Insights
Helping business owners navigate IT, cyber security and AI
Plain-English posts from the Otaris team — no jargon, no fear-mongering, new insights every week.
Is managed IT better than hiring in-house? The actual comparison
One support hire costs more than the salary line suggests, covers only the hours they're at their desk, and only knows what they know. Here's…
Read the full articleWhat should a venue expect from out-of-hours IT support?
Cover during trading, not during office hours. A support agreement that ends at five covers the hours you are least busy.
Read the full articleHow should a venue set up guest Wi-Fi safely?
On a completely separate network that cannot reach your point of sale or back office. Shared Wi-Fi is a route from the car park to…
Read the full articleWhat should a venue do after a malware incident?
Contain, recover, then rebuild to a standard rather than back to what you had. Restoring the same setup restores the same exposure.
Read the full articleHow should a multi-venue hospitality operator run its IT?
One identity, consistent equipment at every venue, and reporting that consolidates without anyone assembling it by hand each week.
Read the full articleWhere can a hospitality venue use AI?
Rosters, menus, marketing copy and responding to reviews. Not automated replies to complaints, where a wrong tone costs more than time.
Read the full articleWhat happens when a venue's point of sale goes down?
Trading stops unless it was planned for. Failover, offline mode and a written fallback are the three answers, and all need setting up first.
Read the full articleWhat should a builder look for in job and accounting systems?
Job costing that reflects reality, progress claims that flow from captured work, and an accounting link that removes re-entry.
Read the full articleWhat technology discounts are Australian not-for-profits eligible for?
Substantially discounted and sometimes donated licensing from major vendors. Many eligible organisations have simply never claimed it.
Read the full articleWhat happens when a depot loses its internet connection?
Movements stop unless it was designed for. Second paths, offline capability and a documented fallback are the three answers.
Read the full articleHow should clients send documents to an accounting firm?
Through an upload link into the right client area, not as email attachments that live in a mailbox forever.
Read the full articleWhat IT does a hospitality business need?
A point of sale that never stops, guest Wi-Fi kept away from your systems, rostering that works on a phone, and payments handled properly.
Read the full articleHow should a not-for-profit handle its phone system?
Virtualise it. Legacy phone systems linger longest in this sector and consolidating usually reduces the bill while improving the service.
Read the full articleHow should a not-for-profit handle accounts for volunteers and high turnover?
Access by role, onboarding that takes minutes, and removal that actually happens. The old account nobody closed is the real exposure.
Read the full articleWhat should a hospitality venue ask before choosing an IT provider?
What happens at seven on a Friday, whether they know your point of sale, and how they would separate guest Wi-Fi from your systems.
Read the full articleHow should a venue handle card payments securely?
Keep the payment environment separate, keep terminals current, and keep card data out of your own systems wherever possible.
Read the full articleWhat should a not-for-profit board know about IT risk?
Four questions a board should be able to answer, and an annual briefing that turns technology risk into something governable.
Read the full articleWhat does a cloud migration actually cost in Australia?
Far less than the published figures, which describe enterprise projects. What drives the price for a small business, and the costs quotes omit.
Read the full articleWhere can a not-for-profit use AI?
Grant applications, reporting and communications, where the writing load is heavy. Never with participant details in a public tool.
Read the full articleWhat IT does a not-for-profit need?
The same foundations as any business, bought at nonprofit pricing most organisations never claim, protecting data that is unusually sensitive.
Read the full articleHow should a venue handle rostering and casual staff access?
Phone-first rostering that flows into payroll, and access that is created quickly and removed reliably when someone stops turning up.
Read the full articleHow do you keep track of all your business software subscriptions?
One register, one owner, and a quarterly review against the bank statement. Most businesses are paying for tools nobody opens.
Read the full articleHow should advisers share documents with clients securely?
Restricted links with expiry, and an upload route for what clients send back. Attachments cannot be recalled when they go astray.
Read the full articleHow should a not-for-profit protect donor and client data?
With the same controls a business would use, applied to data that is often more sensitive, in an organisation with more people coming and going.
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