent?
  • Does the task require knowledge or skills only needed a few times per year?
  • Are the hours needed less than a single Full Time Employee (FTE)?
  • Are the time requirements one FTE, but the skills requirement is of 3 to 4 different technical disciplines (a.k.a., a unicorn)?

Use SAP Managed Services to help free IT time.
SAP technical administration (Basis Administration) is a perfect example of a job function can easily be outsourced, given the above criteria. In addition, there are other benefits of outsourcing to the right provider.

  • As SAP technology continues to evolve it’s difficult to keep internal personnel trained on the latest developments. Service providers pull knowledge from a team that’s focused only on SAP.
  • Managed service providers work with many customers, solving issues that individual companies will never get exposure to. Chances are, when an unusual issue arises, the MSP has already solved it, saving your department time.
  • Experienced consultants assist with technical-related issues that may fall outside of their direct responsibilities. Having access to a greater pool of technical knowledge saves your department time and money.
  • Managed services firms have the ability to flex resources should you have an unexpected increase in need—even if just for a few hours.

Best of all, you can typically outsource this job function for less cost than to staff it internally, so there’s an immediate budgetary impact as well.

For information on outsourcing your SAP environment, contact Managecore today.


Frank Powell
About the Author:

Frank Powell

Partner/President
Frank is an experienced Information Technology executive that excels in high-level strategic and operational guidance to help manage and grow businesses. With 25 years experience in IT and over 19 of those years specifically in SAP, his thought leadership on industry trends, process improvement and best practices at SAP events, conferences and educational webinars are invaluable assets for companies. Frank provides his past experience in developing new technology initiatives with ever-evolving innovations to grow businesses and achieve high-performing solutions at a lower cost of ownership for your company.