Recession or Rightsizing?

Robert May, Managing Director of ramsac, looks at how in uncertain economic times businesses can streamline their operations and leverage new skills to survive and thrive in a downturn

Despite much media hype and a certain amount of doom mongering, I do not believe that the UK market as a whole is in recession. It is simply a case of the economy adapting to the changing conditions and rightsizing. Success in the current climate hinges on striking the right balance, to ensure that all resources are flexible, adaptable and aligned with the business objectives. Nowhere are the challenges or potential gains more prevalent than in IT.

Effective and reliable IT is a primary concern for all businesses and a lynchpin in the majority of their daily processes. Despite this, many small businesses will typically nominate a person in the office who demonstrates the most aptitude or enthusiasm for IT; it will rarely be their primary job function and they will only be called upon when a problem arises, such as not being able to print a document or installing a new piece of software onto a PC. Whilst it is important to have such people who can ‘break/fix' in the office, they will rarely be able to rise to the challenge when a ‘mission critical' system goes down, and of course, time is money.

Also, are they enthusiastic enough to be watching and evaluating new technologies such as server virtualisation (the next big thing), the latest version of an operating system, or market specific software application, and then build and present a business case as to what improvements and return on investment should be expected? Businesses of all sizes need to keep their finger on the pulse but in the main, small businesses do not have the budget to employ the highly qualified IT/business specialists they need – albeit infrequently - to ensure their current and future technology is not only operational, but also giving them the competitive edge.

However, this counsel is out there and available to small businesses, and contrary to belief they are affordable.

You may not immediately associate outsourcing as an activity to embark upon when the market is rightsizing, but now is precisely the time to be thinking about how to surround yourself with the best expertise available to you (not only in IT but every area of the business). I started ramsac 18 years ago in the middle of a recession; so know from experience the importance of having the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.

UK businesses are plagued with a plethora of red tape, inflexible employment law and recruitment challenges. For example, will a highly qualified IT professional be satisfied with maintaining a relatively basic network for a small business? And, would it occupy them full-time? By outsourcing, the business can be safe in the knowledge that it can access and pay for specialist skills and advice (from operational to board IT level strategy) when needed, without the associated costs of running permanent staff - providing pay for holidays and sickness, training, pensions and health care etc - which is a very compelling argument for effective outsourcing.

Undoubtedly the strength and success of a business in any economic climate is derived from the quality of its people and outsourcing is a viable way to deliver the strength in-depth needed, whilst maintaining sensible, rightsized budgets.