Your engineering team is talented. But if they are spending 30–40% of their time on infrastructure maintenance — patching, monitoring, incident response, storage management — they are not doing the work that actually builds your competitive advantage. IT infrastructure outsourcing is how high-growth companies reclaim that time.
This guide gives you a realistic, technically grounded view of what outsourcing infrastructure operations actually looks like in 2026: what it costs, which models work, when it is the wrong choice, and what separates providers who deliver outcomes from those who deliver invoices. If you want to jump straight to what we do at Gart, explore our IT infrastructure management services — or use the ROI calculator below to estimate your savings before reading further.
$639B
Global IT outsourcing market in 2026 (projected)
38%
Average operational cost reduction our clients see in year one
99.97%
Average uptime delivered across Gart-managed environments
90%
of companies will face critical IT skills shortages by end of 2026
Gart Solutions
What is IT Infrastructure Outsourcing?
Imagine you’re running a marathon, but you’re also carrying your heavy backpack. That’s what managing IT infrastructure in-house often feels like for many companies. You’re trying to focus on winning the race (your business goals), but the weight of maintaining servers, networks, data centers, and security is slowing you down.
IT infrastructure outsourcing is like handing over that backpack to a professional support team running beside you. They carry it efficiently, ensuring everything inside remains organized, protected, and accessible, allowing you to focus solely on your pace and strategy.
At its core, IT infrastructure outsourcing means entrusting a specialized external provider with the management, maintenance, and optimization of your IT systems and hardware, including:
Servers and storage
Networks and connectivity
Data centers and cloud infrastructure
Security protocols and compliance requirements
Instead of managing all these internally, you leverage the expertise and resources of professionals dedicated solely to this domain.
What Falls Under IT Infrastructure?
The scope of an IT infrastructure outsourcing engagement typically covers some or all of the following:
Cloud infrastructure — multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), Kubernetes clusters, FinOps and cost governance, cloud-native architecture optimization
On-premises & hybrid data centers — server lifecycle management, virtualization (VMware, Hyper-V), storage (SAN/NAS/object), data center operations
Networking — LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, VPN management, firewall policy, performance monitoring, BGP/routing
Security operations — SIEM, 24/7 SOC, vulnerability management, patch compliance, penetration test coordination, compliance tooling
Backup & disaster recovery — RPO/RTO-aligned backup architecture, DR runbooks, regular failover testing
Service desk & incident management — L1/L2/L3 ticket routing, SLA-governed response times, on-call escalation paths
Why is IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Becoming Essential Today?
Today’s business landscape demands agility, security, and innovation – all while keeping costs under control. Here’s why outsourcing IT infrastructure has shifted from being a strategic option to a critical necessity:
Rapid Technological AdvancementsIT evolves so fast that in-house teams struggle to keep up with emerging tools, frameworks, and security protocols. Outsourcing partners invest heavily in continuous skill upgrades, ensuring your business benefits from the latest advancements without the learning curve.
Cybersecurity Threats Are RisingThe sophistication of cyberattacks increases daily. Outsourcing ensures your infrastructure is protected by advanced threat detection systems and experts monitoring for vulnerabilities 24/7.
Need for Scalability and FlexibilityWhether it’s Black Friday traffic spikes or sudden global expansions, businesses must scale their IT resources seamlessly. Outsourcing provides elasticity without the delays and overhead of in-house provisioning.
Pressure to Focus on Core BusinessEvery hour spent fixing servers is an hour not spent innovating or delighting customers. Outsourcing allows businesses to focus on strategic initiatives while leaving technical operations to experts.
In essence, IT infrastructure outsourcing is not about relinquishing control – it’s about gaining freedom to drive your business forward faster.
Breaking Down IT Infrastructure Outsourcing
At its simplest, IT infrastructure outsourcing is the strategic delegation of your company’s IT infrastructure management to a trusted external provider. This includes:
Hardware management: Procuring, installing, configuring, and maintaining servers, storage devices, and network hardware.
Software management: Managing operating systems, infrastructure software, and middleware.
Network management: Ensuring secure, reliable, and optimized connectivity within and beyond your organization.
Security management: Implementing and maintaining cybersecurity measures to protect systems and data.
Cloud infrastructure management: Designing, deploying, and maintaining cloud resources in platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
It’s like hiring a specialized external team to maintain, upgrade, and optimize the entire “engine room” of your business so your internal teams can steer the ship confidently towards strategic goals.
Components Included in IT Infrastructure Outsourcing
Here’s a breakdown of what infrastructure outsourcing usually covers:
Servers:Physical and virtual servers host your applications, databases, and services.
Networks:LAN, WAN, VPNs, and connectivity solutions ensure data flows securely and efficiently.
Storage Systems:Data storage solutions, backup infrastructure, and disaster recovery planning.
Data Centers:Management of on-premises data centers or leveraging third-party colocation and cloud facilities.
Security Systems:Firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, endpoint security, and compliance management.
Cloud Infrastructure:Public, private, or hybrid cloud management, including architecture design, resource provisioning, monitoring, and cost optimization.
By outsourcing these components, companies gain access to specialized expertise, advanced technologies, and robust security protocols without the overhead of building these capabilities internally.
Benefits of IT Infrastructure Outsourcing
Outsourcing IT infrastructure brings numerous benefits that contribute to business growth and success.
Manage Cloud Complexity
Over the past two years, there’s been a surge in cloud commitment, with more than 86% of companies reporting an increase in cloud initiatives.
Implementing cloud initiatives requires specialized skill sets and a fresh approach to achieve comprehensive transformation. Often, IT departments face skill gaps on the technical front, lacking experience with the specific tools employed by their chosen cloud provider.
Cloud migration and management aren’t as simple as clicking “deploy.” Each cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP) has unique architectures, tools, and services requiring specialized skills and certifications.
Many organizations lack the expertise needed to develop a cloud strategy that fully harnesses the potential of leading platforms such as AWS or Microsoft Azure, utilizing their native tools and services.
For instance:
AWS requires expertise in services like EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, and VPC configurations.
Azure demands proficiency in Resource Groups, Virtual Networks, Azure AD, and cost management tools.
GCP needs knowledge of Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Functions, and BigQuery integrations.
Without this expertise, companies risk:
Cost overruns due to improper provisioning
Security misconfigurations exposing critical data
Failed migrations disrupting business operations
Outsourcing to experienced infrastructure providers ensures cloud initiatives are implemented efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively.
Access to Specialized Expertise
Outsourcing IT infrastructure allows businesses to tap into the expertise of professionals who specialize in managing complex IT environments.
As a CTO, I understand the importance of having a skilled team that can handle diverse technology domains, from network management and system administration to cybersecurity and cloud computing.
Outsourcing partners bring in strategic cloud architecture design that aligns with your business goals:
Hybrid or multi-cloud setups for redundancy and compliance
Auto-scaling and elasticity to handle traffic spikes seamlessly
Disaster recovery and high availability architectures to minimize downtime risks
Cost optimization strategies like reserved instances, spot instances, and resource right-sizing
These capabilities are critical as over 86% of companies have increased their cloud initiatives in the last two years, according to Gartner, but lack in-house expertise to fully leverage them.
"Gart finished migration according to schedule, made automation for infrastructure provisioning, and set up governance for new infrastructure. They continue to support us with Azure. They are professional and have a very good technical experience"
Under NDA, Software Development Company
Enhanced Focus on Core Competencies
Outsourcing IT infrastructure liberates businesses from the burden of managing complex technical operations, allowing them to focus on their core competencies. I firmly believe that organizations thrive when they can allocate their resources towards activities that directly contribute to their strategic goals.
By entrusting the management and maintenance of IT infrastructure to a trusted partner like Gart, businesses can redirect their internal talent and expertise towards innovation, product development, and customer-centric initiatives.
For example, SoundCampaign, a company focused on their core business in the music industry, entrusted Gart with their infrastructure needs.
We upgraded the product infrastructure, ensuring that it was scalable, reliable, and aligned with industry best practices. Gart also assisted in migrating the compute operations to the cloud, leveraging its expertise to optimize performance and cost-efficiency.
One key initiative undertaken by Gart was the implementation of an automated CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline using GitHub. This automation streamlined the software development and deployment processes for SoundCampaign, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. It allowed the SoundCampaign team to focus on their core competencies of building and enhancing their social networking platform, while Gart handled the intricacies of the infrastructure and DevOps tasks.
"They completed the project on time and within the planned budget. Switching to the new infrastructure was even more accessible and seamless than we expected."
Nadav Peleg, Founder & CEO at SoundCampaign
Cost Savings and Budget Predictability
Managing an in-house IT infrastructure can be a costly endeavor. By outsourcing, businesses can reduce expenses associated with hardware and software procurement, maintenance, upgrades, and the hiring and training of IT staff.
As an outsourcing provider, Gart has already made the necessary investments in infrastructure, tools, and skilled personnel, enabling us to provide cost-effective solutions to our clients. Moreover, outsourcing IT infrastructure allows businesses to benefit from predictable budgeting, as costs are typically agreed upon in advance through service level agreements (SLAs).
"We were amazed by their prompt turnaround and persistency in fixing things! The Gart's team were able to support all our requirements, and were able to help us recover from a serious outage."
Ivan Goh, CEO & Co-Founder at BeyondRisk
Scaling Quickly with Market Demands
Business is dynamic. Whether it’s expanding into new markets, onboarding thousands of new users overnight, or handling seasonal traffic spikes – your IT infrastructure must scale without delays or failures.
With outsourcing, companies have the flexibility to quickly adapt to these changing requirements. For example, Gart's clients have access to scalable resources that can accommodate their evolving needs.
Outsourcing partners provide:
Elastic server capacity: Add or remove resources instantly.
Flexible storage solutions: Expand databases or object storage without hardware procurement delays.
Network optimization: Enhance bandwidth and connectivity as user demands grow.
For example, Twilio scaled its COVID-19 contact tracing platform rapidly by outsourcing infrastructure to cloud providers. This automatic scaling ensured millions of people were contacted efficiently without infrastructure bottlenecks, a feat nearly impossible with only internal teams.
Whether it's expanding server capacity, optimizing network bandwidth, or adding storage, outsourcing providers can swiftly adjust the infrastructure to support business growth. This scalability and flexibility provide businesses with the agility necessary to respond to market dynamics and seize growth opportunities.
Robust Security Measures
Imagine guarding a fortress with outdated locks and untrained guards. That’s the risk many companies face managing security internally without dedicated resources.
Outsourcing IT infrastructure brings enterprise-level security expertise and tools within reach for businesses of all sizes. Here’s how:
24/7 Monitoring and Threat DetectionOutsourcing partners deploy advanced Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools, intrusion detection systems, and AI-powered threat analytics to monitor your infrastructure around the clock.
Regular Security Audits and Compliance AuditsThey conduct periodic vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and compliance checks to ensure you meet industry standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 without adding internal workload.
Data Encryption and Access ControlsProviders implement end-to-end encryption protocols for data at rest and in transit, along with strict identity and access management policies to control who accesses sensitive systems.
As the CTO of Gart, I prioritize the implementation of robust security measures, including advanced threat detection systems, data encryption, access controls, and proactive monitoring. We ensure that our clients' sensitive information remains protected from cyber threats and unauthorized access.
"The result was exactly as I expected: analysis, documentation, preferred technology stack etc. I believe these guys should grow up via expanding resources. All things I've seen were very good."
Grigoriy Legenchenko, CTO at Health-Tech Company
Piyush Tripathi About the Benefits of Outsourcing Infrastructure
Looking for answers to the question of IT infrastructure outsourcing pros and cons, we decided to seek the expert opinions on the matter. We reached out to Piyush Tripathi, who has extensive experience in infrastructure outsourcing.
Introducing the Expert
Piyush Tripathi is a highly experienced IT professional with over 10 years of industry experience. For the past ten years, he has been knee-deep in designing and maintaining database systems for significant projects. In 2020, he joined the core messaging team at Twilio and found himself at the heart of the fight against COVID-19. He played a crucial role in preparing the Twilio platform for the global vaccination program, utilizing innovative solutions to ensure scalability, compliance, and easy integration with cloud providers.
What are the potential benefits of IT infrastructure outsourcing?
High scale: I was leading Twilio COVID-19 platform to support contact tracing. This was a fairly quick announcement as the state of New York was planning to use it to help contact trace millions of people in the state and store their contact details. We needed to scale and scale fast. Doing it internally would have been very challenging, as demand could have spiked, and our response could not have been swift enough to respond. Outsourcing it to a cloud provider helped mitigate that; we opted for automatic scaling, which added resources in the infrastructure as soon as demand increased. This gave us peace of mind that even when we were sleeping, people would continue to get contacted and vaccinated.
Potential Risks of IT Infrastructure Outsourcing
While outsourcing unlocks significant benefits, it’s important to be aware of potential risks:
Risks:
Infra domain knowledge: if you outsource infra, your team could lose knowledge of setting up this kind of technology. for example, during COVID 19, I moved the contact database from local to cloud so overtime I anticipate that next teams would loose context of setting up and troubleshooting database internals since they will only use it as a consumer.
Limited direct control: since you outsource infrastructure, data, business logic and access control will reside in the provider. in rare cases, for example using this data for ML training or advertising analysis, you may not know how your data or information is being used.
Vendor Lock-in:Relying heavily on a single outsourcing provider may create challenges if switching vendors later becomes necessary. Migrating away can be complex and costly.
Compliance Risks:Data privacy regulations require careful vendor selection. Not knowing how your vendor stores, processes, or uses your data could pose legal and reputational risks, especially for sectors like healthcare and finance.
The 5 Core Benefits of IT Infrastructure Outsourcing — With Real Numbers
1. Cost Reduction That Is Measurable, Not Theoretical
The economics work because a managed provider amortizes the cost of senior expertise, monitoring tooling, and 24/7 coverage across multiple clients. A single enterprise-grade monitoring platform (Datadog, Dynatrace, or equivalent) can cost $15,000–$60,000 per month at scale — but your managed provider spreads that cost across their entire client base. For talent: a senior SRE in North America costs $180,000–$240,000 in base salary alone, before benefits, equity, and recruitment costs. Your managed infrastructure provider gives you access to that expertise without the headcount overhead. Our clients typically see 30–40% total cost of ownership reduction within 12 months.
2. Access to the Full Specialist Stack
No single hire gives you a cloud security architect, a Kubernetes platform engineer, a FinOps specialist, and a database performance engineer. Outsourcing does. This matters especially when you are navigating a complex modernization — migrating from monolith to microservices, exiting a data center, or adopting a new cloud region. Our guide on IaC tools outlines the kind of tooling depth a capable provider should bring to any modern infrastructure engagement.
3. Elastic Scalability Aligned to Your Business Cycle
Growth events create sudden infrastructure demand. A product launch, a market expansion, or an acquisition integration can require rapid provisioning capacity that a fixed in-house team simply cannot absorb without burning out or creating bottlenecks. Managed infrastructure partners scale resources in alignment with your roadmap — without the six-month hiring cycle that in-house expansion requires.
4. Reclaimed Internal Engineering Bandwidth
In most organizations, infrastructure maintenance consumes 30–50% of engineering time. That is time that could be spent on the product capabilities, data pipelines, and developer experience improvements that actually differentiate your business in market. Outsourcing operational maintenance returns that bandwidth to your team.
5. Built-In Compliance Coverage
Qualified managed infrastructure providers embed compliance tooling — automated evidence collection, audit-ready reporting, continuous security scanning — directly into their service delivery. What used to require a dedicated GRC hire or a quarterly consultant sprint becomes a continuous, always-on operational function.
Why the Business Case for IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Is Stronger Than Ever in 2026
Three forces have permanently shifted the calculus for most organizations:
The talent gap is structural, not cyclical. According to Gartner's latest IT spending forecast, worldwide IT expenditure is growing 10.8% in 2026 — reaching $6.15 trillion — yet the talent supply has not kept pace. By 2027, Gartner projects companies will spend 50% more on IT contractors than internal IT staff across most industries, as hiring senior infrastructure engineers has become structurally difficult and expensive.
The second force is infrastructure complexity sprawl. A typical mid-market company in 2026 runs workloads across two or three cloud providers, manages legacy on-premises systems in parallel, operates containerized workloads on Kubernetes, and is adopting AI/ML pipelines that require GPU clusters and specialized networking. The surface area that needs to be monitored, secured, and optimized has grown faster than any lean in-house team can realistically govern.
The third force is continuous compliance pressure. SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS — the audit burden on engineering organizations is no longer a once-a-year event. It is continuous evidence collection, continuous monitoring, and continuous remediation. Organizations without a dedicated compliance infrastructure function are simply accumulating risk. You can build a picture of the current threat landscape in our guide to IT infrastructure security best practices.
Case Study
How we reduced infrastructure costs by 38% for a Series B fintech
A financial technology company with 280 employees approached Gart Solutions after their annual infrastructure bill crossed $2.4M — a 64% year-over-year increase driven by unmanaged cloud sprawl and three redundant monitoring tools their in-house team had neither the time nor the mandate to consolidate.
Over a 90-day transition and a six-month optimization phase, Gart assumed full managed operations of their multi-cloud environment (AWS primary, Azure DR), consolidated observability tooling onto a single OpenTelemetry-based stack, right-sized 140+ EC2 instances, implemented IaC governance via Terraform, and established SOC 2 Type II-aligned security monitoring.
38%
Reduction in annual operating costs
100%
DevOps time redirected to product
IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Models: Which One Is Right for You?
One of the most common mistakes companies make is choosing the wrong engagement model — then blaming outsourcing itself when the results disappoint. Here is a clear-eyed breakdown:
ModelWho Owns OperationsBest ForTypical Cost StructureControl LevelFully Managed ServicesProvider end-to-endLean IT teams; companies scaling fast; orgs without mature in-house opsMonthly flat fee or per-device/workloadMedium — outcomes defined by youCo-Managed (Hybrid)Shared — provider handles defined layers, client retains othersMid-market firms with existing IT staff who need specialized depth in specific domainsTiered subscription + domain-specific feesHigh — shared accountability modelStaff AugmentationClient manages — provider supplies engineersOrgs with defined processes needing headcount, not a managed serviceMonthly retainer per engineerFull — client directs all workProject-Based OutsourcingProvider during project; client post-deliveryOne-time transformation initiatives (cloud migration, DC exit, DR build)Fixed-price or T&MHigh — outcome-scoped engagementOutcome-Based ContractProvider — paid on delivered KPIsMature buyers seeking strategic partnership with financial accountabilityBase fee + SLA performance bonuses/penaltiesMedium — results-driven governanceIT Infrastructure Outsourcing Models: Which One Is Right for You?
The co-managed model has become the dominant choice for companies in the $30M–$500M revenue range. It preserves your team's strategic control while offloading the operational layer. For guidance on how consulting fits into your infrastructure strategy, see our IT infrastructure consulting services overview.
In-House vs. IT Infrastructure Outsourcing: A Direct Decision Framework
FactorIn-House TeamIT Infrastructure OutsourcingTotal Cost of OwnershipHigh — salary + benefits + tooling licenses + PTO + attrition replacement (often 1.5–2× base)Predictable monthly fee; tooling typically included; no hiring overhead24/7 CoverageDifficult without 6–8+ engineers; on-call rotation burns out small teams24/7/365 NOC and SOC coverage included in managed serviceExpertise BreadthLimited by hiring budget; skill gaps are common and expensive to fillFull specialist stack: cloud, security, networking, DB, FinOps — on-demandScalability Speed3–6 month hiring cycles for senior roles; slower than business demandElastic — capacity adjusted with days or weeks of noticeTooling & LicensingFull cost borne by the organization; often duplicated across teamsShared across provider's client base; enterprise rates; typically includedCompliance & AuditRequires dedicated internal resource or expensive consultant engagementsEmbedded in service delivery with automated evidence collectionArchitecture ControlFull ownership of design and roadmapRetained at architecture level; execution delegatedKey-Person RiskHigh — losing one senior engineer can destabilize operationsLow — provider manages bench, continuity, and knowledge transferIn-House vs. IT Infrastructure Outsourcing: A Direct Decision Framework
When IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Is the Wrong Choice
Outsourcing is not the right answer for every organization. Here are the situations where keeping operations in-house — or taking a more limited co-managed approach — is the better call:
Your infrastructure is your product.If your core business is the infrastructure itself (you are a cloud provider, a CDN, a hardware company), operational knowledge is too central to your competitive advantage to delegate. You need to own it.
You cannot yet describe what "good" looks like.Outsourcing before you have defined SLAs, runbooks, and success metrics means handing over control without accountability. You will not be able to evaluate whether the provider is doing a good job — and neither will they.
Your environment is undocumented and high-risk.A provider cannot safely take over what has not been documented. If your infrastructure has no runbooks, no architecture diagrams, and no incident history, you need a discovery and documentation phase first — often best done internally or through a consulting engagement rather than a managed services handover.
You are at pre-product stage.Early-stage startups with small, experimental infrastructure and a CTO who wants to stay close to the stack are generally better served by a cloud-native, self-service approach (AWS managed services, GCP managed databases, etc.) than by a full managed services engagement.
What a Modern IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Stack Looks Like in 2026
A credible managed infrastructure provider should be able to demonstrate working knowledge — not just vendor logos — across the core tooling categories that define modern infrastructure operations. At Gart, our delivery stack includes:
Expertise across the modern stack
Cloud & Compute
AWS (EKS, ECS, EC2, RDS, S3)
Azure (AKS, Virtual Machines, Azure SQL)
Google Cloud Platform
Kubernetes (on-prem & managed)
VMware vSphere / Hyper-V
Infrastructure as Code & Automation
Terraform & Terragrunt
Ansible
Pulumi
GitLab CI / GitHub Actions
ArgoCD / Flux (GitOps)
Observability & Security
Prometheus + Grafana
OpenTelemetry
Datadog / Dynatrace
Elastic SIEM
Wazuh / Falco
Vault (secrets management)
For a detailed breakdown of the IaC tooling landscape, see our comparison of top Infrastructure as Code tools. According to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation's annual survey, Kubernetes adoption has reached 96% among enterprises — which means operational complexity has too. Providers who cannot demonstrate deep Kubernetes expertise are behind the curve.
The Process for Outsourcing IT Infrastructure
Gart aims to deliver a tailored and efficient outsourcing solution for the client's IT infrastructure needs. The process encompasses thorough analysis, strategic planning, implementation, and ongoing support, all aimed at optimizing the client's IT operations and driving their business success.
Free Consultation
Project Technical Audit
Realizing Project Targets
Implementation
Documentation Updates & Reports
Maintenance & Tech Support
The process begins with a free consultation where Gart engages with the client to understand their specific IT infrastructure requirements, challenges, and goals. This initial discussion helps establish a foundation for collaboration and allows Gart to gather essential information for the project.
Then Gart conducts a comprehensive project technical audit. This involves a detailed analysis of the client's existing IT infrastructure, systems, and processes. The audit helps identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, providing valuable insights to tailor the outsourcing solution.
Based on the consultation and technical audit, we here at Gart work closely with the client to define clear project targets. This includes establishing specific objectives, timelines, and deliverables that align with the client's business objectives and IT requirements.
The implementation phase involves deploying the necessary resources, tools, and technologies to execute the outsourcing solution effectively. Our experienced professionals manage the transition process, ensuring a seamless integration of the outsourced IT infrastructure into the client's operations.
Throughout the outsourcing process, Gart maintains comprehensive documentation to track progress, changes, and updates. Regular reports are generated and shared with the client, providing insights into project milestones, performance metrics, and any relevant recommendations. This transparent approach allows for effective communication and ensures that the project stays on track.
Gart provides ongoing maintenance and technical support to ensure the smooth operation of the outsourced IT infrastructure. This includes proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and regular maintenance activities. In case of any issues or concerns, Gart's dedicated support team is available to provide timely assistance and resolve technical challenges.
Evaluating the Outsourcing Vendor: Ensuring Reliability and Compatibility
When evaluating an outsourcing vendor, it is important to conduct thorough research to ensure their reliability and suitability for your IT infrastructure outsourcing needs. Here are some steps to follow during the vendor checkup process:
Google Search
Begin by conducting a Google search of the outsourcing vendor's name. Explore their website, social media profiles, and any relevant online presence. A well-established outsourcing vendor should have a professional website that showcases their services, expertise, and client testimonials.
Industry Platforms and Directories
Check reputable industry platforms and directories such as Clutch and GoodFirms. These platforms provide verified reviews and ratings from clients who have worked with the outsourcing vendor. Assess their overall rating, read client reviews, and evaluate their performance based on past projects.
Read more: Gart Solutions Achieves Dual Distinction as a Clutch Champion and Global Winner
Freelance Platforms
If the vendor operates on freelance platforms like Upwork, review their profile and client feedback. Assess their ratings, completion rates, and feedback from previous clients. This can provide insights into their professionalism, technical expertise, and adherence to deadlines.
Online Presence
Explore the vendor's presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Assess their activity, engagement, and the quality of content they share. A strong online presence indicates their commitment to transparency and communication.
Industry Certifications and Partnerships
Check if the vendor holds any relevant industry certifications, partnerships, or affiliations.
Technical Expertise:Review their team’s skills across infrastructure domains – servers, networks, cloud, security, and automation.
Cultural Fit and Communication:Effective communication ensures smooth collaboration. Assess their language proficiency, time zone overlap, and responsiveness during initial consultations.
Scalability and Flexibility:Check if they can scale resources quickly to match your evolving business needs.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs):Evaluate guarantees on uptime, issue resolution times, data security, and exit processes.
By following these steps, you can gather comprehensive information about the outsourcing vendor's reputation, credibility, and capabilities. It is important to perform due diligence to ensure that the vendor aligns with your business objectives, possesses the necessary expertise, and can be relied upon to successfully manage your IT infrastructure outsourcing requirements.
Why Ukraine is an Attractive Outsourcing Destination for IT Infrastructure
Ukraine has emerged as a prominent player in the global IT industry. With a thriving technology sector, it has become a preferred destination for outsourcing IT infrastructure needs.
Ukraine is renowned for its vast pool of highly skilled IT professionals. The country produces a significant number of IT graduates each year, equipped with strong technical expertise and a solid educational background. Ukrainian developers and engineers are well-versed in various technologies, making them capable of handling complex IT infrastructure projects with ease.
One of the major advantages of outsourcing IT infrastructure to Ukraine is the cost-effectiveness it offers. Compared to Western European and North American countries, the cost of IT services in Ukraine is significantly lower while maintaining high quality. This cost advantage enables businesses to optimize their IT budgets and allocate resources to other critical areas.
English proficiency is widespread among Ukrainian IT professionals, making communication and collaboration seamless for international clients. This proficiency eliminates language barriers and ensures effective knowledge transfer and project management. Additionally, Ukraine shares cultural compatibility with Western countries, enabling smoother integration and understanding of business practices.
The Gart 5-Step Infrastructure Optimization Model
Every Gart managed infrastructure engagement follows the same structured delivery model — designed to eliminate the instability that plagues most outsourcing transitions and to move from reactive management to proactive optimization as fast as possible.
Discovery & Current State Assessment
We conduct a full technical inventory of your environment: cloud accounts, compute and storage footprint, network topology, security posture, observability coverage, runbook completeness, and open incident backlog. This produces a CSA document that becomes the baseline for SLA definitions and optimization targets. Duration: 2–4 weeks.
Shadow Operations & Knowledge Transfer
Before assuming responsibility, our team shadows your current operations — monitoring alongside your team, documenting tribal knowledge, and running fire drills for the most common incident types. This eliminates blind spots and ensures continuity. Duration: 2–4 weeks (overlapping with discovery).
Controlled Handover & Stabilization
Operational responsibility transfers domain by domain — not all at once. We start with monitoring and alerting, then incident response, then change management. Each domain is handed over only after documented runbooks are in place and the shadow period has been completed. Duration: 4–8 weeks.
Baseline Optimization
Once in steady-state, we conduct a structured optimization pass: right-sizing compute resources, consolidating overlapping tooling, implementing or improving IaC coverage, and establishing automated compliance reporting. This is where the majority of cost savings are realized. Duration: months 3–6.
Continuous Improvement & Strategic Partnership
From month 6 onward, the engagement shifts to continuous improvement: quarterly architecture reviews, proactive capacity planning, FinOps governance, and contribution to your engineering roadmap. Monthly business reviews track KPIs against baseline. This is the phase where the real strategic value of outsourcing is realized.
Our managed IT infrastructure services are structured around this model for every engagement. If you want to understand how this maps to your specific environment, request a free infrastructure cost audit - we typically turn these around in 48 hours.
Long Story Short
IT infrastructure outsourcing empowers organizations to streamline their IT operations, reduce costs, enhance performance, and leverage external expertise, allowing them to focus on their core competencies and achieve their strategic goals.
By delegating complex infrastructure management to specialized providers, businesses can:
Access advanced expertise and technologies
Scale flexibly with market demands
Strengthen cybersecurity and compliance
Focus internal teams on strategic innovation
Optimize costs with predictable budgets
In a world where digital resilience defines market leadership, outsourcing IT infrastructure is your ticket to agility, efficiency, and sustainable success.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your IT infrastructure through outsourcing? Reach out to us and let's embark on a transformative journey together!
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SaaS is a thriving business model, providing entrepreneurs with quality code and scalability without financial risk. To fully tap into its potential, pairing it with DevOps is essential for efficient processes and infrastructure-ready solutions.
[lwptoc]
As a DevOps expert, we explain the technical and practical reasons for embracing DevOps and why DevOps outsourcing is a smart investment for the future.
What is DevOps?
DevOps, which stands for the convergence of development (Dev) and operations (Ops), represents an organizational approach that expedites application development and streamlines the maintenance of existing deployments. This paradigm not only unites development and operations (DevOps) but also encompasses QA (QAOps), security (DevSecOps), processes, and tools.
DevOps is fundamentally centered on "driving business transformation," as articulated by one of its authorities, Robert Stroud. The implementation of DevOps practices through specialized software solutions constitutes a comprehensive strategy to boost productivity without compromising quality. This set of principles and methodologies aids companies in continuously delivering services or products, thereby reducing the software development lifecycle.
From a more abstract perspective, DevOps can be defined as an interdisciplinary community of practice with a focus on the construction, advancement, and operation of adaptable and agile systems at any scale. The emphasis on quality and service within DevOps draws inspiration from Lean and Agile methodologies.
Why SaaS Needs DevOps
SaaS and DevOps are like a dynamic duo, and there are several compelling reasons why SaaS absolutely needs DevOps. Here are three key reasons, along with a couple more:
Cloud Convenience
Scalability
SaaS applications often run in cloud environments. DevOps practices help SaaS companies take full advantage of the cloud's scalability, enabling them to seamlessly handle varying workloads and efficiently allocate resources.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) manages resources like servers and networks through machine-readable files. Integrating SaaS-managed DevOps brings expert skills without long-term high costs. IaC allows replicating and customizing infrastructure efficiently.
Resource Optimization
DevOps allows for the efficient management of cloud resources, ensuring that SaaS providers only pay for what they use and avoid unnecessary costs.
Global Availability
DevOps facilitates the deployment of SaaS applications across multiple regions and data centers, ensuring global availability and low latency for users worldwide.
Microservice architecture as the default for SaaS products
Modularity
Many SaaS platforms are built using microservices to break down complex applications into smaller, manageable components. DevOps supports the development, deployment, and scaling of these microservices independently, promoting agility and flexibility.
Although monolithic architecture remains the go-to choice for numerous enterprise-level software solutions, SaaS product development necessitates the adoption of a microservices architecture. The decoupling of services in microservices accelerates the growth of potentially expansive products with scalability goals, all while minimizing resource consumption and operational disruptions.
The transition from monolithic systems to microservices is an inexorable trend within the realm of SaaS. These products cater to a vast user base and simply cannot tolerate downtime. Hence, they demand seamless scalability, as well as the implementation of multi-region and multi-currency payment systems.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)
Microservices benefit greatly from CI/CD pipelines, which DevOps excels at. This allows SaaS companies to rapidly deploy updates to specific microservices without affecting the entire application.
Serverless Agility
Efficient Resource Management
Serverless computing abstracts infrastructure management, but it requires precise resource allocation. DevOps helps optimize serverless application functions, ensuring they run efficiently and cost-effectively.
Rapid Development
DevOps practices like automated testing and deployment are crucial for serverless applications, enabling quick iterations and reducing time-to-market for new features or enhancements.
Continuous Improvement
Feedback Loops
DevOps establishes feedback loops that collect user insights and operational data. SaaS companies can use this feedback to continuously improve their products, aligning development efforts with customer needs.
Innovation Acceleration
DevOps fosters a culture of innovation by encouraging experimentation, which is particularly important in the rapidly evolving SaaS landscape.
Security and Compliance
DevSecOps
DevOps extends to DevSecOps, where security is integrated into the development process. In the SaaS world, where data security and compliance are paramount, this approach ensures that security measures are consistently applied.
In essence, DevOps is the driving force behind the agility, scalability, and efficiency that SaaS companies require to succeed in a competitive and ever-changing industry. Whether in the cloud, with microservices, or leveraging serverless technology, DevOps is the linchpin for SaaS excellence.
Three Groups of Benefits of DevOps for a SaaS company
Let's categorize the advantages of DevOps into three groups: Business Benefits, Cultural Benefits, and Technical Advantages. These categories help highlight the diverse benefits that DevOps brings to a SaaS company, encompassing not only technical improvements but also cultural and business advantages.
Business Benefits
Faster Time to Market
Accelerating development and deployment processes allows SaaS companies to launch new features and updates quickly, gaining a competitive edge.
Cost Efficiency
DevOps reduces operational expenses through automation, efficient resource utilization, and improved scalability, leading to cost savings.
Customer Satisfaction
Enhanced application stability and reliability, as well as faster issue resolution, contribute to higher customer satisfaction and retention rates.
Cultural Benefits
Improved Collaboration
DevOps fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between teams, breaking down silos and promoting a culture of teamwork.
Continuous Learning and Improvement
DevOps encourages a culture of continuous improvement and learning, empowering teams to evolve and adapt.
Ownership and Accountability
DevOps practices instill a sense of ownership and accountability among team members, leading to a shared responsibility for product quality.
Technical Advantages
Enhanced Stability and Reliability
Automation and continuous monitoring improve the technical stability and reliability of SaaS applications.
Security Integration
DevOps integrates security practices (DevSecOps) into development processes, strengthening the security posture of SaaS platforms.
Scalability
DevOps enables seamless scalability to handle increased user loads and rapid growth without service disruptions.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
DevOps tools provide valuable data and insights for informed technical decisions and optimizations.
When is the Right Time to Enlist DevOps Expertise?
DevOps specialists are essential right from the project's inception, offering valuable assistance in various aspects. They can tailor environments for development, testing, and deployment, as well as provide insights into efficient server architecture.
The tasks range from architectural redesign, DNS and database management, server migration, to problem-solving in case of system failures. DevOps plays a pivotal role throughout the project lifecycle, delivering value at various stages.
The scope of DevOps involvement in a project is vast, and here are scenarios illustrating when and how SaaS businesses can benefit:
At the Project's Start
During Sprint Zero, DevOps specialists assist in defining the technology stack and architecture for future SaaS functionality. Experts set up distinct testing and production environments.
For Ongoing Projects
In existing projects, DevOps begins by assessing the system and its documentation. This includes tasks like configuring CI/CD, which involves identifying technologies, exploring databases, and reviewing network and server configurations. This phase is essential for identifying areas that require improvement and may take a few hours to a couple of days, depending on the situation.
DevOps engineers automate infrastructure management using Infrastructure as Code (IaC), streamlining the development process for SaaS companies.
DevOps consulting extends to optimizing server performance, providing insights into options, benchmarks, costs, and risks.
Continuous server monitoring ensures prompt responses to system conditions such as processor load and server space availability.
Case Studies
Read more: Optimizing Costs and Operations for Cloud-Based SaaS E-Commerce Platform
Why SaaS Companies Should Contemplate Outsourcing DevOps to Gart
SaaS companies should seriously consider outsourcing their DevOps needs to Gart for several compelling reasons.
Outsourcing DevOps to a specialized provider like Gart Solutions offers numerous benefits. First and foremost, it allows SaaS companies to tap into the expertise and experience of seasoned DevOps professionals who are well-versed in the latest industry trends and best practices.
Gart can help streamline and optimize your development and operations processes, leading to faster time-to-market for new features and improvements. They can also ensure the reliability, security, and scalability of your SaaS platform, which are paramount in retaining and attracting customers.
Cost-efficiency is another significant advantage of outsourcing DevOps. By partnering with Gart, SaaS companies can reduce operational costs associated with maintaining an in-house DevOps team and infrastructure.
Moreover, outsourcing to a specialized DevOps provider allows SaaS companies to focus on their core business activities while leaving the technical intricacies to experts. This frees up internal resources and enables the company to allocate more time and effort to product development and customer satisfaction.
In summary, outsourcing DevOps to Gart is a strategic move that empowers SaaS companies to stay competitive, reduce costs, enhance efficiency, and ultimately deliver a better experience to their customers.
Contact us now to get started on your journey to DevOps excellence!
Business Continuity (BC) constitutes a comprehensive managerial process that serves as a safeguard to ensure an organization's capacity to sustain its crucial operations and deliver indispensable services, even in the face of an array of disruptive forces. These potential disruptions encompass a spectrum of challenges, ranging from natural disasters, technological glitches, and cyberattacks to unforeseen and abrupt events.
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At its core, a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) aims to ensure the seamless operation of essential functions in challenging circumstances, safeguarding critical services and workflows. It mitigates disruptions, reducing downtime and losses while protecting stakeholders like employees, clients, and suppliers. Regulatory compliance is key to avoiding legal issues.
Moreover, BCPs enhance an organization's reputation, demonstrating reliability and building trust. They also promote financial stability by minimizing losses and maintaining revenue in the face of disasters.
Common Business Risks and Vulnerabilities
Businesses encounter a diverse range of hazards and vulnerabilities that can disrupt their operations and jeopardize their sustainability.
Natural Calamities
Technological Hiccups
Supply Chain Interruptions
Human Variables
Regulatory Transformations
Economic Variables
Common risks include natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and wildfires, which damage infrastructure. Technological issues such as hardware failures and cyber threats can disrupt digital operations. Overreliance on suppliers can affect production, while human errors or malicious actions may cause disruptions, especially if key personnel are unavailable. Regulatory changes impact operations, and economic factors like downturns and market volatility can affect financial stability
Without a robust BCP, businesses risk prolonged downtime, financial losses, and customer dissatisfaction, potentially leading to closure. This can also harm their reputation, result in revenue decline, and lead to regulatory penalties. Inadequate crisis management can erode trust, jeopardize employee safety, and hinder competitiveness.
Business Continuity Preparation Checklist
Step/ConsiderationDescription/NotesRisk AssessmentIdentify and assess potential risks and threats to the business. This includes natural disasters, cybersecurity threats, supply chain disruptions, etc.Business Impact Analysis (BIA)Conduct a BIA to determine the criticality of various business functions, their dependencies, and the impact of downtime.BCP Team FormationEstablish a dedicated team responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the Business Continuity Plan (BCP).Set Objectives and PrioritiesDefine clear objectives for the BCP, prioritize critical functions, and allocate resources accordingly.Communication PlanDevelop a comprehensive communication plan for both internal and external stakeholders during emergencies.BCP DocumentationCreate detailed BCP documentation, including policies, procedures, and recovery plans for each critical function.Resource AllocationAllocate the necessary resources, including personnel, technology, and financial resources, to support BCP implementation.Training and AwarenessProvide training and awareness programs to ensure employees understand their roles and responsibilities in the BCP.Technology and Data ProtectionImplement technology solutions for data backup, redundancy, and cybersecurity to safeguard critical systems and data.Supplier and Partner EngagementEngage with suppliers and partners to ensure they have their own BCPs in place and align with your continuity efforts.Testing and ExercisesRegularly test the BCP through tabletop exercises, functional drills, and full-scale simulations.Continuous ImprovementEstablish a process for collecting feedback, learning from incidents, and updating the BCP to enhance its effectiveness.Regulatory ComplianceEnsure the BCP complies with relevant regulations and industry standards.Alternative Facilities and Remote WorkIdentify backup facilities and establish remote work capabilities to maintain operations during facility disruptions.Crisis Communication Tools and ChannelsImplement tools and communication channels (e.g., emergency notification systems) for rapid dissemination of information during crises.Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs)Define specific RTOs for each critical function, indicating the acceptable downtime for recovery.Legal and Compliance ConsiderationsConsider legal and compliance aspects, including contractual obligations, insurance coverage, and data protection regulations.Vendor and Service Provider AssessmentEvaluate the resilience of vendors and service providers to ensure they can support your BCP.Incident Response PlanDevelop a detailed incident response plan to guide immediate actions during emergencies.Employee Safety and Well-beingEstablish measures for ensuring employee safety and providing support during crises.Financial PreparednessMaintain financial reserves or insurance coverage to cover costs associated with BCP implementation and recovery efforts.Record-Keeping and DocumentationMaintain records of BCP activities, tests, and incidents for auditing and reporting purposes.Periodic Reviews and UpdatesSchedule regular reviews of the BCP to assess its relevance and update it as needed based on changing risks and circumstances.
Preparing for Business Continuity
Risk Assessment
Conducting a comprehensive risk assessment is a fundamental step in preparing for business continuity, forming the foundation of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP). The process of conducting a risk assessment involves several essential steps.
Organizations identify potential risks through various means, including historical data review, employee interviews, and industry trend analysis. Common risk categories include natural disasters, technological failures, human errors, and external threats such as cyberattacks.
Risks are categorized based on their severity and potential to disrupt operations. Priority is given to critical risks that could significantly impact the business. Comprehensive risk assessment process is vital in enhancing an organization's readiness and resilience in the face of potential disruptions.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is a crucial component of the BCP as it focuses on understanding the specific impact of disruptions on the organization. Its role includes:
Prioritizing Critical Functions
A BIA identifies and prioritizes critical business functions and processes, helping organizations determine which areas require the most attention during recovery efforts.
Determining Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs)
By analyzing the BIA results, organizations can establish RTOs, which specify the maximum allowable downtime for critical functions.
Resource Allocation
The BIA informs resource allocation decisions, ensuring that resources are directed towards recovering the most vital aspects of the business.
Risk Reduction
It helps organizations understand how different risks may affect their operations and allows them to proactively mitigate these risks.
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BCP Team
Establishing a BCP team is essential for effective preparedness. Key roles and responsibilities include:
BCP Coordinator: Oversees the entire BCP process, ensures alignment with organizational goals, and coordinates all BCP activities.
Team Leaders: Appointed to lead specific recovery teams or departments, responsible for implementing recovery strategies.
Communication Coordinator: Manages internal and external communication during emergencies and ensures timely updates to stakeholders.
Resource Coordinator: Manages resource allocation, procurement, and logistics required for recovery efforts.
IT Specialist: Focuses on IT recovery strategies, including data backup, system restoration, and cybersecurity.
Safety and Security Officer: Ensures the safety and security of employees, facilities, and assets during disruptions.
HR Liaison: Addresses personnel-related issues, including employee well-being, workforce mobilization, and HR policies during recovery.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Various industries and jurisdictions have specific regulations related to business continuity planning. Common examples include:
Financial Industry. Regulations like Basel III require financial institutions to have robust BCPs in place to ensure financial stability.
Healthcare. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates that healthcare organizations have contingency plans for protecting patient data and ensuring continued patient care during emergencies.
Energy Sector. Regulations in the energy sector often require utilities to have BCPs to maintain critical infrastructure and services.
Developing the Business Continuity Plan
Business Continuity Strategies
Business Continuity Strategies encompass a range of proactive measures and plans aimed at sustaining critical operations during disruptions. These strategies may involve establishing backup facilities, leveraging cloud solutions, and making risk-informed selections to ensure an organization's resilience in the face of adversity.
Emergency Response
Emergency Response involves the development and implementation of procedures and protocols to address immediate crises and disruptions effectively. It emphasizes rapid and coordinated actions, with a primary focus on safeguarding people, assets, and critical operations. Effective communication and swift decision-making are vital components of a robust emergency response plan.
Data Backup and Recovery
Data Backup and Recovery entail the establishment of systematic processes for safeguarding and restoring critical data and information. This includes routine backups of essential data, the creation of redundancy measures, and the provision of clear procedures for data retrieval in the event of data loss or system failures. The aim is to minimize data-related disruptions and ensure the continuity of essential business functions.
Data backup and recovery procedures involve:
Regular automated backups of critical data.
Testing the integrity of backups to ensure data recoverability.
Detailed recovery plans specifying who is responsible for data restoration.
Off-site backup storage to safeguard data in case of on-site disasters.
Testing and Maintenance
Regular testing of the BCP is essential to ensure its effectiveness. It allows organizations to assess their preparedness, identify weaknesses, and refine response procedures. Various testing methods, such as tabletop exercises and drills, are employed to simulate different scenarios and evaluate the plan's robustness.
To comprehensively evaluate our BCP, we employ a range of testing methods, including:
Tabletop Exercises: These scenario-based discussions involve key stakeholders to simulate crisis situations, fostering collaboration, and identifying areas for improvement.
Functional Drills: Practical exercises replicate real-world scenarios, enabling employees to execute specific BCP tasks and assess their effectiveness.
Full-Scale Simulations: These elaborate tests mimic large-scale disasters, testing the entire BCP and its ability to handle complex situations.
IT Recovery Testing: Ensures the functionality of our IT systems and data recovery procedures, including failover tests for critical applications.
Continuous improvement is a key aspect of BCP management. It involves gathering feedback from testing and real-world incidents, learning from experiences, and applying those lessons to enhance the BCP. This iterative process ensures that the plan remains relevant and resilient to evolving challenges.
To ensure our BCP remains robust and adaptable, we follow a structured process for updating and improvement:
Post-Testing Evaluation: After each test or real incident, we conduct a thorough review to capture feedback and lessons learned.
Analysis and Prioritization: We analyze the feedback and prioritize areas that require attention based on their impact and criticality.
Revision and Enhancement: The BCP is revised to address identified weaknesses, incorporating improvements and updates.
Communication: Revised BCP versions are communicated to all relevant stakeholders, and training and awareness programs are conducted as needed.
Regular Review: We establish a schedule for periodic BCP reviews, ensuring that it remains aligned with our business goals and current risk landscape.
Conclusion
To facilitate the execution of an effective Business Continuity Plan tailored to your organization's unique needs, consider Gart's Backup and Disaster Recovery Services. These services provide comprehensive support and resources for crafting a resilient BCP that aligns seamlessly with your operational landscape. Gart's expertise ensures that your BCP is robust, adaptable, and in compliance with relevant regulations, all while safeguarding your reputation and financial stability. With Gart's Backup and Disaster Recovery Services, your organization can confidently navigate disruptions and emerge stronger on the other side.
