IT on the go: outsourcing companies let someone else do the work.

• Author: Little, Candace M.
• Position: Techknowledge

Successful companies know they can't be experts at everything. Instead, they rely on other experts to fill in where they fall short. Outsourced service providers cut down on costs and help companies focus on what they do best. In Seth Godin's book "The Dip," he explains, "Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time." Here are a few Utah-based outsourcing companies helping winning businesses quit the right stuff at the right time, allowing all in the equation to focus on their own expertise.

IT Simplicity

Lindon-based DirectPointe offers outsourced IT services to mid-sized companies and has customers in all 50 states and 29 countries around the world. The company provides remote support services with everything from accounting software to computer monitors, and can save the average business 30 percent on its total IT spending, according to Jim Martinos, CEO of DirectPointe.

Martinos explains that DirectPointe was started to offer advanced technical assistance to companies without IT support. "The need for businesses to leverage technology is critical and the complexity to do it right is increasing. DirectPointe was started to make technology simple, manageable and affordable for mid-size businesses. Because DirectPointe has made technology its core competency, DirectPointe customers can better focus on their core competencies."

It's apparent by the company's record-breaking sales in the past two quarters that mid-sized businesses are turning to IT outsourcing companies, like DirectPointe, to save money and to boost IT capabilities within their company. "As businesses feel the economic pressures on their profitability, their owners start looking for better solutions. That is when they find us," Martinos says. But this demand surely leads to more competition.

DirectPointe was one of the first companies of its kind when it started offering services in 2000, but now there are countless competitors. That doesn't bother DirectPointe, though. The company has been recognized as an industry leader and ranked No. 1 on the MSPmentor top 10 MSP list for 2008.

"We are always working to re-invent ourselves to keep our services relevant to our customers and to keep DirectPointe ahead of the competition," Martinos says.

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