SMBs with a limited number of IT staff and a smaller budget have a greater need for external IT expertise and resources. The Belgians are still more reluctant than their neighbors to completely outsource parts of their IT, and that also has disadvantages.

Small companies have an IT landscape just like large companies runAnd often with smaller budgets and fewer employees on the team. However, they must also use this budget to arm themselves against current IT challenges. This means they can more quickly turn to external specialists who can help them manage their IT landscape. In Belgium there is still the impression that this means they are losing some control.

We speak to Saskia Vermeulen, Solution Sales Specialist in the SMB segment at Dustin, and Jeroen Van Hyfte, who holds the role of Pre-Sales Consultant Data Center and Network. Together they guide small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) with around 50 to 500 employees through the labyrinth of their IT landscape and offer solutions for the biggest challenges facing medium-sized businesses.

Too few IT hands

The size of companies is reflected in the size of the IT team: the smaller the company, the fewer employees the team usually has. “In SMEs with a smaller IT team, we often notice that IT people see themselves as all-rounders. They have a lot to do: from first-line support to ordering, renewing and managing hardware and infrastructure,” says Vermeulen.

Keeping all those balls in the air in an environment with increasing safety requirements often requires more staff. Outsourcing to specialists offers an answer here and helps IT managers to concentrate on their main tasks.

Outsource or not

Due to the limited number of IT teams combined with the constantly changing requirements within the IT landscape, SMEs have little choice but to outsource (part of) their IT to experts. “The smaller the internal team, the quicker companies tend to outsource their IT,” says Van Hyfte.

Security and core infrastructure are two areas that present the greatest challenges and changes and where SMEs benefit most from working with specialists who deal with them on a daily basis. “Although we most often recommend outsourcing security and core infrastructure to companies, there is no general rule for this,” says Van Hyfte.

Whether you should outsource your IT and which aspects this affects depends on the type of company. “We take into account their specific needs and the type of business they are in. These needs and the options for outsourcing them differ, for example, between a production environment, a call center or companies with self-developed ERP software,” says Vermeulen.

Comprehensive insurance coverage for IT

“Belgian SMEs are more likely to view IT as a cost factor and are more inclined to save on it,” says Vermeulen. Outsourcing your IT can be compared to comprehensive insurance: the use of specialists can represent great added value for companies that can be sure that everything in their infrastructure is always up to date and carried out correctly. Dustin considers the needs and resources of SMEs to ensure they receive the best solutions for their budget. If these solutions are purchased in the form of services, this also means predictable operating costs.

Under control

Although SMEs often have fewer IT employees in the company and the budget for expansion is not always available, IT employees are usually very interested in new technologies. “When our experts install new installations or tools, they are in the front row and learn how it works,” says Vermeulen. You also have the opportunity to further your education through Dustin.

“In general, we see that Belgian SMEs are more reluctant to outsource their IT compared to neighboring countries such as the Netherlands. This willingness is also higher in Scandinavia, where SMEs have positive experiences with the use of external specialists,” says Vermeulen.

Belgian SMEs like to have control over their own IT infrastructure. “We understand that IT managers want to maintain full control, but this sometimes means they miss out on the added value of working with specialists. By relieving themselves of various tasks, they have more time to concentrate on other critical tasks in the company,” concludes Vermeulen.