Take advantage of the Government’s digitalisation incentives before EOFY23

This is a huge win for SMBs as it will help fund their digital transformation for the future. And yet most business owners are unaware of the current digitalisation incentives, whether it applies to them or how they can benefit. As the tax incentive is only available until 30 June 2023, it is simply a wasted opportunity for businesses not to capitalise on the investment boost being offered. It’s time to conduct a full business analysis, identify key areas which would benefit from digitalisation, prioritise those needs and, importantly ensure the right technology partners are selected to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Most business owners today want to invest in some form of digitalisation. Research conducted by Frost & Sullivan, commissioned by communication, collaboration and IT support solutions provider GoTo, revealed that business leaders are prioritising IT needs more than ever to ensure their businesses operate effectively. Senior leadership involvement in software purchasing was up seven percent since the start of the pandemic, and over the last two years, demands have caused IT budgets to skyrocket. Yet these budget increases cannot continue, so one critical solution is for SMBs to focus on optimising their tech stack. The question is, how to get started?

1. Conduct a full business evaluation and digital audit. Analyse all pillars of the business to work out what can be done more efficiently and effectively and how technology can be the enabler. Assess the existing tech stack and see if there are ways to consolidate and optimise for performance. Based on the known gap, research the digital tools, platforms, or solutions that will complement and enhance the current tech stack, enabling an increase in productivity, profitability, and improving the way of working for the future. 

• Prioritise digital requirements. In Frost & Sullivan’s research, the top five selection criteria for businesses choosing a new IT solution were:
• Supporting IT processes automation 28%
  
• Improving employee productivity 25%
• Ensuring performance & reliability 25%
• Value for money 23%
• Improving IT administration/management 22%

The research also found that one of the most important digital solutions to invest in, is one which ensures businesses can successfully run from anywhere with video conferencing and IT helpdesk tools being the most popular applications.

Many businesses quickly learned the value of a robust remote-work solution during the pandemic - knowing you can effectively manage phones, customers, incoming calls and employees with one simple, integrated, cost effective solution. Yet there are still many SMBs lacking in a simple, reliable and scalable solution for the hybrid and remote working world in which we now live. 

3. Select the right provider/s. Do the research in order to find the right provider/partner for each individual business. Choose the solution that is suitable and cost effective for the size of the business as it stands today, yet with the capability and capacity to grow as the business scales, providing on-demand support as and when required. As one example, GoTo provides flexible work software enabling businesses to achieve a sustainable, resilient, and future-proof work-from-anywhere strategy. It offers enterprise-grade technology specifically designed for SMBs, seamlessly combining voice, IP telephony calling, audio & video conference and instant messaging into a unified communications and collaboration as well as IT management and support solution, all in one affordable application that can scale to facilitate future growth.

To ensure you select the right technology provider/partner for your business, conduct online research, meet with each provider, ask for a demo, talk to peers and seek out expert advice, referrals and endorsements.

4. Invest. There’s no time to wait and there’s no reason to, due to the tax benefits available. The market is constantly transforming, and SMBs cannot afford to be left behind. The bonus deduction applies for qualifying expenditures up to $100,000 per annum incurred between 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2023. Reach out to clients today, and provide them with the right advice on how to maximise this tax incentive before the end of the 2022/23 financial year. They’ll be grateful you did.

 Lindsay Brown is the Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific for GoTo – a recognised leader in flexible, remote-work technology. He leads the strategy, performance and ongoing evolution of GoTo across APAC. Under Lindsay’s leadership, LogMeIn (now GoTo) was twice placed in the Top 10 Great Places To Work, in both Australia and India. His career spans 20+ years in Information Technology with a successful track record in scaling start-ups, developing emerging brands and growing established multinational technology companies.