IT Services PerthSo, I believe by now most of you are likely to be fairly familiar with what IT services are. That is unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 30 years and have never touched a computer in that time. In case you’re unaware, outsourced IT services is where you engage an external tech support company to help you implement and maintain technology solutions to allow you to focus on your strengths.

In general terms outsourced IT services is where you have an agreement in place with a tech support company. They ensure that your IT systems are working and provide help desk services when there are problems. Most of this is now generally done remotely. They should also be meeting with you regularly, at least once a quarter, to review your professional services firm goals. This is to make sure that the technology solutions you are running are going to help get you to the goals you’ve set for your Perth professional services firm.

As a professional services firm partner, director, or principal you need to understand the value of your time and why it’s better to engage with an outsourced IT services company. What your time is worth, in a direct billable sense, is far more than what it would cost you to outsource your firm’s IT support requirements.

One law firm director I met with recently, advised that their current computer issues were costing them $2,000 an hour and they were experiencing approx. 1 hour a day of lost productivity. This was while they were currently outsourcing their IT services to another provider in the Perth market. If you do the maths on this over the course of a month that’s $60,000 it’s costing them. Over the course of 1 year that’s $720,000. Naturally, if this was me, and I had a supplier costing me that much money, lost productivity and time, I wouldn’t be working with them anymore.

Further, some may think “Oh, I’ll just take care of it or get my Office Manager or Practice Manager to take care of that, they’re good with technology”.

The problem with this train of thought is

  • They don’t concentrate on this day in and day out, so it takes longer to resolve technology issues which is costing you money.
  • You trying to do it yourself will likely take 5, 10 or 100 times as long which is costing you a lot more money.
  • You’re taking your general manager, practice manager or office manager away from the key roles you need them to perform for the firm which, you may have guessed, costs you money.

Do you also try and do your firms own taxes at tax time or do you work with a specialist accounting firm who knows the tax system? What about fixing your own car when you have mechanical issues or a breakdown? I know I used to try and do this, but I realised I’m just not very good at fixing my car and its better to let a professional take care of it.

About 3 years ago now I made a decision, where I didn’t follow the above decision-making tree, and it haunts me to this day. I was evaluating a new technology platform to help me grow my business and could not get past the upfront cost of the service and thought I could do it better with a cheaper “solution”. After investing hundreds of hours of my time trying to make this cheaper “solution” work it just wouldn’t deliver what I needed. I then went back and signed up with the more “expensive” solution provider 3 months later with all that time I wasted. This is what you really need to consider. Even though this solution costs more, it saves me and my team so much time and that is the most valuable commodity, you don’t get any more of it. I’m happy to say this taught me a very valuable lesson.

Start thinking about your technology systems and Cyber security solutions as an investment into your Perth professional services firm. One thing you may not be aware of is the return on investment in your professional services firm can produce 100% to 200%. A great return on investment in the stock market is between 6% and 8% per annum. Naturally, the investment in your professional services firm is the winning strategy.

As a professional services partner, principal or director, you must learn to think, make decisions and act as an INVESTOR if you truly want to get ahead, understanding the value of time. Especially your own.

Combine robust technology systems, with excellent IT services and cyber security services and secure the future of your Perth professional services firm today.

Book a free initial consultation and let us show you

  • How we deliver you enhanced peace of mind.
  • How we can increase your team’s productivity.
  • How we protect your personal and professional reputation as well as your livelihood.
  • How to ensure you do not suffer the devastating consequences of a cyber-attack and we guarantee it.
  • How to be a hero to your clients.
  • How to get that return on investment you deserve from your professional services firm.