From the Best Technology e-mail newsletter, dated today:

With another difficult year behind our region, northeast Ohio is facing a crossroads of challenging business conditions.  Our industrial identity is up in the air, our regional infrastructure is behind much of the country, and our I.T. costs are higher than they ought to be. Yet, there’s never been a better time to trim technology budgets.

The incentive to outsource role-based personnel and I.T. management positions is very high right now.  Here are four reasons why:

1. I.T. employees, some of whom may be “coasting along” during a downturn, often get less work done than consultants, whose ability to earn is based on their work deliverables instead of upon their employment relationship, which is difficult and expensive to sever.  Retaining consulting staff can gain you more value.

2. I.T. employees, especially network administrators and systems support personnel, rarely offer the rich knowledge and expertise of a consulting organization.  When you work with a consultant, you are drawing on the expertise of many.  Moreover, before you ask your I.T. employee to complete a project for your company, consider that a consultant has probably already completed that same project many times before, while this may be your I.T. employee’s first attempt at it.   A consultant can work with your I.T. employees to manage the project through to satisfaction–completing the project, reducing waste, and improving your I.T. employees.

3. Consulting with a third-party reduces your tax liability. As an expense item, I.T. consulting does not incur the same tax burden as an I.T. employee (payroll tax). There’s no sales or use tax associated with I.T. consulting, either.

4. The number of I.T. staff required to support your technology users has shrunk drastically in the last several years, do to improvements in software stability and a more knowledgeable user base.  If you have a single I.T. employee or a small group, which is doing both end-user helpdesk support AND networking support, it is very likely that a consulting organization can reduce your expense and increase the level of service experienced by your users.