Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Robert Baumann — 33 Chief Architect – ProSystem fx SaaS, CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business Reno, Nevada Education: B.S. Computer Science, California State University, Chico Hobbies: Cycling, Homebrewing What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? If I have to pick one piece of technology I could not live without, it would be the Internet. I have half a dozen devices that access the Internet, but it's the Internet itself that's indispensable. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? IBM – they have focused heavily on innovation, and have successfully undergone one of the largest and most impressive business transformations in history. What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? CCH has made tremendous investments in technology, with its ProSystem fx SaaS and IntelliConnect platforms. ProSystem fx Portal, which allows accounting firms to exchange client documents of any size confidentially and securely through the cloud (instead of printing and mailing them), experienced faster adoption in 2010 in the United States than any other solution in CCH's history. We also continue making investments in improving electronic Document and Workpaper manage- ment applications, along with Electronic Filing. With our SaaS operations, we have fully embraced virtualiza- tion technologies, which increase our energy and resource efficiency. How many monitors do you have on your desk? Until recently, I had four. Now, I have a single monitor on my desk, and I use my laptop screen as a second monitor. Do you embrace cloud computing? I've focused my professional career on developing Internet-based solutions. With CCH, I'm proud to be a part of the teams that have brought Global fx and ProSystem fx SaaS to the market. With respect to consumer cloud, our company has made the SaaS business model its strategic direction. We are also creatively experimenting with public cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon and IBM, balancing customers' needs for extra computing capacity during peak season with their concerns for data security. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how con- cerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? Cloud computing is making a significant impact on the accounting profession – profes- sionals are sharing documents digitally with each other and their clients. Access by accountants to their clients' informa- tion, their firm practice management tools or the latest research can be enabled from anywhere. The cloud opens up a number of new possibilities for mobility and collaboration across the globe. Security is certainly an issue on everyone's mind, and I'm proud of the measures that we've taken at CCH to address these concerns. These include the use of the latest encryption technologies and a world-class data center environment. Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+) as a marketing tool for your business … or do you use such sites for personal use only? I regularly login to LinkedIn and Google+ for personal use. While we see some businesses experi- menting with social marketing, we are mostly concen- trating on leveraging social channels to gather customers' feedback, and enable sharing of their experience using tools such as KnowledgeConnect. What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social net- working etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? Social networking is still young – there are some things that I share with my family like pictures of my son that I don't want to share with the public at-large. There should be boundaries with regards to what we communicate and who we communicate it to. Unfortunately, these boundaries are often fuzzy, so a good rule of thumb would be to only post information to social media that you would feel comfortable sharing with the world. Do you foresee the majority of firms still implementing servers for the majority of their computing in their offices five years from now or do you think they will be this component to vendors who specialize in this area? Over the next five years, I see a movement towards cohesive vendor-provided solutions to drive productivity and mobility, rather than mixing and matching locally installed software. Using the SaaS model also allows accountants to stop worrying about data backup and recovery, patching and other maintenance, so that they can concentrate on what they do best – serving their clients. I'm really excited about this movement, and I think we can make a quantum leap forward in helping professionals get the data that they need, when and where they need it. What are some of your favorite TV shows and maga- zines? I'm a science fiction nerd, and I don't miss an episode of Fringe. I also enjoy reading business maga- zines such as Fortune and Inc. Cell phone: Motorola Droid – I like the slide-out keyboard. What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app, and why? I play iPad mini-games with my children, but they are very addictive! Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? I am a Google+ user, and I like that in Google+ I can select who to share each post with. What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? I follow cycling races and baseball games. CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND Seven of our 40 are from California, of which, three are from the city of Irvine. Florida was the second most-represented state with four honorees, and two from Jacksonville. Overall, our 40 came from 18 states and two Canadian provinces. 8 Back to Contents Page 3