If you are a small business owner, all your energy is most probably being utilised to build your business model, leaving very little time for IT needs. Most small business IT support requirements are addressed very reactively, without much planning or strategy. Poor small business IT support decisions can have long term effects on productivity, efficiency and growth, as well as adding to costs and expenditure.

So what solutions do small business owners have? Hiring full time IT staff can be very expensive and will still not meet the needs of 24/7 support or efficient knowledge transfer. Nor can one person give the full range of IT expertise equivalent to the in-house IT department of enterprises. However, small businesses deserve the same quality of IT operations that large companies enjoy – hassle free resolution of minor technical issues, scalability, flexibility and security.

The best solution for small business owners is to outsource their IT services to an independent third party provider who can provide in-house IT services at a fraction of the cost. These services come at a fixed monthly price and can be cherry-picked to suit your requirements.

Do you want technology to drive your business forward and help you meet your revenue targets sooner? Then you need to strategically plan for the following top small business IT support services.

IT Consultation Services

While technology is the major driving factor for any business, it is interesting to note that most small business IT support is treated as secondary in the growth strategy. New entrepreneurs focus all their energy on improving their product or service, while responding to IT needs very reactively. Issues are resolved only when new problems arise, often at the cost of major business loss or operational downtime.

Being in constant “fire fighting” mode with your IT systems can drain resources and slow everything down. Instead having experts plan your IT needs systematically is much more beneficial

• Small business IT support companies have greater knowledge and experience of the latest technology. Moreover, they can custom fit solutions to meet your needs.
• They can set up correct initial configuration for future scalability and proper monitoring.
• They can give you the best advise on the ideal hardware and set up costs, which makes estimation, budgeting and planning more predictable.

IT Security Services

Many hackers will target small businesses because they know that SMBs don’t have the resources to implement stringent security measures. Vulnerability comes due to both a lack of awareness of existing threats and a perception that the business is too small to be an appealing target. Cyber crime comes in various forms such as:

• Stray viruses slowing down your operations and affecting customer service.
• Competitors using worms to auto click excessively on your Google ads to drive up your ad spend without ROI.
• Network attacks that flood your network with fake customer packets so your server slows down for real customers or worse, shuts down.

Your small business IT support services should include a comprehensive risk assessment, prevention and detection system that can neutralise threats before any damage is done.

IT Cloud Solutions

Small businesses can use cloud computing to remove geographical barriers for greater collaboration. For example:

• Outsource low skilled work (data entry, virtual assistant) to reduce costs
• Collaborate with mentors, business coaches, executives, and other top talent from around the globe.
• Increase employee retention by letting employees work remotely.
• Launch in new markets more efficiently.

The sky is the limit if you can harness the power of cloud computing. A small business IT support service can assist you in selecting, installing, using and maintaining your IT cloud so that you can conduct your business safely and efficiently.

Small businesses play a crucial role in the Australian economy. They create new jobs, diversify available products and services, encourage competition and boost local markets. With many years of experience providing IT support to companies in Melbourne and Sydney, you can trust that your IT is in safe hands!