{"id":9626,"date":"2010-11-07t19:31:28","date_gmt":"2010-11-07t23:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=9626"},"modified":"2010-11-10t03:01:02","modified_gmt":"2010-11-10t07:01:02","slug":"can-the-it-guys-get-some-respect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2010\/11\/07\/can-the-it-guys-get-some-respect\/","title":{"rendered":"can the cpa techies get some respect?"},"content":{"rendered":"

and will “the cloud” make them obsolete?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"david
david bergstein<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

there’s a\u00a0 good conversation underway at a posting by david bergstein, “cloud based services or internal technology departments\u2026 do we need them?<\/a>”<\/p>\n

bergstein, cpa.citp and director of strategic relationships for cch, poses two good questions:<\/p>\n

1. are cpa firms ready to “relinquish applications to a cloud environment?”<\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

2. how can it partners and directors be taken more seriously as “strategic members of the firm, rather than non-billable maintainers of hardware and software.”<\/p>\n

the answer is critical at this moment in the development of cpa firm competitiveness. if only the it “guys” (and “gals,” of course) understand the transformational potential of cloud computing, then many firms will be left behind.<\/p>\n

bergstein’s post has already attracted some heavy-duty attention from major industry figures.<\/p>\n

randy johnston<\/strong> dismisses the fears of security, saying, “cloud providers often have better security than is maintained by accounting firms themselves.”<\/p>\n

dr. bob spencer<\/strong> differs a little: “the cloud cannot be looked at as the right choice for all.”<\/p>\n

val steed<\/strong> is distinctly worried: “we are headed for a bandwith wakeup call this tax season. firms that move to the could must be able and willing to deal with the cloud going down… for most firms i still think lans are the solution until we can solve the bandwidth issues… “<\/p>\n

roman kepczyk<\/strong> addresses the concerns of it managers head-on: “with the increased interest in cloud computing and the perception that many applications can run just as well externally, i believe that internal network administrators will find it even more difficult to position themselves as a \u201cstrategic asset\u201d without individually identifying, analyzing, and promoting solutions that increase firm productivity. we would encourage them to attend the association meetings, where they have the opportunity to network with peer administrators to identify what is making firms more effective and capturing the information to bring back to their own firms.”<\/p>\n

what do you think? tell us in comments.<\/a><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n