CPA Practice Advisor

DEC 2014

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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December 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 23 THE BLEEDING EDGE asking the basic question, "Why is it needed:" Because if it is not needed, it is just a piece of costume jewelry. • Voice Command still won't work well. Sadly, Nuance seems to have captured the market for this tech- nology at present, with its Dragon Naturally Speaking and cell phone products. Nuance is a fne company with excellent products, but needs competition to spur it to greater things. Te current Version 13 of DNS is litle enhanced over Version 12.5, and neither does the job nearly as well as advertised. Meanwhile Microsof and Google remain MIA in this batle. • Consolidation will strike the per- sonal cloud storage market. Quick, how many companies are ofering you free cloud storage for your files? Outside of the big companies like Microsof and Google, there is your cell phone device manufacturer, your cellular service provider, scores of star t-ups, and your PC or tablet manufacturer. Te larger and more successful of these will lose market share when they begin to charge for the storage, as they must. Te larger companies can aford to hold the line to force the startups out of business, but must eventually batle one another for market leadership. • Digital Signature Pads will become popular peripherals. Te e-signature pad has to be one of the most under- rated pieces of hardware in the market- place. Imagine have the means to sign a document with a legally-acceptable scrawl, and then duplicate it as neces- sary for forms and mailings. Inexpen- sive, and with decent sofware to assist, this is a piece of hardware that should top the frm's list of technologies to evaluation as soon as tax season is over. (Note: Do not ever introduce new technology in the middle of tax season unless you have a death wish.) • Dedicated Gaming Consoles will begin their death-spiral. We touched on this subject last year, but before you run out to buy the newest model of Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo, be aware that they are fading, for two reasons. First, there is no room in the family living room for machine that hogs the television, and efforts to make the consoles less "gamy" failed. Second, PCs are proving more adept, easier to upgrade and less proprietary than the old consoles. Develop a game for the PC, and run it on any PC. • Windows 10 will be just as bad as Windows 8. It is supposed to be the end of the Windows line, the mega operating system that will bring back the customers lost in the debacle of Windows 8 (and equally bad 8.1), bridging the gap until the NEW and WONDERFUL new operating system can make its debut in 2016 or 2017. But don't hold your breath. This kludge is already starting to look and smell like the bastard child of Win- dows 7 and Windows 8. Most of the stuf we liked will be changed so as to be unrecognizable, the stuf we hated will still be around, and the new fea- tures may or may not make any sense. If Microsof isn't careful, this truly could be the end of their operating system dynasty. • Streaming video sites will begin the inevitable consolidation. Netfix, A m a z o n , H B O 2 G o, Co m c a s t , DirecTV, Hulu, YouTube, Warner, RedBox — the list is endless, with more joining the fray every day. Does anyone believe that people have the time – or the money – to subscribe to a diferent service for every study and distribution service? It is a miracle that all but the top three have not collapsed already. But they will, and it will not take much longer. Some are hoping (e.g., Netfix) that they can produce compelling original series and movies to hold their positions. Tat may be possible, but the compe- tition will nonetheless be ferce. • Health Care database protection will be a disaster. Te databases of Health.Gov, the ofcial site for the Affordable Care Act, have already been hacked. As have some of the databases of insurance companies that draw from Health.Gov. Te insecurity steams from three sources: 1) The government itself does a shoddy job of computer security. Te agency that holds all of our most personal fnancial data, the Internal Revenue Service, scores at the bottom of the list for computer security, including the recent announcement that agency personal have "lost" thousands of laptops chock full of our data; (2) Federal law prohibits health care entities from actually sharing data, so there is no way to centralize and protect it; and (3) Te government is facing a shortage in training IT secu- rity experts to tackle the problem. • Cellular data plans will cease to exist. It is amazing they have lasted this long, and they have only done so at the three largest carriers. Te truth is that data plans and data caps will disappear as soon as the companies have paid for the physical infrastruc- ture, which is looming. Cellular pro- viders are slowly lowering their grips on the data markets, and we may expect to see one of the three break ranks and ofer truly unlimited data in 2015. • 2015 will be a year of unparalleled innovation. Not because technology innovation itself is moribund, but because the people who normally fund the innovation have been on the side- lines the last few years. Political pres- sure will come to bear on companies to bring back to the US the money they have stashed in overseas accounts – and make it lucrative from a tax standpoint to do so. At the same time, expect an infux of new tech workers and incen- tives through R&D; tax credits, and you have the perfect environment for investment and innovation. Te year 2015 will prove the end of many cherished concepts, from smart watches to data plans. But it will also yield a bonanza in new and useful technologies, from the all-digital home to the rise (again) of the versatile PC. For accounting frms, this means that 2015 will be a good year to evaluate new technologies, adopt one or two best suited to their needs, and avoid those that are most fashy and cool. FOR ACCOUNTING FIRMS, THIS MEANS THAT 2015 WILL BE A GOOD YEAR TO EVALUATE NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ADOPT ONE OR TWO BEST SUITED TO THEIR NEEDS, AND AVOID THOSE THAT ARE MOST FLASHY AND COOL.

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