Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/432767
22 December 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com THE BLEEDING EDGE Technology Trends for 2015 Te economy was largely propped up by the tech sector, with Apple's soaring net worth and Samsung's rise (and eventual fall) in the smartphone industry. Startups abounded, culmi- nat ing the largest- ever tech I PO involving China's Alibaba. W hile much of the debate over immigration cen- tered on illegals and the path to citizen- ship, there was an equally critical batle being fought over geting visas to more skilled tech workers to fll thousands of vacant tech jobs. As for the impact of technology on health care, one only needs to say two words – "ACA web- site." Tat multi-million-dollar massive technology failure nearly crashed the entire program. Nor were these the only stories of note. On the more positive side was the rise of Bitcoin, the introduction of smart watches for the third time, and the integration of internet and social media into automobiles and airplanes. The Score From 2014 2014 was a year of unintended conse- quences and unforeseen developments that frankly made the year's predictions far less accurate than I would have hoped. Last year, we predicted with great conf - dence that 10 things would happen: • GPS devices would go the way of the w rist watch, largely replaced by smartphones. • Voice Command would become a major batleground. • Te desktop PC would face declining sales, but would not be dead. • Tax preparation systems would stage a recovery to become more central to accounting practices. • Computer security would begin to evolve. • Touch screens would be a bust. • Windows 8 would be…somewhat successful. But no more than that. • Technology costs would soar, espe- cially for cell phone data plans. • PC Gaming would stage a comeback against "game consoles." • App Stores would become a fading trend. Let's focus first on the ones that were wrong. Computer security did, indeed, evolve. Tat was only afer new generations of malware proved too much for the current "recognize the signature and patch" model that has dominated the anti-virus scene for the past three decades. Technology costs – particularly in the cell phone data plans – not only did not soar but have entered a period of free-fall. And app stores are now so prevalent that tech companies without one are seen as approaching their last days. We were right about most of the rest, or at least more right than wrong. And having fnished my cup of tea, let me stare at the leaves and make the predic- tions for 2015. 2015 Technology Trends • Smart Watches will prove a bust. Yes, they are the hotest new thing on the planet, and companies are rushing to get their versions to the market- place. Frenetic millennials are com - paring features and awaiting the next big smartwatch announcement. But there is a sad sense of déja vu in all of us who watched the "data watch" die a grisly death in its frst two stabs at the marketplace. Heck, I still own my old "Timex Data Watch" that synced with Microsof. Te problem with this technology, then and now, is that it is so cool and so trendy that no one is 2 2 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 • w w w . C P A P r a By Dave McClure Dave McClure is a consultant and widely published writer on technology issues. He can be contacted at dave. mcclure@cpapracticeadvisor.com I t has been a year of sweeping trends and high emotions. While many of the key issues might seem to have been outside of the realm of tech – the economy, immigra- tion and health care leading the list – that wasn't exactly the case.