Should My Company Outsource FTP?

Two principles have helped shape modern businesses: lean services and outsourcing. Lean services is the principle that calls for the elimination of waste, with waste being any type of task that does not add value to the core product or service being created. Outsourcing is the act contracting an individual or a firm to take on a specific task on behalf of your company.

These two principles have a synergetic relationship that has helped make businesses leaner and more efficient.

When it comes to the world of IT, these principles have been greatly adopted because so many different elements of tech can be outsourced or minimized. Recently, an increasing amount of companies have taken to outsourcing their FTP services. This trend is due to the time and money that can be saved by having this menial task handled by a specialized company.

Outsource FTP: The Pros and Cons

As with any business decision, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons before making a firm decision. Outsourcing FTP can provide many benefits, but there are also a few drawbacks that should be noted.

Benefits of outsourcing FTP:

• Decreased cost. Not having to operate an internal FTP server allows an organization to spend less. There will be no need to replace old hardware, upgrade storage manually, update software and handle the day-to-day problems that can arise with server management.

• Less time required to maintain. Your IT staff will appreciate not having to set aside time out of their day or week to manage an internal FTP server. They can access the outsourced FTP server through an administrative interface whenever the need arises.

• Added features. Companies that provide outsourced FTP servers specialize in this field, just as your company specializes in your product or service. They’ve put time and money into developing added features that will likely be unavailable with an in-house FTP server.

As good as it sounds, there are a few potential drawbacks that are worth mentioning:

• Indirect access. With an internal FTP server, your files land right on your network. With an outsourced FTP server, the files land there first and then you have to pull them down to your own server or desktop. Internet speeds being what they are today, this is less of an issue than it used to be.

• Dependence on the company’s tech support. When something goes wrong with the FTP service, your company will have to rely on the provider’s tech support to resolve the issue. Chances are they will be able to quickly resolve any issues, but your IT department will be unable to resolve the issue alone. However, choosing the right provider might give your IT department adequate tools for self-diagnosis.

Is Outsourcing FTP Right for Your Company?

How much money will your company save by outsourcing FTP? Calculate the cost of running your own servers, including the time spent by your IT staff, and compare it to the going rates of outsourced FTP organizations.

Next, consider how important it is for the files to be directly stored on internal servers. For some companies this doesn’t matter, and in essence it gives you a backup copy of everything.

If you’ll save money and can store your files on an offsite location, outsourced FTP might be right for your company.