This article is published in Aug 2009 edition of Australian Physiotherapist Association Magazine as a special on IT. I was approached by the APA after they read one of my online blogs... see, they do work!

Whilst economists are reporting a modicum of recovery in our economy (in comparison to the rest of the world), I’m sure we would all agree that there are tough times ahead. In order to weather the storm, it is important that we scour our respective operations for opportunities to cut costs and develop smarter ways to do business. These solutions also need to be scalable enough to handle any subsequent market shifts. It is also vital that we don’t jeopardise our ability to provide our customers with a high level of service.

From an IT perspective, this balancing act can be more easily managed by outsourcing certain systems. Virtualised or ‘hosted technologies’ have been used by large enterprises for years to help decrease the cost of IT capital expenditure, telecommunications and software licensing… With some recent technological advancements, small business has the opportunity to catch up.

As an independent business systems specialist, I work with a lot of small business owners to help them streamline their IT in order to improve the way they deal with clients and lower costs. You would be surprised (or maybe not) to see that most business owners are spending money hand over fist on IT equipment, software and services and still operate in an inefficient manner.

Recently there have been a number of advancements in technology targeting small business. Whilst relatively new in the small business sector, these technologies have been used by large corporations for literally years. From what I have seen in the marketplace, the more progressive small business owners amongst us are clearly reaping the rewards.

Let us explore the avenues that many small businesses are beginning to embark. But be aware: not all of these systems will suit your business. You should do your research before investing in any of these systems.

VOIP, Hosted VOIP & Hybrid systems

Let’s start with Telecommunications. There are three areas that need to be covered here:

•    Customer/staff interaction with your phone service
•    The technical ability for the phone system to cater for your functional needs
•    Cost

The big shift happening in telecommunications for small business is the tendency to move to IP based phone systems. These office phone systems rely on an Internet connection and either an internal or external VOIP server. Due to the significant cost benefits, VOIP is becoming increasingly popular. Some VOIP systems are also extremely flexible and give you ultimate control on the flow of calls throughout your organisation.

The first thing to be aware of is that internally managed VOIP has some hidden caveats. To manage your own system requires technical know-how or an IT&T specialist that knows what they’re doing. The overheads that result can be the main drawback here, especially if you require modifications to the call flow. However, the positives lie in the fantastic flexibility of the system. The level of professionalism you can introduce to your call flow and IVR (phone menu system) is brilliant.

The common issues experienced with IP-based telephone are downtime and bad voice quality. In metropolitan areas, the stability of the internet connection is often not an issue – as long as you have a business-grade connection. The downtime is more often caused by the instability of your in-house VOIP server.

Ensure that you can effectively manage this system internally or partner with a tech company that can. Voice quality (or QoS) is mostly dependent on your Internet bandwidth. Every VOIP system is different when it comes to its bandwidth requirements per line connection. Ensure you have a symmetrical connection and allocate enough bandwidth for simultaneous incoming and outgoing phone calls.

Externally hosted VOIP is a simple but flexible solution that requires very little management overhead (and it’s a really fast deployment). The VOIP handsets connect to your telecommunications provider via an Internet connection. This means that your telecommunications host does all the technical dirty work and is ultimately accountable for systems monitoring and maintenance.
Whilst a decent symmetrical business grade connection is also vital to voice quality, the power and flexibility of such a system can be a huge advantage. Many professional companies are turning this system as it allows them to run a highly customer service focused system where people aren’t lost in the abyss of the call flow – either on hold or lost during a transferred call. Hosted VOIP is a very cost effective with a minimal up-front cost required to purchase IP ready handsets. It also places the technical side of things in the hands of your telecommunications supplier – an effective way of technological outsourcing.

Hybrid systems are a combination of traditional and IP based telephony. Whilst being extremely reliable, a good, flexible system requires significant capital expenditure. However, if your organisation has multiple practices a hybrid system maybe for you, as there are significant cost reductions for inter-office calls.

With most decent VOIP systems, you have the choice of handsets or “soft phone” – software based phones where all you need is a headset and a PC. This can be the source of a considerable cost saving.
So which system will best suit your practice whilst minimising up-front and ongoing costs? Do your research and contact a few vendors.

Hosted Applications and Software as a Service (SaaS)

The constant upgrade and licensing costs of business software applications can be a real drainer on the finances of a small business. Buying software outright tends to lose its appeal for many businesses due to this high cost and IT departments can often find themselves in a position of allowing their users to function with pirated or illegal copies of business applications.
Moreover, for 90% of SMB’s it is almost impossible to accurately budget for the years’ IT expenditure. Costs are often blown out byIT services suppliers demanding that their clients upgrade their server hardware.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is designed to alleviate small businesses from having to purchase and maintain costly server equipment whilst paying for ongoing software upgrades, maintenance and installation. Managing a network is costly and SaaS removes that element by placing it into the hands of an enterprise level remote network managed by professionals.
Being a hosted software and data service all you need is a computer with a browser, a decent Internet connection and then rest is hosted on servers in a buzzing underground farm somewhere under a city near you.

SaaS providers allow you to pay for hosting monthly which is great for cash flow. In return, they maintain your software, keep your data secure and backed up, ensure that you have maximum “up time” and will often provide you with a huge suite of software applications that you wouldn’t normally have access to.  Depending on the provider, it is possible to leverage off some fantastic enterprise level collaboration tools that can streamline day-to-day office work. Did I mention that you can access the same remote desktop along with all your applications and data from anywhere?

With so little in-house equipment required, you can sell your servers, and lower your ongoing PC maintenance costs.
One of the caveats here is that most practices have proprietary client databases that need to be installed and managed with care. Find a vendor that will look after your specific needs and ensure that you scope your requirements carefully.
For examples of outsourcing technologies such as applications and telecommunications, check out:

•   http://apps.google.com
•   http://gopc.net
•   http://commsys.com.au