For the past decade, cloud IT was suggested by many as the solution to everything. But most medium and large businesses have not been keen to commit totally to the cloud. Now ‘hybrid IT’ is emerging as the most pragmatic and cost-effective approach for all but the smallest businesses. It has also been credited with speeding up the adoption of new innovation. The global hybrid IT market is said to be worth $240 billion next year with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, HPE, Dell and other major players involved.
For local medium business software developer Attaché, 70% of their customers are now benefiting from their new hybrid IT solution. A mix of cloud and on-premises technology, it offers the best of both worlds e.g. online access and automatic updates, plus on-premises speed, security and the ability to trade without being at the mercy of the internet.
One-throat-to-choke
“The big infrastructure providers initially wanted to put everything in the cloud, but now realise most medium and large businesses don’t work that way,” says Mike Rich, co-founder of Attaché. “Businesses also want one local ‘throat-to-choke’ not unrelated vendor apps, with data and helplines spread across the globe.
“Most of our customers have used Attaché for over a decade because it can scale with their business and evolve with new technology. For example, we introduced hybrid IT to our customers as part of Single Touch Payroll in Australia and Payday Filing in New Zealand. Over 90% have now upgraded and enjoy 24/7 access to online services like leave management, employee onboarding, timesheets and more.
Costs less / competitive edge
“The costs and benefits also favour hybrid IT with studies showing up to 40% less downtime, 30% fewer errors, 20% time savings and over 10% savings in IT operating costs. Another study said just 10% of medium and large businesses are likely to opt for a single provider. In particular, cloud ERP systems can take far longer and cost far more to implement than ever expected, added Mike.
“With a tighter economy on the horizon which few staff have experienced before, smart business owners are also looking to get a competitive edge. They’d like to renovate their systems, but not demolish everything. Most have some bespoke or industry specific systems they’d like to keep and integrate with, at least for now, plus quickly integrate with or exit from if something better comes along.
Talk with a product specialist
“Our focus is now on helping other medium businesses move to hybrid IT. They typically have $2m to $100m in revenue, 10 to 1,000+ staff. Some will have a small cloud system with a bunch of apps or spreadsheets to fill the holes. Others will have old desktop systems like MYOB AccountRight and face going backwards to a small system or too far forwards to an expensive ERP system.
“We now offer a free service where medium business owners can talk with a product specialist. This could include things like automating complex pricing, quantity and time based customer and supplier agreements; higher stock levels, better re-ordering and warehouse management. Or integration with manufacturing, job control, point of sale, web stores, sales intelligence tools, rostering, aged care systems and more,” Mike added.
Your clients can access a product specialist via this link:
https://www.attachesoftware.com/talk-to-specialist
Mike Rich | Attaché Software
- Hybrid IT – A Game Changer for Medium and Large Business Clients - 7 August 2019
- EOFY reporting under STP – why it is easier - 9 June 2019
- Single Touch Payroll – Employee Fact Sheet - 29 May 2019
