Small businesses have faced a rough couple of years. With the GFC in 2008 and with another impending period of economic uncertainty ahead, they know that they need to prepare themselves for challenging times. Small businesses need to be flexible and be able to expand and shrink as necessary, and to do so quickly without excessive penalty.

The other key requirement for small businesses faced with battening down the hatches, is the ability to focus on their core businesses without having to worry about IT, accounts, marketing, or other aspects of running a business not directly related to the products or service provided.

Most small businesses have an internal IT manager, or, as is often the case, someone who is not an IT expert, like an office manager, who takes on the role of IT manager in addition to job-specific responsibilities.

This is, obviously, not ideal. With business IT being so fragmented, it will be difficult for any IT manager to become an expert at everything that a business needs – mobile communications, computers, Microsoft suites, network connectivity, data security, just to name a few. If an employee such as an office manager or administrative assistant is tasked to deal with IT on top of their workload, it can lead to frustration and the risk of making inadequately-informed IT decisions that the company is then saddled with for a specified period of time. Management of IT takes time and expertise, and is a big ask for a small business that has to operate as tightly as possible.

Thankfully, there is a simple solution: outsource all that non-core business.Hand over all IT management needs to a managed services provider. Most IT service providers offer managed services where they will deal with everything from network and internet connectivity to email services.

Desktop computers

It will no longer be necessary for staff to have their own desktop computers. We are an SME ourselves, and at our organisation, all staff have laptops from which they connect to a remote desktop, hosted offsite. All documents and files are saved onto a centralised server. Part-time staff have just a monitor and keyboard at their desk; there isn’t even a CPU involved.

Management (Windows updates, software updates, etc) of those remote desktops is left to the IT company and is usually done after office hours. Administrative controls can also be managed – staff will be unable to install programs on these remote desktops without an administrative password, for example.

Phones

Managed VoIP phone systems can also be beneficial, particularly if your organisation has multiple offices. They can often cut costs by up to 30%, and provide a host of features and benefits that are not available with fixed-line phone systems. These features include being able to log into your own profile from any phone in the office, voicemail to email for access on the go, and a single receptionist to transfer calls within and between offices. Along with disaster recovery options provided, you’ll only need to call or email the project manager for any changes (additions to the team, deletion of user accounts, diversions, etc).

And it goes on…

Accounts, legal, human resources, public relations and marketing are other functions that can be outsourced. Firms offer lower rates for SMEs in general, particularly since they know that budgets are tight. You also get the benefits of the entire firm’s knowledge base supporting your business, as opposed to just one person’s limited knowledge where you have someone performing these functions in-house.

Benefits

There are a host of benefits that can immediately be identified. Outsourcing everything enables you to focus solely on the products and services you provide. It frees up time spent dealing with IT and other business functions, so that your staff can concentrate on their job functions. Outsourcing business functions also enables you to manage your budgets better. You know for certain, month on month, what each service is going to cost, and in the case of technology, upgrades are usually included in the price, so you won’t be stuck using an outdated product in two years. You will also have the benefit of working with specialists in their various fields.

This can open up a host of possibilities – remote staff and hot-desking, for example, with the advantage  that less office space is required. Traveling executives and salespeople are able to access email and data from remote desktops on their laptops, and phone calls from their work phone number on their mobile phones. You can job-share certain roles whilst ensuring that your employees continue to feel supported.

Red flags

When negotiating with a managed service provider, look out for contract lengths, options to scale, any associated fees when making changes, and the ability to make your own changes as necessary. With managed services, you also have to look out for reliability, the company’s disaster recovery or redundancy plans, and security guarantees. Always ask for references and speak to them about customer service, turnaround times for requests and anything else that might be a priority for your business.

Matthew Wilson is managing director of M5 Networks Australia.