3 benefits of outsourcing IT that help Australian businesses

Australian small-to-medium (SME) owners are time-poor due to the number of their different daily responsibilities. Focusing on elements that are not in your area of expertise, but are essential for business success, can cause significant stress.

In fact, MYOB’s December 2017 Australian Business Monitor found that optimising IT systems and processes increased as a major pressure point for SME owners between October 2015-November 2017. This indicates the extent to which Australian businesses struggle with IT systems that simply aren’t fit for purpose.

What IT challenges do Australian SMEs face?

Australian SMEs face a number of unique challenges to expanding operations overseas, according to The Voice of Australian Business 2016 report:

• Three in four SMEs with partners abroad cited physical distance as an issue.
• Nearly 73 per cent of respondents thought slow national adoption of technology was inhibiting growth.
• Over 70 per cent agreed communication issues and a lack of expertise was another major challenge.

In order for Australian SMEs to survive in their unique commercial environment and grow onto the world stage, they need to to invest in enterprise IT system management. Partnering with local experts offers multiple positives to NSW businesses – here are three benefits of outsourcing IT management in Australia.

1. It saves money without risking quality

A lot is made of the savings to be found by outsourcing work to external partners, particular in Asian markets. However, these savings have to be considered against a potential quality sacrifice – will foreign businesses be able to manage your IT systems to the high standards a local service provider? Further, the challenges mentioned in the The Voice of Australian Business report remain when you work with IT businesses overseas.

Outsourcing processes to local experts still saves money while also affording peace of mind that all IT architecture will be managed professionally. Businesses can save dollars-and-cents by allowing outsourced service providers to take total control of optimising IT systems. This is because it saves you from investing funds into IT management on an ad-hoc basis, or from employing a full-time expert. With external consultants, you can simply pick and choose what projects you need assistance for. This frees up internal resources, ultimately feeding money back into operations down the line.

2.It frees up time for value-added projects

The Australian Taxation Office’s Small Business Engagement survey found that many owners considered themselves time poor and would happily consider outsourcing work to an expert. However, The Voice of Australian Business data shows that only 26 per cent of surveyed SMEs said they used external consultants in their decision making process. This discrepancy shows that NSW enterprise owners feel there is a lack of trustworthy outsourcing partners they believe can save them time while adding business value.

Outsourced IT system and application management within Australia offers organisations the chance to save precious time on picking up IT expertise and completing upgrade or installation projects ad-hoc. Expert consultants can guide you in the right direction, leaving you free to pursue activities that can further business value.

Additionally, the knowledge base of expert managed IT solutions providers means they can plan for future changes and technology upgrades. This forward-thinking can save a significant amount of time and effort down the track, especially in growth phases. For example, IT service providers can plan system upgrades prior to launching a new commercial outlet, meaning you can hit the ground running – an essential advantage over competitors.

3. Your business benefits from IT expertise

A 2012 Victoria University thesis case study on IT outsourcing within Telstra Australia indicates that over one-quarter of employees felt that the in-house IT team lacked strategic direction. Telstra is one of the nation’s largest businesses, with a colossal budget for managing IT and communications infrastructure. If one out of four employees felt this funding wasn’t enough for cohesive planning, how acute is the problem for NSW SMEs?

IT expertise takes years of training and experience to develop and needs constant re-evaluation in order to keep the knowledge base up-to-date with the latest trends. Most small business owners simply don’t have the skill set required to keep their operations cutting edge. That’s where the benefits of outsourcing IT to service providers come to the fore. A total system analysis from a professional can help immediately identify areas of strength and weakness in your organisation. This helps to drive improvements in the present and put plans in place for further efficiencies in the future.

Why choose BizTech?

The unique nature of the Australian business market means that SMEs face challenges many other enterprises worldwide don’t have to face. But these challenges can be flipped around to an advantage. The pool of managed IT service providers may be more condensed than other countries, but this means all support comes from a local IT team that can offer expertise alongside expense and time savings.

The Biztech team has invested many years in building a custom automated support platform to help our customers reduce the time and effort spent on maintaining their own IT infrastructure. You establish your aims for what you want out of the service and end goals for improvements, and we take on the complete outsourced management of your IT systems. Cost-effective, easy and the ultimate investment in peace of mind.

For more information about our managed IT solutions or the benefits of outsourcing your IT management to expert service providers, contact Biztech today.