As a small business owner, you may feel you do not have the resources to consider getting IT consulting. However, with the danger of cyber attacks on the rise, you need to realize you cannot afford not to. Nearly 60% of businesses are now concerned with the threat of cyber-attacks, which can cost customers and diminish loyalty.

For small to medium-sized businesses, it is not necessary to have an IT person on staff. Over 30% of all IT services are outsourced. While many people hear the term outsourced and assume that means foreign based companies, that is not the case. There are plenty of US-based IT companies, as well as thousands of freelance IT professionals that offer their services to businesses.

Over 50% of companies have reported experiencing an IT downtime caused by a single event lasting more than eight hours. That means that their computer systems or capabilities were disabled for at least eight hours due to a cyber threat or attack. This can lead to significant money loss, a loss of confidence, and decreased long-term business.

Company spending on IT is anticipated to reach nearly $4 trillion in 2018 as the dependence on technology to operate expands exponentially. The growing need for IT firms is growing by over 50% year after year. This means there is enormous potential within IT for the job market and those coming out of school now.

For example, app development can easily take a team of up to 10 people over six months to finish just one app that includes in-app purchases, functionality, security, and more. While the cost of IT can be daunting, the return on investment is estimated at over 50% depending on a wide range of other factors.

There are a wide range of services that fall under the umbrella of IT consulting. For example, you may utilize IT consulting for software development, network infrastructure, managed IT support, or IT security and compliance.

An IT consulting firm can also provide an overview of ways they can benefit your business. They can analyze your current system to see what improvements can be made to the security or procedures. They can also provide estimates for ongoing consulting to provide managed support.

Many small business owners are accustom to doing everything themselves. In order to save on expenses, they feel the need to take everything on. However, when it comes to issues like IT, business owners need to remember that time is also valuable. The amount of time it would take for a small business owner with no IT background to learn everything they need to learn and apply it, would more the compensate the expense of paying a professional to do it.

It is important to think about it is as a professional skill. If your vehicle needed a new radiator and you barely know how to pump gas, you wouldn’t attempt to change the radiator yourself, you would take it to a mechanic. Similarly, if you need a business website set up or software developed, you need to take it to an IT professional, who can do it quickly and correctly.