Tag: hosting technologies

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The Collaborative Online Model for Small Business Accounting Professionals

Accountants and bookkeepers serving small business clients are facing a growing problem – how to provide services that are valuable to the client in a way that makes it profitable for the provider.  Part of the problem is that small business, while they need quality accounting and bookkeeping services, have a hard time paying for it unless the person doing the work is sitting in the office producing tangible reports and paperwork all day long (and maybe answering the phone while they’re at it).  Accountants and bookkeepers working with a variety of small business clients can’t be profitable when they have to travel to client offices to do the work or pick up and deliver files and paperwork, and they certainly aren’t expecting to be the office receptionist while they’re there.

The solution for both is an online working model, where the outsourced professional and their client can both login together.  Each accesses the applications and data to get their work done, and is able to access when and where they need to.  Online accounting approaches help service providers increase their profitability at the same time they increase their level or range of service provided to clients.  With a collaborative online accounting model, professionals and their clients can work from anywhere at any time, giving both the freedom to focus on what needs to get done.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the bookkeeping or accounting solution has to be an “online” service, per se.  Looking at the accounting product alone isn’t often the best way to solve the mobility and managed service problem for the client, which is really what “online” for the client is about.  The fact that their service providers (accountants, bookkeepers, etc.) can also work in the system is of secondary benefit to the client.  The worst thing an accounting pro can do is tell their client they have to switch accounting solutions just to make it easier for the accountant or bookkeeper.  It makes sense to improve that situation, but accounting/bookkeeping isn’t generally the entire IT requirement for the business client.

An online working model enables collaboration with team members and providers alike.  Reducing or eliminating the requirement for sophisticated technology solutions is the key element, providing everyone the ease-of-use and security of server-based computing.   The real benefits include centralization of business application management, protection data resources, and the ability to more fully streamline business processes.   For many businesses, the earned benefit is increasing the capacity to do business profitably simply by making the current working model much more efficient and effective.   The benefits are there for both the client is collaborators to experience, and this is where the focus should be – on the benefit to the small business.

Accounting professionals can also seamlessly increase their own opportunity and value by embracing a collaborative online working model.  Through the use of outsourced bookkeeping, payroll services and other providers, accountants can increase or expand the services they offer to clients by seamlessly incorporating them into the overall offering.  An online approach makes this possible, and can position these valuable services as the key to client business success. Working online together, professional service forms and their contractors or outsourcers can work closer than ever before, and the accounting professional is positioned to deliver far more value to the business client.

An online working model improves the profitability of the professional practice, too. The movement of information from one place to another, the restructuring of information from one form to another… these are processes that represent the cost and inefficiency in the professional accounting office.  By working online in client accounting solutions along with the client, firms can reduce or eliminate redundant and time-consuming work that is the bane of the practice. Bookkeeping, property tax compliance work, payroll, HR and benefits administration – these are areas where outsourcing may make the most sense for the practice while enabling accountants to increase the overall value of service provided.

Does your professional practice offer valuable business services like these for your clients? Profitably?

A collaborative online working model can enable your firm to deliver the range of services business clients need most while improving the bottom line for both.

Joanie Mann Bunny FeetMake Sense?

J

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Moving to the Cloud While Retaining Your Investment in People, Process and Business Knowledge

Moving to the Cloud While Retaining Your Investment in People, Process and Business Knowledge

cloud-businessWhen businesses consider moving their information technology to the “cloud”, the problem is often approached with a thought that things will have to change dramatically in order to achieve a fully online working model.  In many cases, business owners are left believing that any business use of cloud technologies is the equivalent of changing software and systems over to SaaS solutions, enabling the much-desired anytime/anywhere working model.  What too many businesses aren’t being told is that there are a variety of ways to move to the cloud, and changing software and systems isn’t necessarily a prerequisite.

The benefits of a cloud computing model are many, with mobility and managed service being the most obvious.  Less evident are the potential cost savings, because the subscription approach to paying for IT services may, on the surface, look like an equivalent or even higher cost over time.  What isn’t being factored in to the cost (savings?) is the potential to improve processes and increase productivity.  These benefits are often achieved simply due to a centralized management and access approach, and are not necessarily attributable to the adoption of new software tools.

For many businesses, the cloud is the right answer for deploying and managing IT and should be considered first, before changing out the software and tools in use throughout the organization.   This approach has been widely adopted by businesses using Microsoft Exchange messaging solutions, where in-house Exchange servers are being replaced by outsourced Exchange providers and users experience the same functionality but with far better uptime and protection.  The same approach is working for businesses electing to move their in-house business software and systems to the cloud, engaging with application hosting providers to install and manage existing desktop and network applications and to secure business data on the host.  Users are able to access their native desktop applications via the cloud, allowing businesses to retain their investments in people, processes, and business knowledge.

Purists may contend that hosting of desktop applications is not truly “cloud”, but the terminology is far less important than the benefits businesses can achieve with a hosted application approach. For most folks, the “cloud” refers to Internet-based solutions and software delivered as a subscription service.   When desktop applications are deployed on remote servers and the environment is managed and protected by the service provider, it is pretty much a cloud solution.

Particularly as Microsoft and others continue to move away from packaged all-inclusive solutions for local installation, small businesses are finding that the cloud, hosted applications and remote access provide the answers to a variety of business IT problems.  Even more, those answers are being provided affordably, with a simplicity of setup not previously available, and with higher levels of service than was reasonably available with localized IT.

Information technology professionals at all levels are now recognizing that their small business and enterprise clients can experience many benefits with a cloud hosted and managed IT approach.  It doesn’t take a comprehensive application or process overhaul to begin improving internal IT operations for the business.  It makes no sense for a business to give up investments in training, process development, and people knowledge in exchange for a centrally managed and remotely accessible system.  Rather, the smart business takes the steps to solve the real issues of IT management and mobility while allowing users to continue performing their tasks and doing business as usual – only better  because the IT is now working for them.

Make sense?

J

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The Psychology of Small Business IT Adoption

Convincing small business owners to adopt and apply technology in their businesses is often a difficult thing to do.  While most business owners readily accept the need to have computer software to help them produce information and an email account to communicate with others, even such fundamental business solutions as a business website or computerized accounting system can be a hard sale.

Solution providers in every category are looking for ways to communicate the value of their products and services to businesses, and many do not consider that communicating value to a small business owner is not the same as communicating value to a larger and more established enterprise.  There is research available which discusses why small businesses adopt IT, and how the importance (weight) of various factors change as the business grows.  With small businesses fueling the economy and numbering far larger than their enterprise counterparts, it makes sense to understand just why small businesses buy.  It’s also interesting to note that this research revealed that the different characteristics of firms and individual executives “did not have a unique effect on adoption decisions”.   If the decision wasn’t impacted by characteristics of either the firm or individual executives, what does impact the decision?

An academic study by Icek Ajzen (Organizational behavior and human decision processes… University of Massachusetts at Amherst) discusses a theory called the Theory of Planned Behavior, and this theory was posed as a basis for predicting who would pursue a particular course of action or activity.  The idea is that “intentions to perform behaviours of different kinds can be predicted with high accuracy”, and that the prediction is based on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control.  Okay, but what does that really mean?

Intentions represent the strength of a person’s conscious plan to do something.  So, when someone intends to do something, like adopt an IT product or service, it means that there is a strong positive plan in that person’s mind to accomplish the activity.  However, having a plan in mind – no matter how strong or positive – is impacted by several elements: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control.

Attitude represents the belief that the activity will lead to a consequence that means something.  If you have a plan to adopt an IT solution, but then develop a negative attitude towards the likely outcome (consequence) of using the solution, adoption isn’t likely to occur.  On the other hand, if the belief is that the results or consequences of adopting and applying the solution will be useful, and deliver benefits in the areas intended, then the chances of deciding to make the purchase increase dramatically.

Another factor which weighs on the intent to do something is the pressure related to “subjective norms”, or what might be considered to be social factors.  These factors exist in the firm, in the customer base, with partners, and within the market.  As an example, it is an expectation that a business will have email addresses, computers, and other technology to support the business.  This is simply a normal expectation of businesses today.  It is also a requirement that businesses protect customer information, a requirement and normal practice from both a privacy and regulatory perspective.  It is this expectation and the pressure to be “normal” (a motivation to comply) that also weighs on the decision to act and adopt.

The final factor is perceived control, which comes down to the person’s perception of how easy or difficult it will be to do what they’ve got in mind.  Looking at various potential obstacles, and judging whether or not the business has the resources and capability to overcome them effectively, results in either a positive or negative impact on the intent.

All of these things are placed in linear order, and a straight line can easily be drawn as you move through the process.  It’s all about:

  • Intent,
    • the attitude towards adoption,
      • belief of expected outcomes and their value,
        • expectations and the motivation to comply with them, and
          • evaluating barriers and the adequacy of resources to overcome them.

Boiling it all down to a fairly simple explanation, businesses adopt IT because there is a conscious plan to do so, and that plan is supported by a belief that the solution will do good things for the business, the solution is a recognized (if not expected) approach, and the business believes it has adequate resources and capability to effectively handle it.

Make sense?

J

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Getting out of IT Jail

Getting out of IT Jail

I have a friend in the accounting/technology industry that spends way too much time on his business in-house IT.  He’s always futzing around with servers and workstations, fixing corrupted data files or PCs that won’t launch applications, and setting up remote access so he can work at home (which he never actually does because he’s at the office fixing IT issues).  More often than not, when I try to get time to chat with the guy, his response is “I’ll have to call you later; I’m in IT jail”.  As a side note, my friend is Doug Sleeter, a recognized leader in the world of small business accounting and among QuickBooks accountants, consultants and advisors.

My friend works a lot with different solutions and technologies designed to make it easier and more effective to get accounting and business information collected, processed, stored, and reported.  He reviews tons of different solutions each year, and looks for those he believes can truly make a positive impact in the life of a business owner.  My friend also, as he puts it, “eats his own dog food”, meaning that he actually puts into place many of the solutions which he finds to be beneficial so that he can experience their benefit in his own business.  His proven experiences then translate to support for the solution in the market.  People need to know that a solution will actually do what it is supposed to do, and many wait for someone else (someone they trust) to go first so they can use the customer feedback to help them make a decision.

My friend clearly recognized the growing value of cloud solutions and how implementing cloud-based services to solve specific business problems might be a more effective and affordable way to address growing business needs than with traditional ERP models or installed software approaches.  Using different tools that work together (his term for this is “chunkify” 🙂 ), even very small businesses could now affordably address the various operational and financial information management needs which exist at some level in all businesses.  Following along with his previous commitment to use and not just talk about these things, he began the process of selection and implementation of various cloud-based applications, tools and integrations for his desktop QuickBooks software.

No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.  thesis on Military Strategy, German Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke 

It was going great.  Application services subscribed to were working as expected, and all sorts of information was fairly seamlessly flowing to and from QuickBooks.  And then, it happened – his bookkeeper moved away and wasn’t able to work in the office where the accounting software and data were housed.  Take a deep breath. Okay, so back to the remote access thing, and more IT jail.

He worked diligently to create remote access for the now-remote bookkeeper, and remote desktop service worked OK, but it was “a pain to keep working, and it never could give the type of performance we were trying to give her”.  Go figure, the one piece of the puzzle left in the office was the one making everything else more difficult and costly.  He was in IT jail once again.

The final step was to get the QuickBooks software and company data out of the local network and in a safe and secure and fully-managed environment.  Particularly since QuickBooks is (in this case) the centerpiece of the business accounting system, it became essential to place it in an environment where it would be maintained, monitored, and protected by people who specialize in that sort of thing.  My friend, like most business owners, just didn’t have the time and resources to have the level of IT and management that an outsourced commercial service provider could offer.

See The Sleeter Group’s  QuickBooks and Beyond article Still Addicted to Desktop Software? Get it Hosted in the Cloud

Intuit even recognized that businesses needed a better way to run and manage their QuickBooks desktop software, so they created an accredited hosting program to allow service providers to offer application hosting and license management services to QuickBooks users.  My friend now uses one of these providers to host his QuickBooks and other desktop applications.  He still has all the integrations and features he had before, but isn’t required to spend time and productivity fixing hardware issues or software installation problems.  His software is installed, maintained, and actively supported by IT professionals who are focusing on nothing more than keeping his systems up and running.

In his own words, “the hosting move offloaded us from having to mess with providing access, and at the same time it improved performance and delegated the IT management”.

For a time my friend and his business went without a high level of IT management and support, but now he completely recognizes that he needs it and is finding it to be well worth the cost.   Now he’s got his own “get out of jail” card.

Make sense?

J

In case you didn’t know it, both Intuit and Sage have programs for service providers, providing authorization to host and deliver small business financial software products to direct customers.

Get information on Intuit’s Authorized Commercial Hosts for QuickBooks here, Get information on Sage hosting partners here.

If you need assistance deciding how to get your applications and business online, or selecting and implementing with a service provider, we can help.

Read more: Cloud Hold Out No More: QuickBooks Desktop Editions in the Cloud

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Turning to the IT Department When Times are Tough

When budgets get tight and the economic outlook is bleak, business owners and executives tend to turn to information technology departments and projects as a potential area for cost cutting. The reason for this is that many businesses view IT purely as a cost center, making it a prime target when driving to reduce operating costs. A survey by McKinsey & Company, however, reveals that the current trend is a bit different.  While the survey is a bit dated, the information it contains is as relevant today as it was then.

The research indicated that many non-IT executives “seemed to have a developed a healthier appreciation for their information technology functions” according to Joe McKendrick in an older ZD Net article on the subject. McKendrick mentions that business executives generally seem pleased with the way the information technology is helping organizations get through these difficult economic times, “navigating the rough seas” as he put it.

“The survey also suggests that organizations that took the most advantage of information technology going into the downturn may have come out the strongest” observes McKendrick.

The McKinsey & Co Study, authored by Roger Roberts and Johnson Sikes, reported that the economic downturn actually increased awareness of the role information technology can play in improving business processes and reducing costs. As for the quality of services delivered? The study revealed that non-IT executives largely believe their IT functions responded effectively to the economic crisis. A majority said current performance in providing basic IT services is very or extremely effective. In contrast, IT executives had a dimmer view of their performance, with only a minority being satisfied with service delivery levels.

There have always been questions about the alignment of information technology to the business need, and IT is often perceived as being out of touch with the business. In this research, McKinsey & Co indicate that IT executives are very aware of the issues of keeping up with the business and are finding innovative ways of addressing them.

Make sense?

J

If you need assistance deciding how to get your applications and business online, or selecting and implementing with a service provider, we can help.

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Licensing and Virtualization: Changes to SPLA May Impact Provider Cost Models

Licensing and Virtualization: Changes to SPLA May Impact Provider Cost Models

In many application hosting environments, machine and operating system virtualization provide the only realistic means for delivering services for applications which were never designed for high-volume multitenant implementation.  In these environments, providers rely upon technologies from Microsoft, VMWare, Citrix and Parallels to provide containment of application environments, creating frameworks where single-tenant applications and hosted infrastructure may be affordably offered to subscribing business customers.  Because many of the applications being hosted today do not conform to the various standards which exist for high-volume and multitenant delivery, providers have taken what we’ll call “creative” approaches to virtualized application and environment implementations.  Under certain licensing models, these approaches may be sustainable for a period of time.  However, recent adjustments to core licensing components and pricing from key providers, Microsoft in particular, may significantly impact the cost of service delivery for providers with less than optimized infrastructure.

One of the notable changes in the Microsoft SPLA (Service Provider License Agreement) is the treatment of Windows and RDS users in the “desktop as a service” model.  In previous editions of the SPLA, as was offered with 2008/R2 licensing and prior, providers could select from two different models when implementing service: the SAL-only (server access license) model, which applies on a per concurrent user basis to the infrastructure, or the PL (processor license) model, which applied to the processors installed in systems with Windows operating system and SQL server instances.

For high-density and multitenant environments, the per-processor approach is far more cost efficient to implement, as it allows the provider to create a scale economy with the infrastructure, leveraging hardware and resources across many subscribing tenants.  Reducing the cost model to a base infrastructure rate also introduced predictability and stability in recurring costs for the provider, even as subscriber numbers and subscription revenues increase.

The problem reveals itself with the providers deploying “not optimal” infrastructure, whether by design or due to legacy application requirements.  These providers rely upon the per-user pricing models to support access and usage to the infrastructure, largely due to the fact that the infrastructure has grown “out” and not “up”.  Deploying more servers and more VM instances allowed these providers to present legacy applications as part of a managed application service model.  While the management of the infrastructure is greatly complicated with this approach, it is often the only means to addressing the needs of popular “noncompliant” applications (such as Intuit QuickBooks and Sage 50).  With the SPLA changes introduced for Windows 2012, these service providers may be in a bit of a tough spot.  You see, the per-user option for licensing Windows server access is gone, and only the per-processor licensing model remains.

Microsoft is wisely addressing the needs of the market which is demanding more capability and affordability in terms of cloud-based access to applications.  These pricing adjustments are necessary to support the needs of service providers who are increasingly stretching their infrastructure investments to deliver higher user density at a lower per-user cost.  Further, application developers seeking new markets and delivery models are taking advantage of these virtualization approaches, creating hybrid and hosted solution models around their legacy application products.  The licensing approaches which support these higher density application deliveries introduce options for developers to optimize their applications for the hosted model rather than dealing with immediate comprehensive re-development (which isn’t an option for many ISVs – independent software vendors).

The IT world is forging ahead with cloud computing, high-capacity infrastructure, and heavily virtualized environments supporting larger numbers of users.  Software developers must take heed, and embrace these deployment models (or at least adjust to the point of supporting them) in order to have a chance at keeping pace in the anytime, anywhere world of today’s business technology.  This means working collaboratively with hosting service and infrastructure providers, crafting services which have the required scalability and incorporating a deployment model agile enough to take advantage of infrastructure licensing benefits as they are introduced.

What was a serviceable pricing structure yesterday may be an anchor holding your profitability down tomorrow.  Service providers – make sure you’re keeping a close eye on licensing requirements and delivery cost models, and consider that building up your infrastructure capability is often more cost efficient than building out.

Make sense?

J

BuildingUP.biz  |  CooperMann.com

Licensing for Hosted Application Services: Why it costs what it costs

read more about the confusion over hosted licensing on The Progressive Accountant http://www.theprogressiveaccountant.com/tech-tips/confusion-over-hosted-licensing.html