Business commentator Tim Mazzarol argues that Australia has a high small business “churn rate” – that is, things go wrong when businesses outgrow their humble beginnings. It’s a gloomy outlook for any small business with dreams of growth. 

But what are the reasons for failure? Part of the blame gets laid at management’s feet. But another factor is IT. It’s a long-held stereotype that small businesses don’t do IT planning. When it comes to your office’s email, the server running your customer database, the tools you use every day to run your business, it’s tempting to rely on an unpaid or cheaply paid advisor.

A typical story we heard recently at BIT (Business IT) was a company that bought a new server only to discover it didn’t work with the old accounting package. Not having an IT plan might be OK when IT is fulfilling basic functions, but if you’re growing, it can be a recipe for disaster and annoyed customers. 

But there are two bigger reasons to consider formulating an IT plan. Cloud services and the NBN promise small businesses the opportunity to grow their customer base and compete with bigger competitors. They offer access to the sort of things big companies have – sophisticated ways of finding and keeping customers by using CRM, ERP and customer support services. Now is the time to get prepared. 

William Maher is editor of BIT and brand editor of PC & Tech Authority. Get free advice at www.bit.com.au/ProPrint

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