Tag: sage 50 hosting

Posted on

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

Posted on

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

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Remote access to client bookkeeping comes in many forms because clients come in many forms

There are a lot of conversations in LinkedIn and other groups, where bookkeepers and accountants are discussing their various methods of accessing client QuickBooks data and applications remotely.  While these conversations are quite helpful for some folks, there are others out there that simply get confused due to all of the possibilities.  There are many ways to work remotely with QuickBooks clients, and there are a lot of different situations where one approach may work better than others.

The key to remember here is that REMOTE ACCESS MATTERS.  Time and distance is the enemy when it comes to outsourced bookkeeping, and whether you like visiting your clients or not, having remote access to their data can be the key element in providing the highest level of service and value possible.  Remember when PCanywhere became available, and we were all excited because now we could use a modem to dial directly in to the client PC?  OK, maybe I’m talking to a crowd that’s too new to remember that excitement, but believe me, remote access is something all outsourced accountants and bookkeepers have been looking for.  Now that really good options are available (a lot of options), it makes sense to get a better understanding of what you can and can’t do with various remote access approaches.

First, when you’re looking at any true SaaS solution (true being a relative term, but here we mean an app service that was built for the web and is offered as a subscription model), consider that the solution exists only on the web, and that when a business subscribes they are generally subscribing to a single company data set.  Unlike QuickBooks desktop, for example, where you can have numerous company data files, QuickBooks Online and other SaaS solutions generally build a single company data file associated with the subscription.  When you want to access different companies, you may have to log in as a user of the company you’re accessing.

If you’re an accounting professional, there may be an edition or approach that allows you to connect to multiple client accounts, but then again, there may not be.  So be prepared to have to log in as each individual client to access their data.  When this becomes the situation, what’s the difference between one client having QB Online and one using Xero, Wave, FreshBooks or Kashoo?  None, really, other than the fact that you need to get to know all of the solutions a bit.  As a bookkeeper or accounting professional, this shouldn’t be so much of an issue, as debits and credits and basic accounting theory doesn’t change with the accounting software (basic “accounting theory” isn’t really available for redefinition).

The other thing to recognize about these solutions is that the data belongs on the web with the app, so it’s not like you’ll be copying the data file to your PC to work on.  You might export the data to another solution, but you won’t be using the SaaS solution offline.

If the client isn’t using a SaaS solution, then it is likely a desktop solution, where the application is installed on their local PC.  This type of solution – QuickBooks desktop editions being the most popular and easiest example to work with – gets installed and runs from the PC.  Data may be stored on the PC or on a network hard drive, but the program is running locally on the user’s computer, and is using resources on the local computer (memory, processor, etc.).  There are only a few ways to make this type of application into something you can access remotely, and one of them is by using a remote control approach.

Remote control is where one computer connects to and controls certain aspects of another.  This is like the old dial-up approach, using PCanywhere-type applications to control one computer from another.  These days, the Internet rather than a dial-up phone connection is the preferred method, and there are web service providers which “broker” the connection and communication between computers, providing added features and layers of security.  Using a remote control solution (examples are LogMeIn or GoToMyPC) simply allows the user on one computer to control the keyboard and mouse, and view the display, of a remote computer.  It doesn’t matter what is running on the remote, so a bookkeeper could use this approach to access a client PC and QuickBooks desktop applications and data, or even to connect with the client so they can log in to QuickBooks Online or Xero together.

Some bookkeepers work with their clients, showing them how to do things and connecting to client resources in order to get work accomplished.  Others connect using their own resources or accounts, and work concurrently with the client.  Still others may export data from the client solution into their product of choice, not even working within the client application at all except to make adjustments and data exports.  It all depends on the collaboration model you and the client have going, and it is unlikely that any single model or approach will work for the entire client base.

QuickBooks hosting introduces a bit of a wrinkle in the concept, but not much of one.  Really, hosted QuickBooks desktop editions should be viewed to be not less and not significantly more than a QuickBooks Online or other SaaS approach.  If the client would benefit from working online (most client would), then having them host their QuickBooks desktop applications and data with a hosting provider makes sense.  However, just because the client is hosting their QuickBooks doesn’t mean that you should immediately assume that you’ll have access to their applications or data.  Like with a SaaS solution, you’ll likely have to have an account to log in with, and that account could be a separate login allowing you to work at the same time as the client, or the account could be one that is shared with the client and where only one of you can log in at the same time.

Since a hosted solution is accessed online just like a SaaS solution is, you don’t have to have the software installed on your own PC, and you only need an Internet connection to access the application and data at any time.  A major difference of working with a hosted solution is that you could possibly have the application installed on your PC, and could copy the data from the host and work on it offline.

With all of the options available, accountants and bookkeepers have realized that the selection of client collaboration approaches depends on a number of factors, and that professionals may end up applying an unlikely combination of solutions in order to address meeting various client preferences as well as their accounting needs.

Make sense?

J

Read more about hosted QuickBooks desktop editions

Read about the race to find the secret sauce of hosted application services for small businesses

Posted on

Knowing Your Options: Hosting QuickBooks for Shared and Remote Access

Intuit’s QuickBooks financial applications, the desktop editions in particular, are the most popular small business accounting solutions on the market.  The QuickBooks Online Edition, Intuit’s cloud-based contender, is not quite as accepted among accountants and advisors for a variety of reasons.  Being in the cloud isn’t necessarily one of those reasons, if you consider the growing demand for access to multi-user cloud-hosted QuickBooks desktop editions.  Mostly it comes down to functionality and how the application operates.  QBO just isn’t like good old desktop QuickBooks and isn’t the preferred solution for many financial professionals or their clients.  Yet these users still want and need remote access and mobility.  This is where hosting comes in.

QuickBooks hosting and creating the ability to access QuickBooks applications and data remotely is something that a lot of businesses can benefit from.  Whether it’s to outsource the management and maintenance of servers and systems to a 3rd party, or to create the ability for remote workers or contractors to collaborate with real-time applications and data, there may be a need for a hosted application approach.  Business owners and IT managers need to give consideration to the level of service and support they and their users will need before selecting their provider.  Knowing what the provider will handle and what the subscribers are responsible for might make all the difference in determining the right approach.

In-House DIY Hosting

Local networks and PCs allow users in the same location to share resources, like printers and data storage locations.  Typically, desktop computers have application software installed on them, and use the network to access shared data.  When users work outside of the network, getting access to applications and data might not be so easy.  Even extending the network via VPN access doesn’t solve the problem when the desktop applications are not designed to access data over remote connections (desktop applications like QuickBooks).  It used to be that the only reasonable way to allow remote users to access and run QuickBooks as if they were inside the LAN was to set up remote desktop or application servers (terminal servers).  MyQuickCloud is a product that addresses this need very gracefully, providing in-house personnel with the tools necessary to establish a secure cloud for QuickBooks access directly from existing on-premises systems.

Co-location and Outsourced Infrastructure (IaaS)

Instead of setting up remote access solutions in the office, many IT departments find that co-location with a 3rd party addresses a number of issues.  Leasing equipment, operating system and virtualization tools may be more cost-efficient than purchasing them directly, and the security and redundancy in most hosting facilities far exceeds what most businesses are able to afford to implement by themselves.  Co-location provides managed service for infrastructure elements, but doesn’t necessarily address business needs in terms of user security or application and data management.  These elements are traditionally left up to the subscriber; installing and configuring software applications, establishing user and application permissions, and managing updates and software upgrades.  For this reason, co-location may be a good option for a business with internal IT staff, but not necessarily for businesses seeking “full service” application hosting.

Application Service Providers (ASP) and Managed Application Hosting

Application hosting service providers handle software installation and management, user and security administration, and ongoing technical support as part of the subscription service.  Customers need only to provide their software licenses, name users and upload data in order to use the service.  The service provider does the software installation and configuration, sets up the users and establishes permissions, and connects users and applications to managed data storage.  This model allows businesses to enjoy many of the benefits of a cloud-based or SaaS solution model while also allowing them to continue to use software solutions they are already invested in, in terms of both software licensing and process development.  On the other hand, these models can be extremely restrictive in terms of the applications or integrations they will support, and can be quite costly as the number of users or applications hosted increase.

Whether you roll your own (DIY hosting) or work with a full service QuickBooks host, accessing business applications and data from anywhere is an option every business can take advantage of.

Make sense?

J

Read about the race to find the secret sauce of hosted application services for small businesses

Posted on

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