What does IT pricing depend on and how to reduce the cost of IT outsourcing?
Pricing in the IT sphere is most often customer-specific. Because it is the client who rejects the standard solutions offered by the IT company and makes adjustments. This leads to the involvement of more specialists and higher project costs.
Imagine that you need to install a control system for goods movement in a warehouse. And also to install video surveillance with remote access. You contact an IT company for a software solution to these issues.
If the company has already had experience in installing such a system or they know about the existence of the necessary software (software) and technical means, then they will offer to install a similar system at a new facility. This will be a typical solution.
A typical solution is a combination of software and hardware that are successfully used to solve similar problems.
The price tag rises when the typical solution offered by the IT company is not suitable for the end customer. The reasons are varied.
Rejection of a typical solution can be caused by many factors:
- Non-standard object;
- The customer has no desire to be “like everyone else”;
- Known about the vulnerabilities of such systems;
- I want to get better functionality (add my own functions), a more convenient software interface, etc.
Any software modifications or search for a unique solution will increase the cost of IT services.
An atypical solution is that individual approach that allows you to create a special system. There is no standard solution. Such a system is created for non-standard conditions and tasks.
For example: you need to allocate the IT budget for the next year and upgrade the call control system for the call center. In the first case, it is not necessary to involve many specialists. An IT professional who has already done the budgeting will easily get the job done. Even though the conditions will be different.
In the second case, it is necessary to modernize the existing call control system. Developers, IT professionals, programmers and so on can be involved in this work. That is why atypical solutions are more expensive. However, non-standard solutions, in most cases, are the only way to reduce the time spent by company employees and develop software taking into account all needs.
How to increase company revenue and reduce the cost of IT outsourcing by using non-standard solutions
It is clear that the use of technologies that are already in use is a cost reduction at the implementation stage. But, in some cases, non-standard solutions reduce the company’s monthly expenses. Moreover, original ideas allow you to automate more processes and increase your income.
Many managers are afraid of atypical solutions and stop at already known methods. Fear arises from doubt:
- What if I get the wrong result?
- What if the investment does not meet expectations?
- Now we will use up the budget, and at the end it will turn out that competitors already have a similar system.
All these doubts will be dispelled even before the conclusion of the contract. When developing atypical solutions, a brief is used, consultations are held – this is necessary to draw up an accurate technical task. Everything is predictable and understandable.
If you take our example of modernizing the call control system, you can add your own features to the standard call-center program .
How it works: by adding to the standard program the button “write the number to the base of warm clients”. When you press it, the operator transfers the number to the database in one click – this will increase the speed of his work. Because before the number had to be copied manually. The operator’s performance is based on the ability to persuade (sell) and the number of outgoing calls. Using a non-standard solution, we increased the speed of the operator, which means we increased the company’s revenues.
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How to reduce the cost of IT outsourcing with a non-standard solution?
Atypical solutions can reduce your IT budget while retaining functionality. Cloud PBX is a technology that cannot be considered typical in Russia. Most businesses and companies still use a PBX or mobile phone as their primary mode of communication.
The organization of communication through a mini-PBX generates many additional costs:
- Maintenance;
- Purchase ZIP;
- Minor repairs, etc.
With an emphasis on mobile communications, there are also nuances. Total dependence on the operator’s company, the workload of stations and the need for a specialist in communication systems.
Large companies can afford to work with several communication systems at once and maintain a staff to serve them. But small firms with many branches cannot afford this. Some companies do not consider cloud technologies as a good option for organizing a communication system at all. However, the use of cloud PBX is a good opportunity to reduce communication costs and the cost of IT outsourcing. This is possible due to the fact that the annual cost of renting a cloud, as a rule, is less than the services of an IT company for servicing a mini-PBX.
Technical development and modernization is a kind of technology evolution. Leveraging technological superiority provides benefits. Strategy: Make me the same as my competitor is a way to catch up, not become a leader.
Why can the cost of IT services rise?
IT services in Moscow do not differ in their low cost. But it happens that the price tag increases in the middle or at the end of the work. There are three reasons for this.
1. We have already touched on the first reason for the increase in the cost of IT services at the beginning of our article – these are typical and atypical solutions. The former will always be cheaper. But the latter are more effective. Because they customize the system for the needs of the company.
2. An increase in the final price due to modifications that were not included in the project. Small changes in desires sometimes lead to major changes in software and hardware. Each such “gesture” increases the cost of the project. This is due to the banal increase in labor costs and additional work.
3. Change in the exchange rate. The practice of 2015 showed that most companies depend on the dollar exchange rate. During periods of instability, special risks arise. If equipment suppliers begin to tighten the screws, then IT companies are forced to raise prices even for projects that were launched before currency instability.
Pricing in IT is always a fog of multiple conditions. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the value of a proposal. However, the use of modern technologies and large investments at the start can often save money in the future.
Fear of new technologies, as we said, is normal. But it is better to dispel it. Because the use of atypical solutions will give your company an edge over competitors.
More often than not, our clients are afraid of getting the wrong functionality. Simple tools: a brief, technical assignment, methods for calculating the result and an agreement, where it is spelled out what will be the result – all this will protect your interests. Therefore, you should not be afraid of non-standard solutions. The result will be predetermined and economically justified even at the design stage.
Non-standard solutions contribute to the development of the company. They will become an additional detachment from competitors.
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