Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Outsourcing can be very helpful to your business operations. In some instances you can use an outsourced IT company and it’s important to understand how to get the most out of the collaboration. The following contributed is thus entitled, How to Collaborate with an Outsourced IT Company.
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It is now quite evident that many businesses are reliant on IT to be successful but what many aspiring entrepreneurs don’t understand is that they don’t have to be IT geniuses – they just need to hire an IT genius to realize their vision.
Outsourcing is now so fundamental to business that almost any function can be outsourced from PR, HR and Accounting to Cloud Computing. It stands to reason that even the heart of your business idea could be successfully outsourced if you find the right professional to help. Then all you need to focus on is coming up with new ideas and strategies for growth.
Many IT companies such as http://www.sabioit.com/services-solutions/it-consulting-cio-services/ offer a wide range of services from CIO services right through to email management. However, finding the right company and working well with them can be two mutually exclusive ideas.
Here’s how to manage your relationship and make the most of your outsourcing.
Be Clear With Your Vision
As an entrepreneur you really only have one main job: to have awesome ideas and be able to explain them to other people (preferably people with the cash to buy into it!). This is a fundamental skill and yet for so many of us, finding the language to explain a complicated idea so that it can be translated into an IT solution is tough.
If you can’t explain your idea to a company – either because they simply don’t understand or because you don’t have the right approach – your project is going to stand still until you can. A good IT company will try to suggest what you might mean but a great IT company will ask questions until they are sure they know what you mean.
Clarity isn’t always immediate so work on your relationship to develop a common ground you can work with. This should make future collaboration easier.
Welcome Alternative Ideas
Of course, it could be that you are struggling to communicate your idea because your IT company knows that there is a simpler solution. In this case, it is vital that you are able to let go and welcome new ideas. Being more open minded and focusing on the results is the best way to work. Does it really matter whether you use your idea or their idea to get to what you want?
If you are not an IT expert yourself, it is very likely that the company you outsource to will have all kinds of alternative ideas for you to consider. To work well together, you might find that it is actually easier to present them with a problem first rather than a solution. Compare and contrast the solutions you both come up with and you could just find a game-changing alternative to bring to your industry.
Collaboration with an outside company may not seem as sensible as bringing in your own employees but when you are right at the beginning, it is important that you save money where you can but also get the highest quality product you can afford. It makes sense.
