Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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March 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 19 FEATURE interfaces among them, a connected system helps you respond easily in a world of constant change. But That Sounds Complicated Yet for ma ny f i r m s, a more con- n e c t e d p r a c t i c e - m a n a g e m e n t approach may still sound burden- some. Hardware must be purchased and sof ware deployed– then kept c u r re nt . A nd a m i s s ion - c r it ic a l practice-management system must be available whenever it's needed– a point not lost on GSK . "Being a south Florida frm, one of the things we're concerned about i s h u r r i c a n e s , " c o m m e n t e d Guthrie. So how can a grow ing frm gain the v isibilit y and discipline of a connected, comprehensive prac- tice management system– w ithout an even greater IT burden diverting focus away from clients? A Single Cloud For GSK, the answer lay in trusting practice-management to the cloud. Cloud systems are deployed outside y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n , t y p i c a l l y a c c e s s e d t h r ou g h t he I nt e r ne t . Sof t wa re a nd ha rdwa re a re com- pletel y e x ter n a l , a lt houg h u ser s e x p e r ie nc e t he s e S of t w a r e a s a Ser v ice (SaaS) applications pret y much t he sa me as s ystems inside your f rm. You gain the efcienc y you wa nt, but ca n leave sec u r it y, h a r d w a r e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , a n d sof ware maintenance to someone e l s e (t y p i c a l l y a p r o v i d e r w i t h dedicated expertise in these areas.) Tese advantages are probably why 4 6 percent of respondent s to a n Accenture sur vey feel the cloud w ill enable them to do business more quick ly, while 58 percent of those in a Forbes poll say the cloud gives them beter control of their data. Cost and reliabilit y advantages stood out for GSK: "It became ver y ev ident that a cloud-based solution wa s a bet ter f it , espec ia l ly a s we considered t he sta r t-up cost a nd business continuit y," commented G u t h r i e . " W e c o u l d b e m o r e focused on the frm's clients and the grow th of the frm, rather than how we secure the infrastructure." Like GSK, consider the cloud if you want your frm focused on fnancial and a c c o u n t i n g s e r v i c e s . A v o i d investing in a hurricane-proof data c e nt e r, a nd le av e h a rd w a re a nd s o f t w a r e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o someone else. Sunny Days Ahead Of cou rse, tr ust i ng sof t wa re a nd h a r d w a r e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o someone else a lso means your IT team can focus on something else. In freeing its IT team from cumber- some system administration, GSK f o u n d t r e m e n d o u s u p s i d e i n bringing more insight to their staf, translating into more value for their clients. A s GSK's senior IT leader, no one is more pleased by this than M a rk Gut h r ie . "O u r t r ad it ion a l focus is shifing to more of a stra- tegic role, beter ser v icing our end clients. It really has allowed us to br i ng more va lue to ou r cl ients– and in ofering beter ser v ice." Making the Move Don't spend any more time tr y ing to make sense of bad data, or more money tr y ing to maintain the sys- t e m s b e h i nd it . S e e how c lou d - based practice-management solu- tions can quick ly bring your f rm together on a single system. Leave ma intenance to someone else, so you can focus on ser v ing clients– and grow ing the frm. Register Today for the FREE Show 20th A nnual 2014 New Jersey Accounting, 2014 New Jersey Accounting, Business & Technology Show Business & Technology Show May 14-15, 2014 Weds-Th u rs Meadowl ands Exp osi ti on Center 355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, NJ at Harmon Meadows. Adjacent to the NJ Turnpike and Route 3 and major NJ roadways Rick Richardson CPA, CITP, CGMA Richardson Media & Technologies New Accounting Technol- ogy Predictions for 2014. iPhones, iPads, Mobile. 2 Free CPE credits Wed 8 am Register to Attend the Free Show, Wed-Thur in the Con ven ient Meadowlands. Free Parking. Low Cost Lunch Service. Free CPE Keyn otes Each Morn i n g from 8-9: 40 am wi th Two Free CPE Credi ts. Free Accou n ti n g Sh ow Featu ri n g Tax, Accou n ti n g, B us i n ess, Fi nance, iPad, iPh on es and Clou d- H ot N ew Systems for CPA Practi ces. Free Show. Free CPE Keynotes. Low-Cost CPE at $45/Day. Sponsored by the New Jersey Society of CPAs Education Foundation Register for Free Show Badge: www.flaggmgmt.com/nj CPA 0314 1-21.indb 19 3/24/14 9:37 AM