Leading business management platform, MYOB, has been an essential part of the business landscape in Australia and New Zealand since the early nineties. Designed specifically to meet the needs of local businesses with 0-1,000 employees, MYOB’s core purpose is to help more businesses on both sides of the Tasman to start, survive, and succeed. With this unique position, MYOB has developed strong connections and a deep understanding of the critical workflows that drive productivity and performance in the ANZ market. “With decades of experience, we’ve built up a depth of knowledge about the local market which means we are in a stronger position to differentiate ourselves,” Eric Kamara, General Manager of Platform Services at MYOB explained.  

Kamara’s team manages MYOB’s internal platforms, including its ERP, CRM, and other systems, which are crucial to both maintaining current operations and enabling future growth. As part of its commitment to supporting local businesses, MYOB’s Platform Services team plays an important role in helping the company answer a fundamental question: “How can we help the business profitably and cost-effectively sell our SaaS products at scale?” 

Keeping the roadmap focused on innovation

In 2021, MYOB identified a need for enhanced capabilities to execute its IT roadmap. Seeking to balance resources between maintaining existing platforms and developing new solutions, MYOB needed a partner that could not only provide robust support for its Oracle systems, but could also help the Platform Services team  stay focused on its operational goals.  

“The challenges we faced were primarily around two things: One, capacity – because we had a small team that was tasked with looking after and maintaining the platforms that we had, as well as innovating and executing on the strategy. The second was capability – we had built up these platforms over time, but through some team attrition, we lost a lot of knowledge. So, we needed to navigate how we could keep our people focused on the go-forward strategy and address the knowledge gaps,” Kamara recalled.  

Kamara and his team met with Rimini Street and received a timely proposal that addressed the business’ needs.  “We quickly realised that partnering with Rimini Street would allow us to achieve our goals  in a way that was cost neutral, while reducing the risk profile of the entire organization, due to the knowledge and skills their worldwide team offered,” Kamara added. “We had different options on the table, and each of those options had trade-offs. Partnering with Rimini Street was the only option that didn’t increase our cost base.”  

MYOB chose Rimini ONE™, an end-to-end outsourcing solution that supports enterprise applications, databases and technology software. This partnership enabled MYOB to manage its Oracle platforms effectively while freeing up its development team to focus on strategic projects.  

“We use Rimini Manage™ and Rimini Support™ for our Siebel platform. The team is always available for operational support, but we also use them for robust engineering. If we need help on the back-end, we can log a case, explain the challenge, and they help us solve the issue right away,” said Kamara.  

Achieving expertise and savings from one trusted partner  

One of the key benefits MYOB experienced was the reduction in operational risks through Rimini Street’s unique support model. “Rimini Street provides a follow-the-sun support model,” Kamara explained. “We’re an always-on business; customers might try to buy our product at 10:00pm on a Friday night because that’s their available time window . The value that Rimini Street provides is that whenever our product is needed, Rimini Street has someone available to provide support.” This approach not only improved MYOB’s system reliability but also allowed the internal team to focus on driving the company’s broader innovation agenda. 

Rimini Street’s involvement went beyond just technical support. The partnership also delivered immediate cost efficiencies, allowing MYOB to avoid expanding internal headcount and instead channel those resources towards strategic initiatives.  

Building a path to the future with a strategic partnership  

Reflecting on the journey, Kamara emphasised the importance of choosing partners that fit the specific context of your business situation.  

“With the right mix of hiring and partnering, you can fund innovation projects in a cost neutral way, if you identify which areas you could retain yourself, and which areas would be best managed by an external partner at a lower total cost of ownership,” said Kamara.  

This thoughtful approach to partnership has allowed MYOB to both maintain its existing systems and actively dive into innovation activities, including exploring AI-driven products that improve the support experience for customers. 

“The Rimini Street partnership has proven to be more than just a service agreement – it’s a strategic alliance,” said Kamara. “Rimini Street has helped us build a joint team with the skills we need to achieve our business ambitions.”