An AMI-Partners study commissioned by Microsoft found that small businesses are losing more than $24 billion in productivity every year as a result of non-technical employees, also known as involuntary IT managers (IITMs), being taken away from their primary business role to manage the company’s IT solutions.

The study revealed that Australian IITMs lose 3.1 hours of time every week managing IT solutions instead of tending to their day-to-day job responsibilities. This adds up to the loss of 161 hours of productivity every year.

While Australian IITMs recorded the lowest level of lost productivity hours out of the five countries surveyed – Australia, Brazil, Chile, India and the US – the loss still represents a significant economic impact to Australian small businesses’ bottom lines.

In light of these results, Gianpaolo Carraro, SMB Director, Microsoft Australia, recommends small to medium businesses to embrace cloud technology, so they can still get IT services, but don’t have to manage it themselves.

“Time spent on IT management is not the best time spent for driving profitability for an organisation. There are couple options for them – one option is looking at the cloud to get the services of IT without having to manage the IT themselves. The second option is to engage with Microsoft partners, for instance, that have solutions available for them who can look after the management of that on their behalf,” said Carraro.

“Again at the top level is realising that small and medium businesses, the more they spend on their core business as opposed to IT, the more likely they are able to be successful in their core business.”

Other key findings include:

• Australian small businesses are more content with the status quo: Fifty-five percent of small businesses in Australia are unlikely to change the way IT is managed, compared to a global average of 37 percent.
• Australian IITMs are the least inclined to shift more IT budget to the cloud, at only 14 percent, and are the least likely to purchase integrated online productivity suites, at only 15 percent.

The complete ITTM survey can be found on Microsoft’s website.

The research of over 1000 SMEs and over 200 accountants revealed that the shift to cloud software is approaching critical mass, with 52 percent of SMEs saying they would replace their accountant if they fail to move to a cloud-based system. The proportion reached 72 percent among younger SME owners (aged 18-35).

Only 23 percent of accountants servicing SMEs have moved to cloud-based software, the majority being younger accountants.

CEO of Wolters Kluwer Asia Pacific, Russell Evans, said the survey was a wake-up call for accountants putting off the transition to a cloud software platform.

“It suggests a business-as-usual approach is not really an option for accounting firms. Their SME clients are saying they want to move down the cloud path and many will do so without their existing accountants if need be,” said Evans.

“And the impulse toward the cloud among younger business owners is even stronger, suggesting accounting firms risk losing a whole new generation of SME clients if they fail to act,” he added.

Chief reasons given by accountants for not having adopted cloud-based systems were the lack of time to learn about and familiarity with cloud systems (42 percent) and the existence of a working system (37 percent).

The research does, however, suggest that accounting firms are planning to implement cloud-based systems, with 60 percent expecting to make the move within the next three years.

The reasons for future adoption of cloud-based software, as provided by accountants, include:

• Accessibility from multiple locations (62 percent)
• Easy maintenance (32 percent)
• No need for purchasing hardware or accounting software (32 percent)
• Easy scalability in the event client base grows or their needs change (30 percent)
• No need for updates, tax tables updates or version upgrades (28 percent)
• Reduced overall costs (27 percent)
• Lower up-front investment required by clients (25 percent)
• Access to improved reporting (21 percent)
• Better security of data (18 percent)
• Availability of advanced features (12 percent)

“The business case for making the shift is clear. By taking the initiative and moving to a cloud-based platform before their SME clients do, accountants can secure their central role in managing their client’s accounts, while freeing up time and resources to provide strategic advisory services, an activity highly valued by their clients,” said Evans.

While 70 percent of SMEs trust their own instincts over professional advice, a large number of owners rank accountants as their most trusted external adviser, making the transition to cloud based software essential.

“The end result will be a more efficient interface between accountants and their clients, with less time spent on administration services and more on strategic business planning,” said Evans.

Adaptive Consolidation offers a complete, integrated cloud-based suite of products from corporate performance management (CPM) to business intelligence (BI).

Rob Hull, founder of Adaptive Planning, is currently promoting the application in Sydney. He told us the product is experiencing rapid growth around the world and is providing an effective solution to some of the limitations set by Microsoft Excel.

Adaptive Planning CEO John Herr explains: “Our customers are increasingly facing complex business scenarios, including multiple currencies, multiple departments, and multiple ownership structures that require the robust consolidation features that our new product offers.”

“We’re particularly proud that the design point of Adaptive Consolidation leapfrogs existing solutions, featuring numerous different design touches that embrace the ‘consumerisation of enterprise software,’ and making the application a great fit for a large, global use base.”

A recent study of finance professionals conducted by Business Performance Innovation Network and Adaptive Planning, found that 84 percent of companies need to manage multiple business units, two-thirds have multiple geographic entities, and over a third have merged and acquired businesses and deal in multiple currencies.

The study also revealed that 70 percent are not completely satisfied with their current consolidations process, and 58 percent would like to improve the accuracy and quality of data in their month-end consolidation and reporting process.

“We are seeing increasing importance placed on financial consolidation in the marketplace,” said Craig Schiff, president and CEO of BPM Partners.

“Adaptive Planning’s design and user experience is elegant and intuitive, and the allocations capability could be a huge improvement over both Excel and older enterprise software applications.”

According to Adaptive Planning, the new product will allow companies to:

• Achieve faster and more accurate close and reporting cycles, with greater transparency
• Improve visibility, audit, and control during financial consolidations
• Easily define elimination and allocation rules with a user-friendly interface for finance and accounting
• Enhance flexibility with date-effective rules for eliminations and allocations
• Perform what-if scenario planning with version-specific rules and ownership percentages
• Comply with IFRS and GAAP requirements to report ownership changes when and as they occur
• Provide clear and accurate view of financial results
• Accelerate reporting cycles to internal and external stakeholders

Australia’s largest accounting software provider, MYOB, recently conducted a study of over 1,000 SMEs which found that 16 percent use cloud computing in business, up by two percentage points from July of last year. The study also revealed that only 38 percent of SMEs have a business website, no change from last year.

SMEs who do use cloud computing were 106 percent more likely to see a revenue rise in the past year, a significant increase from 53 percent in July 2012; and those with a business website were 60 percent more likely to see a revenue rise, also up from 53 percent.

Business operators in the cloud are also more likely to expect a revenue rise in the next 12 months (37 percent versus 28 percent), and are more positive about the domestic economy improving during this time as well (33 percent versus 23 percent). SMEs with a business website are also more likely to expect a revenue rise in the next 12 months (35 percent versus 27 percent).

“It’s obvious that as time goes on Australian business operators using cloud computing are increasingly likely to achieve positive financial results. That said, I’m surprised fewer than one in every six say they use cloud in business. This ubiquitous technology has helped so many smaller businesses become better connected, more productive and more competitive,” said MYOB CEO, Tim Reed.

“Our research findings provide a clear cut case for embracing online technologies in business. The latest study reveals SMEs using cloud were twice as likely to see a revenue rise in the past year than those who aren’t. It’s similar for those with a business website, who were almost two thirds more likely to see a rise than their peers,” he added.

Why businesses are using cloud computing 

The most popular reason for adopting cloud technology was the ability to access data from any location (52 percent). Over one third pointed to being able to have their team members work remotely (36 percent), while 30 percent said they used it because their data was better protected and safer online on external servers.

When asked what business tasks SMEs used cloud computing for, the top five were: file sharing (50 percent), file back-up (49 percent), email (44 percent), file storage (42 percent), and online banking (41 percent).

Why some businesses haven’t adopted cloud computing yet

Those who didn’t use cloud computing were asked why they haven’t adopted the technology and the top reason was ‘I don’t know enough about it to make the right business decisions about it’ (35 percent).

Ranked second was ‘I am not very tech-savvy and don’t feel confident about even starting to look at it for my business’ (22 percent), followed by ‘It is of interest, but there are many more important other business priorities to take care of first’ (21 percent).

Other recent MYOB research found the top three reasons why SMEs hadn’t set up a website were ‘we prefer to advertise and market our business using other methods’ (68 percent), ‘it’s not a priority right now, we have all the work we can handle’ (66 percent) and ‘we don’t see any value in having a business website’ (60 percent).

The results indicate that a majority of SMEs are in need of further education on how to best implement online technology.

“Interestingly, more than half our respondents said they would vote for the political party that proposed ‘providing free government-funded training to all small businesses on how to use the internet to enhance and grow their business,” said Reed.

“It’s also clear the majority are unaware of the value in having even a simple website that contains their contact details. Many businesses have first-hand experience of the benefits of being found online, being able to attract and retain customers in this way. Our research proves it can have a tremendously positive financial effect.”

Those using cloud computing are more likely to increase the following activities in the next year:

• Focus on customer retention and acquisition strategies: 52 percent versus 34 percent who don’t use cloud
• Prices and margins on products and services sold this year: 36 percent versus 22 percent
• The number or variety of products or services offered: 33 percent versus 24 percent
• Working with business advisers to enhance the business: 30 percent versus 15 percent
• Spending on marketing and advertising their business online: 29 percent versus 18 percent
• Pay their employees more: 28 percent versus 20 percent
• Boost staff numbers this year: 25 percent versus 11 percent

Those with business websites are also more likely to increase the following activities in the next year:

• Focus on customer retention and acquisition strategies: 49 percent versus 29 percent without a website
• The number or variety of products or services offered: 37 percent versus 20 percent
• Spending on marketing and advertising their business online: 36 percent versus 10 percent
• Their prices and margins on products and services sold this year: 28 percent versus 19 percent
• Pay their employees more: 28 percent versus 16 percent
• Working with business advisers to enhance the business: 22 percent versus 14 percent
• Boost staff numbers this year: 21 percent versus 8 percent

Current systems and spread sheets work fine but manual accounting systems generate payroll expenses for office staff, increased accounting fees, inefficient inventory-ordering practices and lost opportunities to optimise leads, leverage social and business trends and uncover waste, theft and fraud.

Clues that you might benefit by replacing your existing system include:

• Reports and documents contain frequent mathematical errors.
• Inventory-carrying costs generate cash-flow problems.
• Loss of data and slow response times scuttle business opportunities.
• Poor analysis of business trends, contract terms and unavailable contract templates limit sales staff’s ability to close deals in the field.
• Crucial business data gets lost due to a lack of storage capacity and databases contain out-dated information.
• Figuring profitability by department, product and employees requires authorising dedicated research projects.
• Expense creep cuts into profit margins.
• Security breaches cause you to lose money, customers and the time needed to address the problems.
• Incomplete or disorganised records trigger financial audits.

Incomplete records that fail to match best business practices make it difficult to get financing for expansion. A new system that offers comprehensive management solutions generates substantial investment costs, but your current system probably costs more in lost profits, waste and inefficient uses of resources.

Upgrading the accounting system helps you position your company for accelerated growth, meet the challenges of global marketing and integrate your business with the current financial practices of most vendors, clients, social agencies and tax authorities.

Before choosing a new system, consider the following points:

1. Take time to study what you need to do the job. Most systems offer scalable modules that you can add as your business grows, so you need not buy more than you really need. Talk to your production, sales and office staff to get their input on what they need to do their jobs more efficiently.
2. A complete business audit justifies the time and expense by identifying current needs and IT solutions for immediate growth.
3. Remember that some accounting systems might require staff training, new or updated hardware and technical advice about implementing them into your business with minimal disruption.
4. Your wish list should not only include the new features you want but also preserve the bits of the old system that perform well. New systems often cause problems that the old system handled perfectly well.

Your accounting solution will impact every department in the company, so choosing software solutions works better when you make it a group effort. Involving each department manager in the decision will help you find the best solution and encourage loyalty among employees, who often resist changes to systems that have always worked adequately in the past.

The new software should meet the following criteria:

• The system should improve cash flow by streamlining inventory, empowering collection efforts, reducing fraud and waste and eliminating duplicate work.
• Accounting software facilitates custom reports that let you track profits, costs, closing ratios, employee efficiency, seasonal performance and other financial information. Choose software or systems that give you complex reporting tools.
• Programs with cash-management software create more options for revenue-generating ideas and taking advantage of investment opportunities.
• The system should provide analytical data that helps you and company managers make better decisions.
• Businesses trade on timely information, so make sure you choose a system that strengthens your intelligence-gathering abilities.

It’s inevitable that technology for work and play will continue to evolve and converge rapidly, so it’s up to you to stay up to date so your business can benefit and reap the rewards. Here’s how you can:

Be where your customers are – online

With 49 percent of Australians owning a smartphone, technology provides a new dimension to how you do business and how consumers do business with you. They’re increasingly shopping for products and ordering services from their mobile or tablet and in turn, you’re expected to be able to access their records and process their orders instantly. So if you haven’t already, set up a business website to not only retain customers, but attract new ones.

Think of technology as an investment

It’s typical for a small business to put technology investment in the back burner when you’re less likely to have a large amount of cash in reserve. Streamline and future-proof your day to day operations such as accounting software, email, office applications and file storage by moving them to the Cloud. Nowadays, many Cloud-based IT solutions avoid the need to spend money upfront but bring immediate benefit. When it comes to laptops, Ultrabooks, smartphones or tablets – purchase the device with the best features and the highest-spec processor and memory you can afford. This means that it will still be able to operate well in a few years’ time.

Hot tip: Don’t forget, the $6,500 instant tax write-off for new assets can assist in the investment of equipment that improves business productivity and cash flow.

Social is the new word of mouth

Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking sites are so popular with consumers that small businesses should take advantage of these platforms too. Why? It’s where word of mouth travels online. Best of all, the majority of them are free or inexpensive, and can be monetised. Investigate how your small business can utilise online ads on Facebook, polls via LinkedIn, promotions through Twitter and more. Think of social networking as a new method of communication and a great way to help build your brand.

Stay informed

Changes in the economy and in your industry and emerging consumer and technology trends will likely impact your business. So keep up to date with these developments. In an online era, it’s not enough to quickly flick through the business pages and attend the odd networking event. The proliferation of news websites, social media and IT means a whole new skill set is required to stay on top of developments affecting your business.

If you find that it’s all a bit overwhelming, a bit of research can help. Consider seeking advice from IT consultants, business advisors, other business owners as well as friends and family on what technology they’re using and what they recommend. Read reviews and product information from trusted “how-to” websites and magazines and participate in community forums relevant to your industry as another source of info and advice.

Keeping up with the new pace of today’s technologies can make your workplace more innovative, employee friendly, profitable and productive – but can you tell your Big Data from your SaaS? How many cloud-based platforms do you use and for what?

You need to consider these four essential factors when it comes to being a tech-savvy business. They will help you distinguish the smart moves from the slip-ups.

1. Mobile

For retailers, the increase of e-commerce spending and the popularity of mobile devices means that mobile compatibility should be top-of-mind. Predictions include increased advertising opportunities, more 4G rollouts, WIFI as a commercial alternative and a forecasted $81 billion spend on app downloads.

All of this means that if you don’t co-operate with mobile, you’ll be left behind, websites should already be fully compatible with mobile devices and be ready to compete with online only retailers.

This is especially relevant when considering the phenomenal domination of the tablet device, no other technology (including telephones, mobile phones and even electricity) has integrated into society so quickly.

2. Big Data

There is actually still some debate over what the term “Big Data” actually means. Some say it relates to transactional data, whereas others think of it as the technology helps businesses handle their large amounts of data or even the amassing of increased amounts of information and using it in effective ways.

Regardless of its definition, the value it offers businesses who want to understand their customers is priceless. There is also the potential interest from others in the data you may have.

For example, the data associated with any popular social network is the holy grail of Big Data. The resources needed to handle it are vast and the value of the information to others is sky high.

However, for small businesses, this is a little out of reach. But it doesn’t mean it should be ignored. Data, whether big or small, is still data and it’s still valuable. So figure out a way to store it now and you’ll be grateful in the long run.

3. The Cloud

This year, cloud-based technology will grow in popularity. Google Apps, Microsoft 365 and Dropbox are becoming central to the everyday work experience, driving up productivity, collaboration and communication. Combined with the emerging trend of BYOD policies, operating from the Cloud has the additional benefit of security when it comes to work related documents and storage.

Plus the onset of flexible working hours as an employee right and offering the option to work remotely as a workplace perk means that many businesses absolutely must turn to the Cloud to stay competitive as an employer.

4. SaaS for HR

Managing employee data via SaaS technology is on the rise. The development of effective HR data management software and applications means that employers can easily assign HR responsibilities to the Cloud; from storing and maintaining employee details, creating contracts and policies, all the way through to facilitating recruitment and performance management processes.

The increased demand for constant feedback rather than the yearly performance review also relies on the reliability of the data a business can store. SaaS technology is an innovative way to handle HR processes much more effectively and strong HR is driven by good data management.

Identifying and getting on board with emerging tech trends is not a gamble, it’s a strategic move that will position a business well for the future, whether it means signing up to Yammer to add more of a social aspect to the business, or considering an automated marketing platform, the options available are endless.

You may not have noticed as it crept up but you only need to look back 10 years to see how mobile and online technology has infiltrated into many aspects of the SMB workplace. Online marketing, holding your whole customer list in the palm of your hand, instant access to cloud applications, email while on the road and taking orders 24 x 7 through your website are just some examples of things we now take for granted.

Even though we have come so far already, we are not done yet, not by a long shot. In fact, we are merely scratching the surface when it comes to how SMBs will be able to leverage technology to boost profitability and agility. Just imagine the potential when all your customers, partners and employees are connected to you with consistent broadband spanning the whole country.

While exciting as this transformation may be, there are pitfalls to avoid and new threats to the anticipated benefits will emerge. Don’t think that just because you are not a multi-national corporation that you are not a target. As an SMB you are actually right in the firing line. Late last year, researchers at Trend Micro uncovered evidence that the IT infrastructure of Australian SMBs was specifically targeted by cyber criminals. They were able to load malicious software on the PCs of over 3000 small businesses for the purpose of potentially conducting a range of underhanded activities such as click fraud, sending spam and launching cyber-attacks against other organisations.

What makes small businesses particularly attractive to cyber criminals? Mainly it’s the combination of the fact that most SMBs do not have dedicated IT security resources and they have a diverse connected network of PCs and mobile workers with access to valuable information. Add to this equation that many SMBs conduct business with larger companies and government departments and thus make a nice springboard into bigger and better attacks and you should now be able to see why you might be a nice carrot for the bad guys.

So what are some specific security trends you need to be on the lookout for?

1.     Wider choice of computing platforms – no longer is it just a choice between Mac or PC.
People can chose from range of platforms and devices that best meets individual needs. For an SMB this means that your users are accessing your IT services and data from different types of devices, each with its own set of security challenges, which can prove to be a minefield to keep track of.

2.     Data breaches are increasing and will impact data stored on local servers as well as in the cloud.
The cloud is just another option for infrastructure and application delivery so take the time to understand the risks of both options then take actions to mitigate the risks that may be present. The last thing you need is to feature in the latest data breach headline.

3.     Cybercriminals will heavily abuse legitimate cloud services.
For cybercriminals, cloud computing is merely another technology to abuse. SMBs may find it hard to block malicious activity since it may occur within legitimate cloud services. Cloud service providers may do their part in getting rid of certain malicious activity but it will not stop cybercriminals from abusing the services.

4.     Mobile phones are now under attack.
Just think how much data you can store on a modern smartphone and the number of online services that people access with them and you will soon realise that they have to be well and truly on the radar of cybercriminals. Trend Micro estimates that this year on the Android platform alone, there will be over one million pieces of malicious software discovered. Mobile platforms are now as powerful and as functional as PCs therefore it stands to reason that they will be attacked like them too.

5.     Conventional malware threats will gradually evolve, building on what has been learned in previous attacks.
Added sophistication means that attacks are more targeted than ever before, resulting in higher “success” rates than ever before. People are often shown attack emails that are crafted for them, specifically meaning they are far more likely to click on the link or attachment.

If you’re looking to help your business get a head start on your competitors for 2013, it’s worth noting just how vital a strong internet presence is for a successful modern business.

It will seem obvious to many of you reading this but to others, this is a wake-up call. Did you know only 38 percent of all Australian SMEs have a business website? Our research over the past 8 years shows this percentage has barely moved in all that time.

Not only is the internet changing the way you can communicate with existing and potential customers, it can also make your business more productive and competitive.

On a communication level alone, the internet is providing huge advantages to businesses with an online presence. Businesses that are able to be found online have a real advantage over the competition when it comes to attracting customers, especially in Australia, which has one of the highest rates of internet usage in the world.

Depending on what research you read, anywhere between two thirds to four fifths of consumers will search online first when looking for a product or service. What this means for businesses that don’t have a website is that the competition will get to make their case to the consumer first – and if that consumer doesn’t search any other channels, an offline-only business completely misses out.

The internet is also making it far easier to expand the potential market place for your business. With the increasingly widespread availability of affordable e-commerce sites, it’s easier than ever for businesses to sell to the global marketplace. For Australia, this is helping close the distance between us and the rest of the world, something that’s always been a big economic challenge.

It’s because of these advantages that the latest MYOB Business Monitor shows businesses with a website performing considerably better than those without one.

Business operators that have a website were 53 percent more likely to have experienced revenue growth over the last financial year, and 31 percent more likely to have more work or sales in the pipeline over the following quarter, as well as being 40 percent more likely to be forecasting revenue growth over this financial year.

It isn’t just the competitive advantage of a website that is making the internet a more integral part of a modern business, it’s also the internet’s ability to transform the way we work.

The advent of cloud computing – accessing computing power, software and infrastructure through the internet and on a pay-by-use basis – is helping businesses become more mobile and more flexible. It can also help their operations become more cost effective by reducing the amount they need to spend to maintain up-to-date IT systems.

As with websites, business operators using cloud computing found themselves with better results than their non-cloud peers. They too were 53 percent more likely to have experienced revenue growth over the last financial year.

With the economy still not fully recovered, it’s important that your business is able to take advantage of every opportunity to attract more customers and work more productively. In 2013, expanding your online presence will be one of the best ways to make sure your business is performing at its best and you are well positioned for the year ahead. Best of luck!

If you don’t yet have a website, check out Getting Aussie Business Online – an initiative from MYOB and Google where Australian businesses can get a free website and domain for a year.

As the web’s number one marketplace for buying and selling websites, we know how to keep our site up and running. It’s always pretty busy, and the internet is renowned for throwing curveballs at businesses when it comes to dealing with traffic – and that’s what happened with our Cyber Monday sale.

We decided to get involved in this usually US dominated online sale phenomenon for the first time this year. A large percentage of our customers are in the US so it made sense for us to do something they understand, and it’s always fun to be able to give your customers something for free! Or in this case, for half price – all our listings were 50 percent off for a day.

Hoping the sale would run relatively smoothly and go off without a hitch, I knew that I needed to make sure our infrastructure could handle a spike in traffic. The man in charge of this is Lucas, our systems administrator – now called a “Devops“ guy – who has been with us since Flippa first started. He told me not to worry so much. Why? Because of the cloud.

Usually when I hear that I groan a little – as we all probably do now that it’s 2012 and businesses everywhere have already discovered that the cloud is cool – but coming from Lucas, this statement has a bit more substance to it. He’s had websites running on the cloud since 2007; using a fairly early version of Amazon Web Services. Five years later, after a few hiccups and learning experiences along the way, the Flippa team is well and truly cloud-native.

This is good for a number of reasons, but mainly because it means that our infrastructure auto-scales. When everything is running along nicely, we’ll be using three, maybe five main servers. Then if something good happens and people flood the site, it automatically – without anyone pressing a button – spins up a few more servers.

This happened during the US election campaign, when we had a listing for the domain name RomneyRyan.com. A clever speculator had purchased it early in the primaries, and he’d hit the jackpot when Paul Ryan was picked as Mitt Romney’s running mate. He listed it on Flippa, and then appeared on Fox News. Needless to say, it was a busy time for us. This spike in traffic happened again with our Cyber Monday sale. Both times, our infrastructure handled it with aplomb.

Despite the importance of having a rock solid infrastructure set up, ensuring your website can handle increased traffic after a promotion is about more than this. It’s important, but once you start making sales and getting an increase in traffic, you’re going to start asking questions. Where is all this traffic coming from? Who are these people? What are the conversion rates compared to usual? What sort of retention rate are we getting from them? And so on and so forth.

In business, the questions are endless, and to answer these, you need to make sure that you have all your ducks in a row on the analytics front. Early during Flippa’s life, we just weren’t capturing enough data, so when good things happened to us we were largely blind to why they were. Now we use Google Analytics, as many businesses do, and it gives us an invaluable treasure trove of data. We also make sure our website itself is capturing as much information as possible. My programming background means I’m not averse to diving into the database myself and pulling some data, but that doesn’t mean I can always answer every question – after all, the other theme of 2012 was the tricky nature of Big Data and nowhere is that more obvious than on a busy website! Because we’ve got a bit of experience with this now, we can get a lot of useful insights with some well-placed queries.

My closing words would be to always be prepared. But also, when something happens in a less than optimal fashion, make sure you learn from it. Business is going to throw a lot of challenges at you; you’ll be judged by how well you recover from them.

A survey commissioned by Intuit Inc., provider of small business financial management solutions, reveals that whilst small business owners work for themselves in order to utilise their skills and enjoy their passion, they spend more than a third of their work lives on administrative tasks. The survey undertaken by Galaxy Research, of over 750 Australian small business owners, also revealed that businesses that employ staff require owners to spend at least 40 percent of their time on administrative tasks.

Working remotely and on the go

Nora Tucker, product manager for Intuit Australia, said: “It’s tedious tasks such as recording transactions, BAS, tax and GST reporting that can really take the fun out of owning your own business.” She believes software that can be accessed remotely is vital in allowing business owners to reclaim their lives and cloud computing is creating greater opportunities for small business owners to operate their business anywhere, anytime. The survey also revealed that more than three quarters of Australian small business owners would find it useful to be able to access files remotely, with 86 percent of Gen Y business owners acknowledging the advantages.

“These figures tell us that Australian businesses want to be able to work on-the-go. People are recognising the value of products such as QuickBooks Online and this is allowing them to get the administrative tasks efficiently, and get back to the business of what they love faster.”

Hardware helpers

When it comes to hardware, Paul Davies, who has a life insurance business, says the best efficiency tool he has in terms of technology is the LiveScribe Smart Pen. “In my business, where note-taking is prolific, it’s the best tool I have access to. Everything I write is recorded by the pen, then uploaded onto my computer as a PDF file. I can then attach this to my CRM with audio syncing with the writing. It’s something that anyone dealing with clients on a daily basis needs to consider.” Find out more at www.livescribe.com/en-au.

Tablets are becoming a more and more frequent sight in small business boardrooms and meetings. Accessories like the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover almost turn your lightweight tablet into a laptop. This one both protects and looks great and with a built-in Bluetooth keyboard and extensive battery life, you can type easily and freely.

The Ultrathin attaches easily to your iPad with a magnetic clip, and the stand provides an optimal viewing experience. It also features an instant On/Off feature which automatically wakes your iPad when you open the cover and puts it to sleep when you close it. The Ultrathin Keyboard Cover is available in a choice of black or white.

Getting rid of paper

Shoeboxed Australia is a small business solution to help eliminate paper clutter and assist in the accounting process. Small and medium sized businesses mail or email invoices, receipts and business cards to Shoeboxed’s offices where they scan and digitise the data into extractable information. This can then be exported into accounting platforms and other programs to assist with bookkeeping.

Shoeboxed drives efficiencies by saving you the time and effort of manual data entry using its OCR technology which is human-verified for accuracy. It gives customers a search function within their account to eliminate the effort of sorting and sifting through years of receipts and documents, making bookkeeping and auditing easier for the business and their accountant.

Online accounting

MYOB LiveAccounts provides easy online accounting for less than $1 a day so it’s perfect for smaller businesses with simple accounting needs. It can help you be more productive by managing your business from anywhere you can access the internet – away from the office, interstate or from home, on a Mac or PC.  You can raise invoices, track expenses, pay staff and manage your GST, all online.

LiveAccounts is always up-to-date so you can clearly see how your business is going at any time. You can see for example business bank balances, expenses, estimate of GST you owe, payroll etc. You can also spend less time on data entry by linking your business bank accounts or credit cards to LiveAccounts so all your business transactions are automatically transferred for you. This service claims to be the broadest of any cloud accounting provider, working with over 100 banks and financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand.

Bring your own productivity

Small business owners are witnessing an increase in employee productivity with the increasing popularity of BYOD: bring your own device. The growth of Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity in general has meant that customers often have multiple devices that work on different platforms. Traditional office workers may now choose to work from the home or on the road and have different communication tools, including desk phones, mobile phones, tablets and PCs, at hand.

A study of 500 Australian office workers commissioned by Jabra found that 60 percent of employees claim to seldom or never turn off communications devices and applications, for both personal and business use, during work hours and to juggle communications, the average person uses more than five different devices or applications. Historically the ‘always connected’ workplace has been viewed unfavourably, however, as the study shows, in recent times employees are largely comfortable working in this kind of environment and indeed more productive.

Traditionally, only call centre operators required headsets; however, considering the amount of time an average office worker multi-tasks while on the telephone or smartphone, the need for wireless headsets is increasing. Wireless headsets provide the user with a safer and more comfortable working day with less pain and strain from cradling a handset. Small business owners are already making headway in ensuring efficiency and productivity in their workplace with over 90 percent of Australian organisations implementing unified communications solutions, replacing desk phones with headsets (Jabra/Frost & Sullivan).

VoIP solutions

With one of the world’s highest broadband penetration rates, and the National Broadband Network being rolled out, Australian businesses are increasingly looking for virtual or hosted phone alternatives that deliver PBX-style features over the cloud. According to a recent ACMA survey, 21 percent of Australian SMEs currently use a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service, with many more aware of VoIP and considering moving to a VoIP system in the future; one that delivers simplicity, flexibility, advanced features and importantly, affordability.

With a service like MyNetFone’s Virtual PBX, small businesses can use an online phone service that delivers the features and capabilities of a traditional PBX telephone system without the need to buy or maintain expensive PBX equipment. With the flexibility to accommodate from two-to-40+ lines, virtual PBX has been designed to simplify operations and reduce operating costs while improving productivity with advanced phone features such as call forwarding, voicemail to email, hunt groups, time of day routing and more.

As more small businesses opt for virtual offices, MyNetFone Virtual PBX phone system also provides a cost effective and feature-rich solution for telecommuting, giving remote employees the same seamless connection to the main business phone system just as if they were on premises.

Are you one of the 86 percent (2012 Colmar Brunton research, commissioned by BankLink, involving 318 Australian SMEs) of small business owners who aren’t comfortable with handing over their banking logins and passwords to suppliers, business partners or other third parties?

Did you know that you might be allowing this without realising it? It’s something that I’ve only just had my attention drawn to; a practice that’s more common than you may think. It’s called screen scraping.

The basics are:

1. Many business owners benefit from their bank transactions being conveniently fed into their cloud accounting software
2. This is made possible because their cloud accounting provider, with their permission, sets up a feed from the business owner’s internet bank account into their business data file/s in the cloud
3. Some cloud providers use a third party service that ‘screen scrapes’ that information from the business owner’s internet banking account into their business file
4. To allow this screen scraping – perhaps without realising exactly how it works – the business owner provides their bank account login and password to their accounting provider who then passes it on to their bank feed supplier
5. This supplier uses those private login credentials to access the business owner’s internet banking account, copying their transaction data and sending it to their accounting software provider

It’s no secret that handing over your internet banking login details leaves you wide open for potential fraud. There is a much safer option for having your banking data fed into your accounting software – no doubt a relief for everyone who benefits from the time saved by this feature of cloud accounting.

BankLink, for example, supplies secure ‘read-only’ transaction data via direct feeds from financial institutions so business owners can have peace of mind knowing their data is always protected. Their login and password are not required at all. The company also complies with the stringent Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for the safe handling of transaction data – it is supplied under strict international security measures that meet the requirements of all the major banks.

Using cloud accounting? Check how your bank feeds are making their way back to you and see what industry standards your cloud accounting provider is complying with.

MYOB CEO Tim Reed said the cloud has been changing business for the better, yet confusion about its definition and uncertainty about its benefits are still fairly widespread among small business owners.

“Cloud is the delivery of hardware and software, such as email, office applications, file storage and accounting, over the internet,” he said.

“There are many benefits and collectively they provide a strong opportunity to increase business productivity so you have more time and money to concentrate on growth building activities, and to be more competitive locally and globally,” he added.

A MYOB study found businesses utilising the cloud were 53 percent more likely to experience a revenue rise last financial year and 55 percent more likely to have more sales/work than usual in their three-month pipeline than those who weren’t.

MYOB’s top five cloud computing tips for small business:

1. Research trustworthy cloud service providers- look for information on the providers’ websites and via independent sources such as technology blogs, industry publications and research reports. Look at their credibility, technology expertise and reputation. Consider seeking advice from IT consultants, financial advisors and other business owners.

2. Review benefits and considerations of different cloud models- cloud computing can take on many forms. Some require you to learn new tools while others leverage your existing know-how, some only work when you’re connected to the internet, others also work in offline modes. Focus on the business benefits and then determine the technology required. For example, if you’re interested in the ability to have online and offline access to your data anywhere, anytime, consider cloud-enabled software solutions that offer the best of both worlds: cloud, desktop, or both.

3. Prioritise security- the cloud involves accessing applications, information and data over the internet via a third-party provider. Therefore, the providers’ security policies and procedures should be robust. This includes physical security of the server facility with 24 hour a day, 365 days a year video surveillance and strict personnel access control, firewalls, anti-virus protection, spam filters, disaster recovery and independent auditing and testing.

4. Read the fine print- be sure to check whether there are any hidden costs, add-ons or other features that will take up extra time and money to get everything running. Also enquire about the providers’ service level agreements (SLAs), especially in the event of an unexpected or planned outage for maintenance reasons.

5. Evaluate your own IT processes and systems- evaluate your own IT processes and systems before migrating to the cloud as each business is unique and has varying budgets and capacities. Ask yourself whether you will require cloud access for all staff and for multiple devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones.

Take a moment to think of the last time you shared an electronic file or document with a colleague or friend outside of your business or workplace. What did you use to share this document? Perhaps it was via email or maybe you used a free consumer service like Dropbox or YouSendIt to upload and host this file online. No matter how you shared this file, do you know exactly how secure the service is and who else has access to your data?

As some well publicised recent data breaches in free online file sharing services show, users looking for an easy way to share and sync files across desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets need to think carefully about the risk they are taking as their files head to externally hosted cloud file sharing solutions.

One free service popular with both consumers and business users was recently attacked by hackers who were able get a hold of customer email addresses, resulting in spammed accounts, and last year the same service accidentally turned off password protection for all customers for four hours. IBM has also taken steps to ban the service from use among employee devices.

In Australia, there is a growing trend that is seeing staff bring their own IT equipment into the workplace, this has been termed “BYOD”, short for bring your own device. This includes smartphones, tablets and laptops to access, work on and share business information. This trend is the major driver in the need for secure file sharing abilities for businesses.

Global Industry Analysts (Inc.) has predicted corporate investment in mobile software for remote workers is expected to reach nearly $80 billion by 2017. That’s $80 billion just for software – not hardware! The Asia Pacific region represents the largest market worldwide for mobile computing devices.

While greater use of mobile technology is resulting in huge benefits for businesses of all sizes, safe and secure sharing of information can seem difficult to navigate. On the plus side, it’s easier than ever before to share files across devices and with co-workers, but the downside of possibly exposing that information to hackers, or not having access to it in a public cloud outage, can outweigh the benefits.

Using free services may seem easy, as in many cases, you simply drop files in a folder, and – Presto! – your files are accessible to others. But the easy, casual nature of these solutions can also present a major security issue for business owners. Your files just went somewhere else, but where? And to whom? Did the free service you signed up for ask you to sign over the rights to that data? To the dismay of security experts, vast amounts of business information is being stored and shared from unregulated and potentially unsecured locations on a daily basis.

Consumer mobile file-sharing solutions can also lack the audit trails and monitoring to allow you the control needed to ensure sensitive information remains completely secure. The big question is how do you ensure employees can share information and collaborate without sacrificing security? How does a business track a file’s use?

At Accellion, we suggest this is the minimum standard of what to look for in a secure file-sharing solution for your business:

• Easy-to-use: Why is easy-to-use at the top of the list? Because if a solution isn’t easy-to-use, employees will look for ways to work around it. When it comes to security, you want employees working with you, not against you.

• Encryption: No surprise here: encrypting files is essential for protecting confidential data from prying eyes. Make sure the solution encrypts files both in transit (travelling over a network) and at rest. “At rest” here means not just on a file server, but on any mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Mobile devices are often lost and you want to make sure your data is safe even when a physical device is not.

• Centralised control: The business owner should be fully informed about where the data is at all times. Just this week a major consumer service has been slammed by users unable to access their files for more than 24 hours. These types of risks are simply not acceptable when running a business.

• Multi-platform support: The typical mobile worker today is carrying two or three mobile devices, so your mobile security solution needs to work seamlessly on laptops, tablets and smartphones from multiple vendors. For smartphones and tablets, security controls must work reliably across iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. The same solution should work on desktop computers, as well.

• Secure access for external users: The changing face of business in Australia means a rise in the number of remote workers. You want to include these people in the secure scope of your file-sharing system. Otherwise, employees might be tempted to break the rules and illicitly share files to “outsiders” who really are part of your team.

When it comes to knowing who has access to your corporate information, you wouldn’t let a stranger rummage through your computer, yet millions of businesses are putting their critical information at risk of being accessed electronically through unmanaged file sharing sites.

The implications of having files vulnerably stored in consumer grade file sharing solutions can be monumental. From hackers accessing critical business information to competitors sabotaging plans via leaked documents, the stakes are always high.

There is so much buzz surrounding ‘the cloud’. While MailGuard have been massive proponents of and innovators in cloud technology since 2001; we’ve noticed a massive up-swelling of support for cloud-based applications just recently.

Cloud applications have come of age in recent years and according to research from Gartner, are set to grow 100 percent by 2016 (compared with 3 percent growth for the overall worldwide IT market). But what is the buzz all about? And what are the reasons for its rapid adoption? There are practical benefits your business can take advantage of.

21 compelling reasons for the shift towards cloud….

1. Cost Savings– often the number one reason cited for businesses turning to the cloud. Cloud applications typically deliver a lower total cost of ownership compared with deploying a solution locally.
2. Mobility – because applications are delivered via a web browser with just an internet connection required, you can take advantage of the capabilities offered anywhere in the world on any device.
3. Big power on small budgets – because cloud technology is delivered on an on-demand basis, smaller companies are empowered to utilise incredible power that previously only would have been available to businesses with big budgets.
4. Rapid deployment – cloud technology can typically be activated in a matter of minutes so you can be harnessing the power immediately.
5. No installation or maintenance – the service that cloud applications deliver is handled by the provider. Unlike local solutions, set-up and ongoing maintenance is fully managed meaning you don’t have to lift a finger.
6. No hardware – anybody that has worked in IT knows that it has a tendency to fail from time to time. It’s a fact of life. By turning to the cloud you completely negate the problems with updating and managing hardware in-house.
7. Scalability – unlike local solutions, IT capabilities can be scaled up or scaled down on the drop of a hat. There is no lag-time and therefore no loss in productivity.
8. Bandwidth – because complex business processes are completed outside of your network it means that there is less pressure and strain on your resources. The result is greater and more reliable bandwidth for your local network.
9. No software – anyone who has dealt with managing and updating software licenses knows they can be a bit of a headache. Getting additional licenses can take time and installation can be a pain too.
10. Big data management – “big data” is one of the hottest trends in organisations today. On one hand, companies are suffering from information overload. On the other, there is so much value to be gleamed from data (you only have to look at Facebook’s $1bn April purchase of Instagram and their behemoth of an IPO). Cloud applications provide an intelligent way to manage large quantities of data.
11. Data security – so often cited as the #1 concern with shifting to the cloud, data security should actually be one of your primary goals when making the move. Cloud providers have stronger operational systems than many organisations and are usually backed by multi-million dollar infrastructures.
12. Compliance management – monitoring the effectiveness of security and compliance should be simple with a cloud provider. Cloud providers’ systems keep logs that support compliance audits or other requirements.
13. Operating expenses vs sunk costs – cloud solutions deliver more to businesses as an operating expense with no redundancy. Local solutions, on the other hand, require upfront investment costs and could turn into resources that aren’t fully utilised.
14. Automation – the vast majority of cloud applications have a significant degree of automation meaning business processes can be simplified and set on autopilot.
15. Guaranteed performance – the level of service you get from a cloud provider is governed by a Service Level Agreement. In simple terms, an SLA stipulates what are the minimum service level requirements that should be met and the level of compensation applicable if they aren’t.
16. Set and forget – a number of cloud solutions are known as “set and forget” solutions that work in the background and require no end user input whatsoever to be effective.
17. Minimal downtime – downtime is one of the service levels that should be determined in your SLA. Cloud providers that have multi-million dollar infrastructures can guarantee 99.9 percent uptime or above.
18. Intuitive user experience – the user experience of a cloud provider is a significant determining factor of their success. You’ll typically discover easy-to-use interfaces and getting the most out of services should not require too much end user training.
19. Agility – the combination of flexibility, mobility, scalability, state-of-the-art technology, and rapid deployment culminate in providing your businesses with a level of agility that previously did not exist.
20. Support – cloud providers offer support. However, this varies on a case by case basis. Whilst the majority provide extensive web support through guides and FAQs, the best in the business offer fanatical support with local phone and email support around the clock.
21. IT departments restored as value drivers – too often IT is considered the ‘bastard child’ department. IT people are often seen as break-fixers who simply react to problems as and when they arise. Cloud applications can manage business processes effectively and automatically so that IT departments can take on strategic projects and drive endless value into your business (and be restored to their rightful place in the organisation!).

Built over the internet, cloud computing solutions are not only borderless, but they already contain the building blocks for your international subsidiary. This allows you to take a low risk, low cost and measured step to global expansion.

Global pressures forcing change

For some SMEs, expansion is driven by desire for growth and global success. For others, however, increasing global pressures are forcing businesses to expand outside Australia to survive, rather than by choice.

Factors out of the control of many SMEs are forcing change, particularly the strong Australian dollar, Australia’s industrial relations and regulatory framework, higher direct costs, a relatively small domestic market, weak private sector spending, the impact of cheap imports and goods into Australia and fierce manufacturing competition, particularly from Asia. To survive, growing numbers of SMEs are being forced to look outside Australia’s small domestic market to find new markets to maintain growth and remain viable.

This is particularly evident in the retail market. According to Frost & Sullivan, one third of Australian retailers don’t have a website, yet Australians spent $6 billion on overseas websites in 2011 alone, sourcing greater product variety at more affordable prices. Many retailers that haven’t adapted their business model to expand into e-commerce to compete on a global scale simply won’t survive these global pressures, and already many haven’t.

It is a similar scenario for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, as their future survival is being determined by global influences that can’t be ignored. Despite strong local brands, the latest state of the art manufacturing technology and efficient processes in place, many Australian manufacturers are struggling to survive external pressures, forced to either offshore or close their doors. Significant job cuts show how increasingly vulnerable we are to international economic conditions. The manufacturing sector employed 16 percent of Australia’s workforce 30 years ago; today it is half that, with 4,400 jobs lost in the past year alone.

Australian businesses can no longer think they are on an island that the global marketplace won’t impact. It already is – SMEs that don’t make necessary changes to their business models to join this marketplace risk disappearing all together. Naturally, this is not true for all SMEs, but it does affect a sizeable percentage.

Asia – the latest sweet spot

As more SMEs look offshore to grow, the formidable and fast-moving Asian market is increasingly becoming a major drawcard, especially for retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors.

While many foresee their business future in Asia, just as many hesitate on the doorstep of this economic powerhouse, wondering how to break into this diverse market where languages, currencies, regulations, markets and cultural morays are not only so different to Australia, but also significantly different within the region.

How do you best set up a functional business quickly and affordably in Asia with the lowest level of risk possible? What’s the easiest way to move a business or open a subsidiary there, while maintinaining control from an Australian headquarters? How can you minimise the cost of IT systems choking growth plans, while still managing multi-currency, multi-language, multiple reporting requirements and financial consolidation of all subsidiaries.

These are complex business questions that require case-by-case market analysis. However, regardless of differences, it’s clear that cloud computing plays a crucial role in helping Australian companies expand into Asia more easily and cost effectively, by giving them the agility and flexibility to set up new businesses operations. In addition, the speed of implementing cloud solutions gives businesses rapid entry into foreign markets that legacy on-premise software would not offer. By understanding the benefits of cloud computing, your business stands to gain a real competitive advantage.

Cloud speeds up new market entry

Restricted IT resources, particularly infrastructure, budgets and staff, have been a long-standing issue for many SMEs. Cloud computing provides a way to move beyond traditional borders faster, partly because it removes the weighty costs of traditional on-premise IT infrastructures that cramp growth.

Now you can establish a comprehensive core platform for business management, particularly for key back-office operations and financial business processes, without the huge costs and manpower required to install, operate and maintain hardware and software systems.

Customer relationships, enterprise resource planning (ERP), financials, e-commerce, HR, manufacturing, distribution and supply chains, can now be managed from one system on the internet. This gives you deep, and up to the minute visibility of every interaction, transaction and relationship occurring in your business in every market, anywhere in the world.

Many cloud-based business management systems are built to accommodate multiple languages, currencies, taxes and reporting standards to fulfil international business customers’ needs, enabling SMEs to use one system to automatically manage local financial requirements in any market they expand into.

Without being encumbered by IT infrastructure, SMEs gain the agility and flexibility to explore new markets knowing they can easily switch on vital business systems already geared to work in whatever market they enter. The best bit? This can all be done from your Australian headquarters, or anywhere.

Differentiate and gain control of your business

If you plan to deal with different suppliers, distributors, retailers or wholesalers in Asia, or even anywhere else in the world, you can dictate the system they need to use to operate with you effectively. Simply replicate all core business components for whichever partner you forge a relationship with and they can be up and running with that system in real-time and at the same time. This will give you a key differentiator, not to mention so much power and control back to your business.

Traditionally, businesses have been doing this by fax, email, Excel spreadsheets and by giving people access to separate instances of applications in different countries. Others relied on integrating with suppliers, manufacturers or distributors’ systems in some other format. This causes delays to gather, enter and collate information, to get a real view of what’s happening in the business. It also results in heavier costs most businesses are looking to strip out to increase competitiveness.

SMEs given fresh opportunities

The most exciting news for SMEs is that these business management systems have in the past been in the realms of massive global companies that spend tens of millions of dollars. Cloud computing now gives all businesses this opportunity to build a more robust business at a fraction of the cost of on-premise software systems.

Managed and hosted by a cloud provider, a cloud application is built to service companies with one to 100,000 employees. You only pay for number of users on a subscription basis. The result: enterprise level functionality without the IT overhead.

While avoiding upfront capital investments is a key driver, many SMEs prefer the flexibility of IT use from the cloud without having to depend on internal IT resources. In addition, SMEs don’t need to worry about upgrade hassle, version lock and high maintenance costs. This delivery model offers fast implementation, easy configuration, flexibility, security, automated upgrades, customisation automatically carried forward to new versions, scheduled data backup, as well as the ability to gain access from anywhere using a web browser or mobile device.

It enables you to focus on expanding beyond Australian borders with the support of enterprise level functionality, but without much of the hassle and costs involved.

At a minimum, if you’re going to be a part of a global growth story, you need to look beyond Australian shores for opportunities to expand your business. You will also need to pick the best technology to enable you to do that – a solution that for most will inevitably be cloud computing.

But misunderstandings often create confusion and hinder adoption. Here are some of the most common myths about cloud computing:

Myth #1 – Cloud computing means you work via a browser

This is a common myth, often espoused by companies offering a cloud solution that is only accessed via a browser like Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer. I wonder if they try telling tech giants like Spotify and Apple that their cloud services are not ‘real’ cloud because they’re accessed via an installed application on a computer, laptop or mobile device. To clarify for you, cloud computing is the delivery of resources, both hardware and software, as a service through a network. Most often via the internet. There is nothing to say that your access method to these cloud services has to be via a browser. In fact the real power of the cloud comes from the delivery of the service to your mobile device or a desktop application as well as to a browser.

Myth #2 – Cloud computing is new, and used by just a few businesses

In many ways cloud computing is simply a new term for a familiar concept and many of us have been using the cloud for years. All web-based email systems, such as Hotmail and Gmail, are cloud based, as are online banking systems. When you are checking email or make funds transfers through an application, you are using cloud solutions.

Myth #3 – Cloud computing will significantly drive down businesses IT costs

Cost reduction is one of the drivers for cloud adoption, and while the benefits are real they are often hard to fully capture. The cost reductions often cited are removal of internal IT systems and the personnel to manage them as a company moves to the cloud. But this is only true if everything moves to the cloud. This includes moving your email, office applications, file storage, accounting, CRM, payroll, and any other business software systems to cloud based solutions. If you retain a couple of key systems on local servers you will still require the hardware and some support staff.

There are certainly some benefits of a partial migration to the cloud – processes like software updates become much simpler – but obtaining the full benefits is often an unattainable goal. That’s not to say you shouldn’t research your options and strive for the best cloud-fuelled efficiency possible. Consider what will work best for you and your business.

Myth #4 – Data is not safe or secure in the cloud

Data security is often quoted as a barrier to cloud adoption amongst business, and the reality is that the threat to data is real and there are attempts by nefarious parties to access data stored in the cloud. However, professional cloud providers employ high levels of both physical and electronic security to protect their clients’ data. When considering a cloud solution it is important to check out the physical protection, redundancy such as back-up servers, databases and power, and electronic security. For example, MYOB work closely with Stratsec, one of Australia’s strongest and most awarded information security teams to conduct regular independent audits and penetration tests on both the servers and application.

Cloud computing delivers a positive impact for many businesses, but research into the benefits and considerations as well as the credibility of cloud providers is essential to help make more informed business decisions.

The issues around cloud computing range from security through to compliance to data privacy. Perhaps, the legal aspects surrounding cloud’s data privacy has already reached its peak when the Australian government declared deference against the use of public cloud.

For the prospective adopters of cloud computing, binding laws such as the US Patriot Act have brought risks to the table that most businesses are simply not comfortable dealing with. The USA Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (PATRIOT) or more commonly known as the US Patriot Act served as one of the major criticisms against the cloud movement – especially with organisations outside the United States.

The effect of the Patriot Act on Australian data

The Patriot Act does three things to customer data:

1. The Patriot Act, despite being an American law, still applies to customers residing outside the US such as Australia, due to the fact that their data is stored within US-based data centres (or owned by US organisations). For instance Office 365 customers in Australia have their data stored in Microsoft’s geographically scattered data centres, of which a majority reside in the US, hence making it within the scope of the Patriot Act.

2. The Patriot Act also has the capability to gain access to both individual and corporate data by virtue of a court order issued by the Chief Justice of the United States. This court order is issued to the FBI, allowing immediate access to data without necessarily getting an individual or business’ consent.

3. The Patriot Act allows immediate handover of data to American government authorities without notification to the concerned party. This policy actually prohibits the cloud hosting company to disclose such requests to its respective clients.

Other Laws Allowing Data Acquisition

The Patriot Act’s provisions concerning data privacy is not exclusive to it – in fact there are a number of American and even Australian laws that almost has the same binding principles. For instance, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the FBI to acquire business records of third parties for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations. On the other hand, the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) is another policy that actually permits the US to gain access to Australian business data regardless of where it is hosted (i.e. in the cloud using US servers or within Australian grounds, hosted on-premises). Other countries in Asia where Australian data in Office 365 is stored such as Singapore and Hong Kong also impose policies with the same principle. The Computer Misuse Act in Singapore allows both international and local entities to gain access to data for the purpose of inspection and investigation.

Personal Data Ordinance

Does this mean that there is no data privacy on the cloud?

With all these policies in place, is it valid for businesses to infer that there is no privacy in the cloud? The answer here is a bit tricky – yes the American government can request data access but in practice, it doesn’t really exercise that right all the time. Realistically, customer data can be left practically untouched almost as if there are no laws allowing the US government access to it.

In analysing the intricacies of the US Patriot Act and the AUSFTA in relation to long established business practices of Australian companies – both which maintain data locally and on-premises versus those hosted on the cloud – it appears that although the policies around data acquisition are already in place, these would pose little or no effect at all to businesses whose products or service portfolio doesn’t concern items that could be used for assault and terrorism. Furthermore, the US government’s power to gain data access is not a provision exclusive to the Patriot Act. In virtue of America’s mutual legal agreements to various countries across the globe, including Australia, such allowed them to exercise such right in a utilitarian sense.

Want to know more? A more detailed white paper on TheCloudMouth.com discusses the legal scope of the Patriot Act and other policies that allow data acquisition regardless of host or location. Understand for yourself how these policies can have little or no effect at all to data hosted on the cloud. This whitepaper also discusses why legal arguments against cloud adoption are generally the result of insufficient understanding of the relevant laws; and therefore not really a risk that can make or break a business direction in harnessing the tools that cloud computing has to offer.

While the terms “cloud computing” and “virtualisation” are often used interchangeably, vast differences divide the two terms. Virtualisation is a key component of cloud computing technology, certainly, but it’s only one part of a larger whole. As Jennifer Skelly writes in CampusTechnology.com, virtualisation can happen without the cloud, and plays an integral role in data centers around the world, even those that exist without a cloud in sight.

Of course, both virtualisation and cloud computing technology were developed to solve the same business problem: how to generate more computing power using fewer resources. The core difference is how the hardware is managed. Virtualisation requires internal, on-premise management, whereas cloud services are managed by a company’s cloud provider.

Cloud computing does rely heavily on a highly virtualised physical infrastructure, according to AppNeta. In the cloud, applications generally run on virtual servers that are independent of the underlying hardware. In fact, a virtual server environment on which to run applications is often one of the services a cloud computing provider offers.

But one of the major differences is that, with cloud computing, RAM, CPU cycles, storage and network bandwidth are commodities to be consumed on a “pay-per-use” basis. Like other utilities, a cloud computing environment is configured to provide high reliability and availability. Clouds are also very flexible and scalable, in the sense that an application can simply consume resources as needed, according to AppNeta.

While both virtualisation and cloud computing allow you to slash costs and simplify your IT infrastructure by using your existing resources more efficiently, virtualisation still requires an investment in physical hardware that resides on-premise – servers, software, data centre equipment and the like, according to AppNeta. In addition, virtualisation requires an extremely high performance network connection, since all your servers will share that single network connection.

With cloud computing, however, your cloud provider takes care of the purchase and maintenance of physical infrastructure, eliminating the start up costs associated with hardware, cutting costs even further. The downside is that your business operations, applications and data all are dependent on the performance of a single WAN link. It is entirely possible to lose data, as well as access to business-critical services, when cloud services fail.

Which approach is right for your business? That’s a decision that must take into account the unique nature of your business and a host of different market concerns. It also means you should consider whether your staff can properly and efficiently deploy, manage and maintain an on-premise solution, or whether your organisation would benefit from eliminating hardware, software, licensing, personnel, heating and cooling costs.

There’s no simple answer, but knowing the pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks of each approach will give you a solid foundation on which to base your decision.

Small businesses are finding that cloud-based solutions not only provide ‘more for less’ offerings, but also the flexibility of running their business the way they want to, when they want to and where they want to. It represents an opportunity for them to level the playing field with large operators.

So what are the benefits of the cloud for small businesses?

Get ahead of your competitors 

Repeat after me: happy customers are key to healthy profits! The cloud has so many tools that help you to add value to customers. These include easy ways to chat, video call, share files, make bookings, deliver documents, sign contracts, invoice, collaborate, present reports, provide quotations, and even build in high levels of security to confidential information.

If this is what your competitors might be using the cloud to do, you need to make sure you don’t fall behind!

Work from anywhere, any time

By harnessing the power of the cloud, you have access to information and support anywhere, at any time.

For small businesses with offices or clients to collaborate with interstate or abroad, cloud computing is a business solution that simply can’t be overlooked. For mobile employees it allows them to promptly save new sales leads, communicate with customers, access critical data and see the business’ finances at any time to manage cashflow.

For example, one of my clients is an Australian company that is managed from the UK. Managers rely on cloud-based systems to ensure they are up-to-date with the business and on the same page as their offshore employees. They use our cloud-based accounting software so we are using the same real-time information as the client’s Australian operational team and UK head office.

Save money and access information

Who doesn’t want to save money! The cloud helps you to do just that. It gives you access to new technology without upfront capital costs. Instead of purchasing software upfront and paying for maintenance and upgrades, you only pay for what you use, and upgrades are often included.

The cloud also offers savings in other areas. For example, one of my clients owns a newly opened gym. The money saved from reduced travel time for meetings, not having to pay for office space and not needing to install accounting software, meant that they could spend more money on gym equipment.

In the event of a disaster such as a flood, earthquake or even theft, you can minimise downtime by having critical information for the business accessible from any device in any location.

Is it secure and reliable?

Of course, new technology doesn’t always mean that it is better. Small businesses should take security, reliability, scalability, availability and compatibility into account before making the decision to outsource their people or systems as part of their operations.

Here are some of the questions you should be asking when considering cloud-based tools:

• Where are the servers located and how are they physically protected? Are firewalls used? Is it designed to withstand power outages, natural disasters and tampering?
• Are they required to comply with privacy laws and a professional code of ethics on safeguarding confidential information? Do they have regular compliance audits?
• Do they use encryption technology to protect your data?
• Does the provider offer multi-factor authentication e.g. use of a smart card, USB key, PKI certificate or mobile phone in addition to a username and password?
• Are they stable enough to ensure medium-to-long term continuance of services?
• What do other people and SMEs have to say about the provider? Make sure you check online for user reviews and feedback about the service.
• Is it open and transparent with users?
• Would it provide for your demands as your business grows?
• Is it a web-based application that can be accessed 24/7 or a hosted application that requires a user tunnel like VPN?
• Can the system be integrated with other applications or service providers to minimise duplication?

Where to start?

Want to reach for the clouds, but don’t know where to start? Here are some of the cloud-based tools that I recommend and use:

• Evernote. Two words: portable organisation! Evernote is a highly useful app that allows you to organise and store information, which can be sorted into folders, tagged and attached with files. I use it for taking notes, writing lists, recording audio to transcribe, taking photos of business cards and capturing web clippings (such as airline bookings, articles of interest, bookmarking links, and saving images). All of these are easily shared and can be accessed on my desktop computer, laptop, iPad and Android phone.
• Socket and Quote Roller. These tools make it easy to provide pricing and proposals to clients over the cloud.
• Skype and Webmeeting. We use both these tools for phone and video calls with clients, staff and suppliers.  For example, most of my I.T. technicians are located overseas and these tools allow us to implement projects on time and on budget, without needing to travel or pay for expensive calls.
• RightSignature. This application allows you to sign documents electronically on a laptop or mobile device. Because it creates a digital fingerprint and audit trail that is legally acceptable, it is great for confidential documents such as contracts. I use this with clients who are travelling with limited access to scanners or printers. When they are happy with a tax return they can simply sign-off on it on their iPad using RightSignature.
• Xero. My clients often tell me that this online accounting system has changed their lives! It syncs with your credit cards and bank accounts and makes your BAS reporting easy. You and your accountant can access all your accounting data online, anywhere and at any time. Apps such as Receipt Bank and Shoeboxed that scan and file receipts on a mobile device also sync with Xero, making the entire bookkeeping process so much easier. Saasu is another popular cloud-based bookkeeping tool.
• Dropbox. Dropbox is a web-based file hosting service that allows individuals to share and collaborate files from anywhere. It is also useful for storing files that you want to access from anywhere.
• Google Docs. Upload and create Microsoft Office files onto Google Docs so you can access them anywhere and collaborate with other users on the same documents. Everything is made available and updated in real time, which eliminates double handling.
• YouSendIt. YouSendIt.com also allows you to send, receive and track files up to 40 times bigger than that of an average email.

Think that is too many apps to manage and control? To give you an idea of how you can make the cloud work specifically for your business, our business offers all its services via the cloud using multiple apps and we make it simple for users by having:

• Single sign-on access to all cloud apps used by our staff and clients. It’s a launch pad for all apps so you can login to all of them at the same time.
• Enterprise-level security and access management.  Translation: we have centralised control over user access on the cloud applications and can limit access on a need-to-know basis by IP address, domain or even by specific computers. 

Put simply, small businesses wanting increased productivity and competitiveness will find that the cloud ticks those boxes. The cloud is here to stay and it’s up to small businesses to keep up with it, or risk falling behind.