availability of broadband – Cooper Mann Consulting

Cloud Computing and Online Accounting for All? Some Markets Are Still Waiting on Broadband

As the information technology industry espouses the benefits of the “paradigm shift” in computing and the move to cloud computing platforms and models, there are folks out there in the world who just aren’t seeing it happen like that. Not everybody’s working online. For many, the Internet and online working models simply haven’t intruded into their lives and businesses as it has for others. While this may be partially rooted in conservative mentalities and beliefs which are resistant to change, the more likely reality is that options for high-quality and affordable broadband service is simply not available to them. Without choices for affordable and useful connectivity to the Internet, online just doesn’t have the attraction it does for those who are “connected”.

When businesses look at cloud solutions and the Internet dependency that comes along with them, having more than one connection to the outside world becomes the imperative rather than a luxury. Unfortunately, some markets are still waiting for broadband (or have very limited options for service), rendering the cloud nearly unreachable.

It may come as a surprise to some, particularly to those in East and West coastal regions, that high speed broadband just isn’t as available in other zones. In fact, the *National Broadband Map clearly reveals limited availability and choice in numerous regions of the US. Broadband Internet access is a necessity to support the IT industry’s shift from localized IT to “cloud” IT. But the shift is only evident to those who are involved in it or who have that option. For those who the industry is beginning to refer to as the technology “have-nots”, this lack of available and affordable access will ultimately create more than simply an inability to participate in broadband-reliant IT solutions. The fast pace of innovation and evolution in IT almost guarantees that the technology have-nots will fall even further behind, possibly to the point of not being able to catch up.

“A Growing Gap Between IT Haves, Have-Nots. There will be a growing gap between the IT haves and have-nots in 2013. The latter will fall behind the former on a wide range of business technology fronts such as mobile, cloud, social, virtualization, and analytics…” 7 SMB Technology Predictions for 2013 | InformationWeek.com

As business (and personal) technology models continue to evolve, and as new solutions and services begin to displace the old, those who remain disconnected will begin to directly experience much more impact.

Consider something as simple as using QuickBooks desktop software for small business bookkeeping. As Intuit continues to remove elements from the installed software product, turning them into web services instead, customers with limited or no broadband access will find themselves without the features and functionality they need in the software. And the only possibly comparable alternatives to QuickBooks desktop accounting products are Internet-based alternatives, making them not really alternative options at all.

It is also likely that lack of sufficient broadband is one of the factors motivating many solution providers to seek clients in other markets – outside of the United States, and in regions where broadband availability is more prevalent and service speed and quality is higher. Yes, it’s true. The United States is not the leader in broadband availability, or even in quality.

“For many people, their broadband connections are their lifelines. So what is the state of broadband in the U.S.? Well, when it comes to speed and price and adoption, we’re certainly not a leader — “middling” is a better way to describe our position.

Currently 119 million people that live in the U.S. don’t have broadband connections (for many reasons, including not wanting it or not being able to afford it) while 19 million don’t even have the option to get it. Our rate of broadband adoption (62 percent) lags behind countries such as South Korea, the U.K.,and Germany, according this year’s Federal Communication Commission report. (We’re closer to the penetration rates to Japan, Finland, and Canada.) These numbers are not likely to change soon, given that broadband growth is slowing and providers are moving away from wireline infrastructure. “ GIGAOM:The state of broadband in the U.S. [infographic]

Accountants and other professional service providers serving clients in regions lacking sufficient choices for access must recognize that their approaches to doing business will not necessarily match their peers in more fully connected areas. Certainly, accounting and legal professionals are dealing with this reality as practice coaches and industry leaders push for IT- and cloud-enabled models for improving practice performance and creating differentiation, even as their proven applications and business solutions morph into or are replaced with SaaS applications and online service.

The take away from this is that there are still large numbers of businesses and individuals doing things with legacy tools, managing spreadsheets on standalone PCs, or writing with pens and using paper – even in areas where broadband access is plentiful. Regardless of how forward moving the rest of the world may be there remains a need to provide service and support these IT have-nots. Perhaps this becomes a means for differentiation, finding ways to work with businesses who are connected and those who are not, and leveraging the firm’s access and capability to deliver what the client cannot obtain directly.

Make Sense?

*The National Broadband Map is a tool to search, analyze and map broadband availability across the United States

Read more about how Not Everybody’s accounting online: Outsourced Bookkeeping and Accounting for Offline Clients
Read more about Online Accountants and Their Clients: Working Smarter, or just Closer?
Read more about Data Warriors: Accountants in the Cloud
Read more about using the cloud to extend “connectedness” beyond traditional boundaries

Cloud Computing Evolved: Disruptive Technology Goes Mainstream

A 2010 information technology report by IDC (International Data Corporation, a global provider of market intelligence) provided a few interesting predictions for Information Technology in these changing times. Not surprisingly, many of the predictions centered around the same “ingredients of IT industry transformation” which were identified in past years as being disruptive technologies including cloud computing, mobile devices and applications, wireless broadband, virtualized infrastructure, social networking, and smart devices being among those listed. The subsequent 2011 report suggested a continuing trend of spending and innovation in cloud technologies and mobile computing and in collecting and analyzing the huge volumes of data being generated. It is clear that cloud computing is evolving from being disruptive technology to mainstream IT.

Everyone must by now recognize the significant growth in use of online and mobile applications and services. If you haven’t noticed that just about everyone has a smart phone or tablet computer, then you’ve got your head buried deep in the sand. What this clearly indicates, and IDC supported the position with quantifiable evidence, is that the “disruptive technologies” of yesterday have transitioned from early adoption to mainstream adoption. This means that use of these technologies had pushed “well beyond” the first 10 to 15% of the market through 2010, and that customers were ready to integrate these new solutions as core parts of their overall IT strategy.

If you don’t believe that cloud computing, virtualization, and mobile access are becoming (have become?) mainstream, consider the staggering number and variety of mobile devices and networks available today. The adoption of these devices is driven by the availability of broadband wireless service, and their use is fueled by applications offering “social business” and “pervasive analytics”. No longer limited as a voice communications device, the mobile phone has now become the mobile workstation, capable of supporting a wide variety of business and personal interactions and functions intended to help users generate and analyze “unprecedented volumes of information” – and the 2011 report indicates that mobile computing is continuing to fuel the trend.

“Mobility wins” will be the top theme of the year as mobile devices outship PCs by more than 2 to 1 and generate more revenue than PCs for the first time. 85 billion mobile apps will be downloaded, and mobile data network spending will exceed fixed data network spending for the first time.

IDC’s 2010 report placed an interesting focus on the impact of this new era of IT, believing that it would be a launchpad for the creation of “intelligent industry” with an IT-enabled “intelligent economy”. This doesn’t apply only to those very large multinational corporations, like the IBM commercials about a smarter planet and the commercials where the box tells us where it (and the delivery truck) is. This new-found intelligence would allow businesses of all sizes to offer better and more customized services locally while dramatically expanding their market reach beyond geographic boundaries, and positioning themselves for accelerated growth.

As the number of intelligent communicating devices on the network will outnumber “traditional computing” devices by almost 2 to 1, the way people think about interacting with each other, and with devices on the network, will change. Look for the use of social networking to follow not just people but smart things.”

Business owners who find a way to leverage this new capability through innovative applications of cloud computing and mobile device access will almost certainly find that their businesses are better suited to addressing the needs of their current market, but are also poised to take advantage of emerging opportunities in emerging markets as well.

In 2010 IDC predicted that by 2012 we would begin to see the “slow death” of cloud computing – the term, not the technology model. Even though cloud computing is one of the hottest buzzwords in tech today, the model is becoming mainstream to the point where it is no longer considered a bleeding-edge method of computing requiring its own descriptive name. While IDC may have been a bit off in terms of forecasting the slow death of “cloud” terminology, their finding that the evolution of cloud computing models is rapidly progressing from disruptive to mainstream appears to be spot on.

Joanie Mann Bunny Feet Make Sense?
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