Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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THE BLEEDING EDGE Is It Time To Dump Tech Consulting? A Dave McClure Mr. McClure is a consultant and widely published writer on technology issues. He can be contacted at dave.mcclure@ cpapracticeadvisor.com s you know if you have read this column for any of its 20 years, I am not an accountant. I am a writer, which was enough to get me through the core accounting courses for my MBA. And I am a geek, which enabled me to ride the wave of technology in the eighties and aſter into the accounting industry. I say that so that you know I have the utmost respect for the role of technology consulting in many accounting firms. We were the ones who brought computers into the enterprise, and into small busi- nesses. We set them up, configured the hardware and soſtware, analyzed the best solutions, and ultimately brought accountants to the Cloud. And so that you will know that I am serious when I wonder if it is time for the industry to give up technology consulting as a service. This is hardly news to many firms, which long since gave up computer and technology consulting in favor of ERP, or CRM, or even payroll services. Most accounting soſtware has long since moved to the Cloud, giving up the every-other-year upgrade cycle and the quarterly updates that used to be the mainstay of the industry. As for computers themselves, we really don't troubleshoot them anymore. If the Geek Squad can't get to them within 24 hours, we just replace the computer and initialize its hard drive from a virtual server in the Cloud. So the question remains. Is it time to dump tech consulting? No, it is not. But it is time to change how we manage that area of the practice. Hardware is still at the core of what accountants do each day, even if that hardware leans more toward tablets and touchscreens than PCs and printers. Soſtware is still the heart of the industry, even if it is not installed locally and we have to (joyously) give up archiving old copies of tax soſtware. Te old days of technology consulting have gone the way of the green eyeshade and the abacus, and the technology practices of accounting firms need to scramble to keep pace. After all, had accounting technology departments done their jobs, our clients would have been securely in the Cloud years before it became popular with Amazon customers. Te technology practices of the major accounting firms need to change. Tey need to pick up the mantle of beta testers for their clients. Tey need to push the bleeding edge of technology, and help their clients – especially those too small to have their own IT departments – extract greater productivity from technology. For the past few years, we have let our clients lead us in new technologies, and 32 October 2012 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com that has to change. Tey look to us as trusted partners, and keepers of knowl- edge. We need to rise to that challenge, and become better at what we do in technology. And not coincidentally, this magazine is a place to start. It is one of the few with blogs dedicated to technology news. It is the magazine that has led the renaissance of Macintosh products within accounting. It is the place to find the best information about Microsoſt products, from SharePoint and Windows to Office and Communications Server. We are not alone. AICPA maintains a robust technology section. Other maga- zine devote time and effort to technology subjects, from annual reviews of soſtware to the mechanics of document manage- ment. And throughout the industry, integration and customization specialists are tailoring accounting solutions to the specific needs of clients. No, it is not time to ditch technology consulting. But it is time to evolve that practice to the needs of clients in the 21st Century. REALITY CHECK A compendium of ideas, products, rants and raves from the viewpoint of the author. You can share your ideas by sending them to Dave.McClure@CPA- PracticeAdvisor.com. WEBSITE OF THE MONTH: Windows 8 Preview (windows.microsoſt.com/en-US/ windows-8/release-preview). Te Windows 8 Preview is out, ramping up for release of the new operating system in November. I don't know of anyone who has a spare computer siting around to run this on, and no one in their right mind would put a preview version on a machine used for work. But the site itself is worth viewing, if just for the learning experience. Curiosity. For those of us who grew up with the space race – and saw the benefits of NASA research, from personal com- puters to microwave ovens – the nation's decision to abandon space to other countries was nothing short of tragic. Now a small Mars rover has again fired up our imagination, and may lead us back into the exploration of our own final frontier. HDMI Connections. Turns out that the reason so many of the big screen television sets carry such a low price tag is that they use generic, low-quality sub-sys- tems. Like the circuit boards that control the sound. Or, more commonly, the ones that control the HDMI connec- tions for better pictures and sound. Companies are now low-balling these simple components, so that the least litle power surge fried the board and turns your television into 60 inches of useless junk. Caveat emptor. Te User Interface Formerly Known As Metro. Yep, Microsoſt is already distancing itself…well, fleeing, actually, from the "Metro" name. Is it really that bad? No, it is mostly just new and unfamiliar. But corporate IT managers are already flinching at what it will cost to train business users on how to work without a "Start" buton… Facebook. Its value is now less than half of what it was when the company went public, and there are calls for Mark Zuckerberg to step down as chairman. Can things get any worse? Aſter all, the company still doesn't have much of a business model beyond stealing your personal data to sell to advertisers. Can't wait to see what it looks like a year aſter its IPO. National Weather Service. I've used one weather site after another in the endless quest to learn about tornadoes sometime before 30 minutes aſter they pass. Same with snowstorms. Until now, geting up to the minute weather information (especially on weekends, when no one seems to be working) has been impos- sible. Now the US Weather Service has put its own site online at www.weather. gov. It's an excellent site, and one I recommend. Hands down.