Understanding any IT operation begins with a hard look at where the money is going
by Chad Dickerson
InfoWorld is a small company, but that hasn’t kept me from continuing to allocate serious cash to outsourcing. I’ve written many times about my decision more than three years ago to outsource our desktop PC and file/print infrastructure to CenterBeam. In fact, the remotely managed services provided by companies such as CenterBeam and Everdream (CenterBeam’s main competitor) make it seem foolhardy to run your own in-house support services.
I’ve run the numbers many times and one of the great mysteries in IT management for me is why every company isn’t a customer of one of these two companies. Their services aren’t perfect, of course, but most IT departments are far less perfect due to limited service hours and lack of expertise in some areas. Small IT departments can’t be good at everything, and they can’t be everywhere at once.
My advice to CTOs and CIOs who spend significant time on mundane desktop-support issues: The sooner you let that function go, the better. The depth, breadth, and quality of service from companies such as CenterBeam and Everdream scream “game over†for the desktop-support professional as soon as more companies wake up to a value proposition that is already there -- right now.
