As a small business, you probably don’t have the time or resources to manage all of your organization’s technology needs in-house. Fortunately, there are several services that can help you streamline your processes, increase efficiency and cut costs at the same time.

Outsourcing some of your business tech needs can be a great way to address areas that may not be core to what your business does – such as IT support, software development, and virtual assistants.

Here are some of the best business techs to outsource if you want to scale back without sacrificing efficiency.

Virtual Assistants

In many cases, working with a Virtual Assistant (VA) is a great way to get help with certain business processes – without having to hire a full-time employee.

You can work with a VA to set up appointments, manage your schedule, respond to emails, and more – freeing you up to focus on the higher-value tasks that will grow your business.

The good news is that you can often find a VA to work on a contract basis, making it easy to scale up or down as needed. And, if you need someone to work on-site, there are many agencies that can help.

What’s more, VAs can often take on a variety of different tasks – making them a great investment for just about any business.

Software Development

If your business is growing and you need help building new software or updating your existing systems, hiring a team of in-house developers can be very costly. Fortunately, there are plenty of companies that offer software development outsourcing.

These firms deal with software development as their core service – which means they’ve got the experience, expertise, and resources to build whatever custom software you need. Some firms specialize in specific industries, while others handle a range of business needs.

When choosing a software development outsourcing firm, make sure they have the expertise to handle your project. Also, confirm that they work using agile development methods – since these are essential to keeping projects on schedule.

Cloud-based Storage and Collaboration

If you’re running a business with multiple employees, you’ve probably encountered the challenge of finding a centralized place to store and share information. If so, you may want to consider moving to a cloud-based storage and collaboration solution.

This can help you store info in one central place and make it accessible to everyone in your organization. It can also help you share and collaborate with clients, vendors, and partners.

What’s more, cloud-based storage often offers more storage than on-premise solutions. Finally, it generally offers file-tagging, auditing, version control, and other features that can help you keep track of important information.

IT Support outsourcing

If your business has on-site IT support, you likely face two major issues – cost and responsiveness. Many small businesses keep their own IT staff on hand because they don’t have other options.

But, as a small business owner, you know that keeping your own IT team on hand can be a big challenge. You not only have to find and onboard the right IT talent – but you also have to make sure they stay up to date with the latest information security threats.

Outsourcing some or all of your IT support is another great way to save money while improving your responsiveness.

Voice-Based Organization

If you’re struggling to keep on top of communication and administrate multiple different tools, you may want to consider moving toward a voice-based organization. This means that you use different communication tools that are built around the spoken word.

Voice-based tools include services like Alexa for business and Google Assistant for customers. These tools help you automate many of your organization’s communication-based processes.

For example, you can build a virtual concierge that answers customer questions or a virtual assistant that sets up meetings or tracks tasks. What’s more, many of these tools can integrate with other business services – giving you an easy way to tie everything together.

Summing up

It’s important to note that not all business tech outsourcing is created equal. It’s important to find a provider that can handle your specific project.

As a small business, it’s important to find areas where you can save money without sacrificing service or quality. Outsourcing specific business tech is often an excellent way to do that.