The Small Business Association of Australia is proud to announce that GoTo is the official Technology Sponsor for the 2023 International Small Business Summit.
GoTo, the company making IT easy, anywhere, offers remote management and support, and business communication software, unified with one admin solution. GoTo’s portfolio, which includes GoTo Connect, GoTo Resolve, Rescue and more, helps to securely support and connect small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) to what’s most important: their teams and customers.
When asked why GoTo has decided to support the SBAA 2023 International Small Business Summit, Andrew Kernebone, Director of Presales APAC at GoTo, said: “By participating in this summit, GoTo can get under the hood of the issues affecting small businesses and help champion SMB growth by using technology as a leverage.”
Small businesses are an integral part of the global economy, and they frequently encounter unique challenges that larger corporations do not. By supporting the SBAA International Small Business Summit, GoTo can help promote the growth and success of small businesses by levelling the playing field through technology.
The Summit will feature a variety of speakers and panellists covering a wide range of small business-related topics, bringing together academia, thought leaders, international representatives, small and large businesses, governments, and industry associations to collaborate and provide solutions for the issues currently facing SMBs. This collaboration will help surface new ideas and potential resolutions to existing small business challenges. By achieving better outcomes such as improved policy, small businesses can grow, develop, employ, export and compete in a global economy.
Moreover, the Summit is a great platform for delegates to network and share ideas for the betterment of SMBs.
These relationships can foster greater understanding of new trends, pain points and issues affecting these businesses, with the ability to exchange knowledge and experience, and gain new perspectives that inform product and service development.
CEO & Founder of the Small Business Association, Anne Nalder is delighted to have GoTo as a sponsor, saying: “Technology has always played an important role in growth of small business, and with the increasing necessity for remote work and staying connected, we need to ensure there are robust protections and regulations in place. GoTo are experts in the technology field, and I look forward to seeing their input to the conversation at the 2023 Summit”.
Small businesses across all industries face unique challenges and opportunities, with many experiencing significant hardship due to ignoring or simply misunderstanding the increasing need for robust cybersecurity protections and the importance of adopting modern technology solutions.
Kernebone elaborated further on this need, saying, “Staying vigilant on cybersecurity, advancing digitalisation and leveraging the right technology are some of the most pressing issues facing small and medium sized businesses with limited resources.”
GoTo has provided the Small Business Association with unique insights on how solutions can be found at the industry and government level for Technology and are ready to share and elaborate on these insights at the 2023 International Small Business Summit.
ISSUE 1: Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a significant concern for businesses of all sizes, but small businesses are especially susceptible. Small businesses are easy targets as they may lack the resources to invest in robust cybersecurity measures. As such, business leaders must safeguard their digital, customer and employee assets and information as a matter of priority, as security incidents can lead to significant financial loss which may prove challenging for a small business to weather.
How GoTo can help:
No matter the scale of your operations or the industry you belong to, all businesses are prone to cyberthreats. Therefore, we highly encourage all SMBs to invest in the security of their IT infrastructure to protect their businesses from potential attacks.
One way in which SMBs can go about doing this is by implementing solutions that have an advanced security model such as built-in zero trust security. Zero-Trust is a cybersecurity framework that assumes that all users, devices, and network traffic are potentially hostile and requires verification of every user and device that attempts to access a network or system.
This not only greatly simplifies and streamlines the security process for any business but provides flexibility as well when their data moves between devices or apps. Thereby, ensuring there are no security gaps that threat actors can take advantage of.
With cybersecurity being a growing concern for businesses of all sizes, by working with GoTo, SMBs can leverage our solutions build on zero-trust security, and access our robust security measures, which can help them protect their data and maintain the trust of their customers.
ISSUE 2: Digitalisation and IT Consolidation
Advanced digital technologies have proven highly effective in enabling businesses to weather major natural, economic or socio-political crises. However, many organisations are burdened with disparate or poorly integrated technologies that is costly to support from both an investment and resourcing standpoint. To prepare for the next disruption, business leaders must take proactive measures to reduce their IT burden, consolidate and leverage the right digital tools to reduce cost, improve productivity and enhance customer experience.
How GoTo can help:
Consolidation is one of the simplest ways to save both money and time. Looking for partners that offer more than just point solutions is a great way to start.
“From a technology perspective, SMBs should be looking to streamline and consolidate their digital tools to reduce their IT burden. By having one tool that takes care of telephony, virtual meetings, webinars, as well as IT management and support, this enables small and medium sized business (SMBs) to improve productivity and profitability, as well as enhance employee and customer experience.” said Kernebone.
By providing a comprehensive suite of business communication and IT management and support solutions all on one GoTo platform, GoTo can help SMBs to securely connect and support their hybrid workforce.
One of our flagship products, GoTo Resolve, can be particularly beneficial for SMBs. This solution combines customer service, IT service management, and unified communications into a single platform, allowing businesses to provide faster, more efficient support to their customers and employees especially with the prevalence of remote and hybrid working.
For SMBs especially, this is crucial for their financial investment. By equipping SMBs with the right tools, we are equalising the technology playing field in comparison with much larger organisations.
With the right tools, businesses can automate common support requests, track issues and requests in real-time, and provide a single point of contact for all support inquiries. This can help businesses to provide faster, more efficient support to their customers, which can lead to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Furthermore, by streamlining their support processes, businesses can free up valuable time and resources to focus on other areas of their operations, such as product development, sales, and marketing. This can help SMBs to improve their productivity and profitability, and ultimately achieve greater success in their respective industries.
On the topic of future policy and legislative reform for technology, GoTo believes there is work to be done to ensure the safety of personal data for both businesses and individuals.
One area that many experts and stakeholders have called for reform is data privacy. Particularly with fast emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), one of the primary challenges is the potential for it to be used to violate privacy, as AI systems require vast amounts of (personal) data, and if this data falls into the wrong hands it can be used for nefarious purposes, such as identity theft or cyberbullying.
Kernebone believes there is a need for oversight in the technology industry in order to protect people from external risks, saying: “As the amount of data collected on individuals grows with rapid technology advancements, there is a need for regulations and policies – with transparency – to play catch up to protect individual’s privacy and ensure that their data is used ethically and stored securely.”
The International Small Business Summit will be held on the 21st & 22nd of September at Deakin Downtown Tower 2, Level 12, 727 Collins Street, the Docklands, Melbourne Victoria.
