January 2016 is here, and with it comes a slew of Australian startups looking to disrupt the status quo in their respective industries and carve out their own niche. In fact, almost one in five (19.9 per cent) companies are established in the first month of the year, according to figures collated by Startup Muster.  

It's possible that we could see this figure grow even higher in 2016, as many are speculating that Australia's business climate is becoming increasingly attractive to those operating in the tech sector. Anthony Goldbloom, founder of online platform for predictive modelling and analytics Kaggle, went so far as to say that the country could soon rival Silicon Valley as an incubator of new tech-oriented enterprises.  

"The demand-supply talent imbalance is probably better in Australia," surmised Mr Goldbloom as quoted by the Australian Financial Review.  

"I think the raw talent is there, but there is not as much experience."  

Whether or not Australia will be able to compete with the might of Silicon Valley remains to be seen, but the future certainly looks promising for startups. If you're considering starting a new company in 2016, what ingredients will you need to cook up your very own success story?  

Perhaps the number one defining feature of a good startup is its growth rate. If you're able to

A scalable phone system enables you to keep up with demand as the company expands.

exploit a particular niche at an opportune time, you might be surprised at just how quickly your operations can expand. For example, in a TechCrunch article, Institutional Venture Partners explored the data of 70 internet and software initial public offerings (IPOs) and found that the average company with annual revenue of less than $25 million grew at the astonishing rate of 133 per cent per year.  

Of course, this type of growth is something that every entrepreneur dreams of, though constantly investing in traditional infrastructure to accommodate the increase in demand is a costly and incredibly time consuming exercise.  

Scalable solutions eliminate this concern, as they enable you to immediately respond to spikes in demand. Technology such as cloud-based phone systems, for example, give you the ability to effortlessly add seats on the fly, allowing you to respond fluidly to current trends, provide a consistent quality of service during periods of rapid expansion and ultimately facilitate even greater growth.  

Innovation is an integral part of the modern business world, and its importance is only further pronounced in new businesses that often need to think outside the box in order to compete with larger, more well-established competition. As the Queensland government surmised, a forward thinking attitude can enable companies to better react to shifts in the market, improve existing process and hone their unique selling point.  

Fostering an innovative culture can help you attract talented workers and further grow the company.

This last point relates not only to customers, but also to employees. Enterprises that are able to develop an engaging company culture will be in a stronger position to attract and retain talent who may turn out to be critical influencers in your company's success.  

There are many ways to foster this type of innovative environment. PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested that one of the most desirable traits millennials in particular look for in a prospective career is flexibility. One of the ways you might meet this need is by adopting a unified communications system. This could provide your employees with the opportunity to work from the location of their choice, resulting in a more innovative workplace and an engaged and committed workforce.   

Many startups experiment with new products, services or even entire infrastructures in the hopes of gaining the agility they need to edge out the competition. While this creates a fast-paced environment that is conducive to rapid growth, it also comes with a certain level of instability, which can hinder expansion in some circumstances.  

Phone systems with disaster recovery options allow you to stay on track when the unexpected occurs.

This is a very real risk, with a report from DR Benchmark finding that almost three in four (73 per cent) organisations worldwide are failing to put together strong contingency plans. The research found significant financial repercussions – almost 20 per cent of companies cited losses of more than $50,000 as a result of an outage.  

What does this mean for new enterprise owners? Simply, it highlights the need for companies of all sizes to have disaster recovery plans in place to minimise the branding and economic fallout should anything unexpected happen.  

To that end Fonality's small business phone systems feature excellent disaster recovery options, enabling you to continue to provide a seamless customer journey in the event of a disruption outside your control.  

Regardless of the size of your company, you'll need a phone system you can rely on. Get in touch the Fonality team to find out how an on-premise or hosted communications solution could be right for you this year.