Tag: connected services

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Cloud Hold-Out No More: QuickBooks Desktop Editions in the Cloud

When most people hear the words “QuickBooks” and “online” together, they think of the web-based solution from Intuit called QuickBooks Online Edition.  And why wouldn’t they?  With the media, industry talking heads, and everyone in information technology discussing cloud this and cloud that, all the attention is going to web-based applications, Software-as-a-Service models, and cloud platforms.  While these approaches to business software distribution and delivery are working for a lot of software vendors and their customers, there are a few hold-outs that may be keeping a lot of folks from considering that move to running their businesses “in the cloud”.  Intuit QuickBooks desktop editions used to be among this list of applications securely anchored to your local PC, but not anymore.

The desire to have remote and mobile access to business applications and data goes beyond simply getting email or syncing contacts to a mobile phone these days.   Business people in all industries are seeing the benefits of using wireless and mobile laptops, tablet computers and smartphones to handle tasks in real-time rather than accumulating paperwork, spending a bunch of time organizing and keying in data, and then submitting the information for batch-processing after the fact.  And, with services being seamlessly connected and information being shared and integrated for a variety of reasons, internet connectivity has become almost as essential to most businesses as telephone service. (Actually, in many cases, telephone service IS delivered via the IP network, so maybe that statement doesn’t make as much sense as it used to.)  Payroll isn’t calculated in the software, it’s calculated by a service online and delivered through your software.  Same with banking, accepting payments, and paying bills – many are processes handled through the software but perhaps not actually happening WITHIN the software on your PC.

As users have begun to realize that, whether they mean to or not, they are essentially “on line” with their business applications and data at some level, the consideration for outsourcing more of their IT operations and working more fully in an online model might not be so bad as long as they don’t have to give up the functionality, usability, and cost-efficiency they have come to expect with their beloved business applications – like QuickBooks.

Service providers recognized this opportunity and developed business models which would give users their desired desktop applications (like QuickBooks!), but in way that seems more like a cloud service.  As platform and virtualization technologies have evolved, businesses are finding that there are numerous options, and numerous providers, for getting their desktop and network applications installed in the “cloud”, and delivered back to them as a managed subscription service.  It is a model which is growing in popularity and demand, and it makes sense.

Small businesses in particular are moving to the cloud not because they are generally dissatisfied with the products they currently have (there’s a reason Intuit has market share with QuickBooks; there are a LOT of QuickBooks desktop lovers out there).  Small businesses are making the move to online and “cloud” models because of the business benefits of getting information when and where they need it.  Mobility is driving the cloud, and the cloud is driving software makers to change how they do things.

It will be a while before all the investments are made and man-hours are spent to rewrite or redevelop applications to run on these new platforms and in this new cloud-based service model.   In the meantime, ISVs will look to hosting providers of various sorts to help breathe longevity into their solutions while securely embracing their customers and market in preparation for a cloud-based service delivery, and customers will engage with service providers who can supply them with the legacy application hosting and management they require to achieve the level of freedom, access, and mobility they demand.

Make sense?

J

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Changing How We See Software: QuickBooks 2013 interface frustrates power users

Changing How We See Software:

QuickBooks 2013 interface frustrates power users

You’re an accounting, bookkeeping or business professional and have been working with QuickBooks desktop software for years.  Your processes and methods for using QuickBooks to manage client accounting have been developed over time, and have been refined to the point where you are able to maximize your efforts and efficiently handle all your customer requirements.   Sure, there have been changes in the software over the years, and many of them have proven to be helpful.  But sometimes you have to wonder what they were thinking when they changed the interface for 2013.

Initially I thought it was the grumbling of a few people who simply resist change, some admittedly so.  But then the grumbling got louder, and started to come from folks I would expect to hear only “happy rainbows and sunshine” from when it comes to QuickBooks.  The new interface, they say, “sucks”.

So what’s the issue?  What did Intuit do with QuickBooks 2013 desktop editions that has inflamed so many devoted users?  One ProAdvisor puts it this way: “Basically no real enhancements at all, just the interface and relocation of options”.  In short, QuickBooks desktop editions now look a bit more like QuickBooks Online Edition, and “there’s extra stuff in the navigation – Intuit stuff“.

I understand Intuit’s motivations for making the desktop and online editions appearance more similar.  After all, the benefit of the QuickBooks product line is that you can start with an entry-level edition and move up the product line to more features and functionality without converting to and learning entirely new software.  Since the online edition of QuickBooks is positioned as the entry-level product for some businesses, it makes sense to continue that same look for the user as they upgrade to richer desktop editions.  Unfortunately for many accounting and bookkeeping professionals, this means giving up on some of the usability you’ve come to expect (like being able to fit all the necessary information on the screen, and having easy-to-read menus, or not seeing a lot of unusable space on the screen, or even being able to suppress Intuit in-product offers).

Many companies have successfully increased their revenue potential by adding offers for services via links in the software interface, which is much more acceptable now that people have adopted web technologies and are familiar with the “hyperlink” concept.  Building additional value (and revenue streams) in the solution makes sense from a business perspective, which is why you see so many software companies moving in this direction.  Software solutions and services can interconnect seamlessly and transparently via the web, so we should all expect to see software makers engage their customers in as many ways and with as many products and services as possible.  For Intuit, this means being positioned to take advantage of, initially, their partner network of interconnected solutions and, later, their own direct offerings in each area.

Software developers like Intuit DO listen to their users and market influencers, as they value your continued patronage.  They have come to learn, however, that devoted (or invested) users will accept change eventually – even more so when there is a chance to use the change to generate business opportunity.  QuickBooks accountants and trainers rely on change in order to keep their clients coming back for more.

The real target is the new user – the business not already adopted into the product – and it is primarily for this new user that the interface changes were made and in-product advertisements targeted to.

In the case of Intuit’s interface selection for QuickBooks 2013 desktop editions, it might seem like there’s “no enhancement, just the interface change”.  I would suggest, however, that the interface change IS the enhancement Intuit elected to deliver – enhancement of the acceptance of the online edition and connected services.

Make Sense?

J

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Big Data and Big Decisions

Structure a process to develop the questions and measure outcomes, and then go get the answers

It seems that everyone these days (including me) is standing on the soapbox of “big data”, and the need to go beyond simple dashboards to help executives and owners make the daily decisions which may ultimately result in great business success or total organizational failure.  What many of us fail to discuss is how to manage the process of getting and using data, and why it is important to know what decisions the business should focus on making before the data is collected and analysis performed.

The whole point of “big data” is to assist in the development of more informed processes and people, which are elemental to supporting successful operations.  Data becomes useful information which helps to bring understanding and insight, and which results with action (information = power).  While this type of analysis was once oriented almost exclusively towards financial risk and fraud identification or detection, it is now being turned to the front lines where it is more focused on customers and supply chains, and where decisions made may be more visible (and volatile).

Decisions, questions posed in the business which are answered with action, are best made when based on complete and accurate information.   To accomplish this, data must be collected from all available aspects of the business, including trapping detailed operational data not often collected for summary financial reporting.   With this level of data, and with a structured and purposeful approach to management of the decision-making process, the business gains agility by being analytical and informed, and is better able to sustain performance by adapting to changing conditions.

The success of any decision-making effort is enabled by management practices which recognize the need to apply structure and standards, and know the value of actionable data over instinct. The application of performance monitoring and similar tools is also essential to measure the effectiveness of not just the decision, but also the processes which supported making it.  Like asking a student to produce their work, this approach helps to identify potential flaws in the decision-making process, even as apparently successful conclusions may be reached.

Today’s big data push is fueled by cloud solutions and interconnected systems delivering more, and more detailed, data than ever before.  Further, analysis tools have evolved beyond summary reports in graphs and charts and now offer advanced data mining and visualization, and introducing a predictive capability based on trends and condition sets.  While the availability and access to business data increases, so does the responsibility of the organization to understand WHAT decisions it is looking to make improvements in, and to create a process to monitor the effectiveness of those decisions made and acted upon.

Make Sense?

J

  • Read more about using the cloud to extend “connectedness” beyond traditional boundaries
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