IT & Cybersecurity for Financial Planning & Advice
In financial advice, cyber security isn't just IT. It's a licence obligation.
Your clients trust you with their wealth, their super and their retirement — and your AFSL obligations require you to protect the data behind it. Otaris takes IT and cybersecurity completely off your plate, aligns your practice to what ASIC and the Privacy Act expect, and gives you enterprise-grade protection at a scale that fits your firm.
We know what's really at stake for an advice firm
You hold some of the most sensitive data there is — financial positions, super balances, tax file numbers, identity documents, estate and family details. Clients trust you to protect it, and so does the law. In financial services, cyber security has moved from good practice to a regulatory obligation.
The line in the sand is the RI Advice case: in 2022 the Federal Court found that inadequate cyber risk management was a breach of an AFS licensee's core obligations under the Corporations Act — the first ruling of its kind in Australia. ASIC has since named licensees' failure to have adequate cybersecurity protections a top enforcement priority. On top of that sit your Privacy Act duties and breach-reporting obligations. For an advice firm, a cyber incident isn't just downtime and lost trust — it can become a compliance event.
You shouldn't have to be your own IT and compliance department on top of advising clients. That's where we come in.
“We take IT completely off your plate — and align your practice to what your licence requires.”
The IT challenges we solve for advice firms
Cyber risk is now licence risk
Since the RI Advice ruling, inadequate cyber management can breach your AFSL obligations. We build and document your cybersecurity to Essential Eight, so you can show ASIC the risk is being actively, properly managed.
Protecting client wealth & identity data
Financial data is exactly what attackers want. We lock down where it lives and who can reach it, replace outdated antivirus with modern application whitelisting, and back everything up so it can't be lost or held to ransom.
Privacy Act & breach-reporting duties
AFS licensees carry concurrent obligations across the Corporations Act and Privacy Act, including breach reporting. We help align your systems with those duties and prepare a calm, fast response if a notifiable breach ever occurs.
Enterprise-grade security at your scale
A small practice faces the same threats as a large one — without the same budget. We deliver enterprise-grade device and security management, priced and scaled for your firm, so size is no longer a disadvantage.
Outsourcing, platforms & third-party risk
You rely on licensees, platforms and software you don't control. We secure how your systems connect to them, so your supply chain doesn't become your weak point.
Reliable performance, wherever you are
Slow systems and patchy connections waste time and frustrate clients. We put workloads where they run fastest, add connectivity failover, and keep you working even when the internet isn't perfect.
Getting your practice sorted is simple
Schedule a call
Talk to a real person who understands advice firms and your obligations. No sales pitch — just a conversation about what's working and what's keeping you up at night.
We assess your IT and build a roadmap
We audit your systems, check them against the Essential Eight and your AFSL and Privacy Act obligations, find the gaps, and give you a clear plan you could put in front of a regulator. No jargon, no hidden costs.
We manage everything, so you can focus on advice
From 24/7 monitoring and cybersecurity to everyday support, we become the IT team your practice has always needed.
Everything your practice needs, under one trusted partner
Cybersecurity & Essential Eight alignment
Documented, defensible protection that supports your AFSL obligations.
Modern endpoint protection
Application whitelisting and centralised device management, not outdated antivirus.
Privacy Act & breach-response readiness
Controls and a documented plan for your reporting duties.
Backup & business continuity
Off-site backups and a tested plan so client data is never lost.
Secure Microsoft 365 & Teams
Locked-down email, files and client meetings, with reliable performance and failover.
Advice software support
We support the planning and advice platforms your practice relies on — alongside Microsoft 365, Xero and MYOB — keeping them secure, updated and integrated with the rest of your systems.
A local team advice firms trust
Otaris has been looking after Australian businesses since 2006 — that's 20+ years in IT. We're Adelaide-based with Australia-wide coverage, and we explain everything in plain language. You'll never be handed off to an overseas call centre.
Client story — Mansell Financial Services, Barossa Valley (5 users · 2016)
Mansell Financial Services is a five-person financial planning firm in the Barossa Valley, an Authorised Representative of AMP / Akumin, guiding clients through retirement, super and wealth planning. They were running on a hosted remote desktop that lagged on regional internet and still relied on traditional antivirus that no longer met modern standards. Otaris re-architected their IT around where the practice is today — fast managed local computers, every device under Microsoft Intune, ThreatLocker in place of old antivirus to align with Essential Eight, files in Microsoft Teams, Fortinet with 4G failover, and Microsoft Copilot in everyday work.
The result: a genuinely enterprise-grade, compliant solution at a five-person scale and cost, with IT incidents down to almost zero and a recurring monthly server cost removed.
Read the Mansell Financial Services case study- 20+ years in IT
- Adelaide-based
- Microsoft partner
- Essential Eight aligned
- Enterprise-grade IT at small-firm scale
- Hundreds of Australian businesses supported
Imagine a practice where security is handled and compliance is covered
Picture a week where your systems are fast, your client data is protected, and your cybersecurity is documented to a standard you could put in front of ASIC. Your team works securely from the office or remotely, a patchy connection no longer slows the day, and if something goes wrong you recover fast. You're confident you're meeting your AFSL and Privacy Act obligations — and you can get back to advising clients.
That's the difference between worrying about IT and having a partner who's already handled it.
“Strengthening your digital confidence.”
Solutions for your industry
The services we most often deploy for financial services.
- Cyber
Cybersecurity
Essential Eight and ISO/IEC 27001 aligned protection across every system we deliver.
Learn more - Cyber
Raven Cybersecurity Score
A clear 0–500 score that tells you exactly how protected your business is, in plain English.
Learn more - Cyber
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
Daily backups, 4G failover, and business-grade hardware with next-day onsite warranty — built to survive failure.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
Protect your clients' data and your licence.
Book a free cybersecurity assessment and we'll show you exactly where your practice stands against Essential Eight, ASIC expectations and your Privacy Act obligations — and what to fix first. No jargon, no obligation.
- A plain-English Raven Cybersecurity Score for your practice
- Where you stand against the Essential Eight, ASIC expectations and the Privacy Act
- A clear plan tailored to how your practice works