We've come a long way in a few short
years
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2009 was a year of adoption for
accounting technology services
and solutions. The market has
recognized the need for client
portal technologies, online
application deliveries, and
centralized document management
solutions, and these services
are being integrated into
professional practices of all
sizes and types. Given the
current trend, it seems amazing
that just a few short years ago
there was nothing of the sort
available. In fact, it is
difficult to remember what it
was like without these tools -
and without the use of the
Internet. But it has not been
that long. Here is a brief
review of where it came from,
thanks to the
Hobbes' Internet Timeline.
1981 BITNET, the "Because
It's Time NETwork". 1982 DCA
and ARPA establish the Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet
Protocol (IP), as the protocol
suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, for
ARPANET 1983 Desktop
workstations come into being, many
with Berkeley UNIX (4.2 BSD) which
includes IP networking software.
1984 Domain Name System (DNS)
introduced; number of web service
hosts breaks 1,000. 1986 Mail
Exchanger (MX) records developed to
allow non-IP network hosts to have
domain addresses. 1987 First
TCP/IP Interoperability Conference
(March), name changed in 1988 to
INTEROP; Number of hosts breaks
10,000. 1989 Number of hosts
breaks 100,000
1990 Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) is founded by Mitch
Kapor. 1993 InterNIC created
by NSF to provide specific Internet
services:directory and database
services (AT&T) registration
services (Network Solutions Inc.)
information services (General
Atomics/CERFnet) US White House
comes on-line (http://www.whitehouse.gov/)
President Bill Clinton,
Vice-President Al Gore 1994
ARPANET/Internet celebrates 25th
anniversary. 1995 Main US
backbone traffic now routed through
interconnected network providers;
RealAudio, an audio streaming
technology, lets the Net hear in
near real-time; Traditional online
dial-up systems (CompuServe,America
Online, Prodigy) begin to provide
Internet access; A number of Net
related companies go public, with
Netscape leading the pack with the
3rd largest ever NASDAQ IPO share
value (9 August); The Vatican comes
on-line 1996 Internet phones
catch the attention of US
telecommunication companies who ask
the US Congress to ban the
technology (which has been around
for years)
1997
InsynQ delivers hosted
application services to first
client.
The explosive growth of the
Internet, and the rapid expansion of
solutions leveraging the network,
has introduced a broad range of new
capabilities and concerns for
businesses and individuals alike.
With information technologies
becoming more powerful and complex
on a daily basis, businesses
continue to seek ways to embrace new
solutions which deliver better
information and process support,
while at the same time attempting to
reduce risk and exposure.
InsynQ's managed application hosting
services represent a way to take
advantage of the Internet as the
network, delivering secure and
affordable IT services for the small
business and growing enterprise. We
help make IT simple, and we've been
doing IT since 1997.
Joanie Mann
InsynQ, Inc.
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QuickBooks Desktops
in the Cloud
The term "Cloud
Computing" is most frequently
used as another way to refer to
outsourced information technology
management - the servers, the
applications, and the data are
located and managed at a location
other than your own - usually by a
commercial service provider. SaaS,
or
Software as a Service, is
another name used for this type of
computing approach. "Cloud"
solutions are accessed via the
Internet, rather than being
installed on your own computer.
Application hosting is essentially
the same thing as Cloud Computing,
where the servers/applications/data
are provided and managed by a 3rd
party (outsourcer). Application
hosting is different from Cloud
computing or SaaS primarily in that
you may purchase your software
licensing rather than get it as part
of the service.*
This also means that you could end
your online hosting arrangement, and
install the software on your own
computers ("take your ball and go
home"). This capability does not
exist with most pure "cloud" or "SaaS"
solutions. For example, you could
not install Google email on your own
servers and run it in your own
network. It only exists on Google's
servers.
The most evident benefit of "cloud"
computing is anytime, anywhere
access to applications and data and
valuable business information.
These solutions allows users to
access resources and be productive
even when away from the office.
Cloud computing provides solution
for mobile workers, or users in
remote offices, too, and enables
"home sourcing" (using at-home
workers) or use of outsource
companies or 3rd party contractors.
Cloud computing can also solves
issues around having multiple
business locations.
"Cloud" computing, SaaS, and
application hosting can reduce or
eliminate the complexity of
information technology, and can
reduce the cost of implementing and
maintaining IT in a business.
Purchasing and installing servers
and networks is no longer a
requirement. Maintaining,
upgrading, and repairing all the
hardware and systems is the job of
the service provider. Installing
and updating application software is
done by the service provider, and
managing and protecting the data is
part of the solution.
InsynQ's application hosting service
is similar to cloud computing in
that it offers many of the benefits
of SaaS, but without the service or
vendor lock-in. Our application
hosting services allow the business
to maintain the option to select
additional (or alternative)
applications or solutions for
hosting, even
extending or integrating hosted
applications with other solutions
that may be SaaS or cloud-based.
One of the biggest benefits of
application hosting is that it
allows a business to retain the
option to return to localized
technology - installing products on
the local PC or network and ending
the hosting service arrangement. In
short, application hosting services
can help a business move to a cloud
computing strategy without having to
retrain users, convert data, or
reduce future software and systems
options.
Outsourced IT services and managed
application hosting can reduce IT
costs (or, at minimum, create
predictability in IT costs) while at
the same time delivering
improvements in
security, productivity and
performance. Application hosting
services allow the business to
implement new and complex solutions
without the high upfront investment
in hardware and networking
infrastructure. And most
application hosting services include
all system administration and
management, so ongoing costs of
managing and maintaining the systems
is part of the monthly service fee.
- Break/fix is no longer a
"surprise" IT cost, because the
service provider takes care of
that.
- Productivity losses are
reduced due to high availability
of systems and reduced
down-time.
- Protection of data reduces
potential for loss, avoiding the
need to rekey or recreate.
- Services can be scaled to
deliver as much or as little as
the business requires.
- End-user technical support
is typically included with the
service for no additional cost.
Moving to cloud computing via a
hosting service allows you to
improve your IT without retraining
users or converting data because you
can continue to use the software
solutions you already use. And
quality application hosting
providers give you high levels of
disaster recovery and can help
with business continuity in the
event of a disaster.
With InsynQ's hosted application
services, the business is no longer
dependent upon a single physical
location because services can be
accessed from almost anywhere.
Services are also no longer tied to
a specific computer or device, and
can be accessed from just about any
Internet-connected computer. InsynQ
services are delivered with high
levels of redundancy in the
datacenter to help keep systems
running, and tiered backups and
strict data management helps protect
against data loss.
How might your business benefit?
*InsynQ is able to provide
subscription (rental)
licensing for a variety of
applications such as Intuit
QuickBooks Pro and Premier,
Microsoft Office, Results
Small Business and
Enterprise CRM, Qvinci, and
PrintBoss from Wellspring
Software.
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Turning to IT When Times are
Tough
When budgets get tight and the
economic outlook is bleak, business
owners and executives tend to turn
to information technology
departments and projects as a
potential area for cost cutting.
The reason for this is that many
businesses view IT purely as a cost
center, making it a prime target
when driving to reduce operating
costs. A recent survey by McKinsey
& Company, however, indicates that
the current trend is a bit
different.
The new research indicates that many
non-IT executives "seemed to have a
developed a healthier appreciation
for their
information technology functions"
according to Joe McKendrick in a
recent ZD Net article on the
subject. McKendrick mentions that
business executives generally seem
pleased with the way the information
technology is helping organizations
get through these difficult economic
times, "navigating the rough seas"
as he puts it.
"The survey also suggests that
organizations that took the most
advantage of information technology
going into the recent downturn may
have come out the strongest"
observes McKendrick.
The McKinsey & Co Study, authored by
Roger Roberts and Johnson Sikes,
reported that the recent economic
downturn actually increased
awareness of the role information
technology can play in improving
business processes and reducing
costs. As for the quality of
services delivered? The study
revealed that non-IT executives
largely believe their IT functions
responded effectively to the
economic crisis. A majority said
current performance in providing
basic IT services is very or
extremely effective. In contrast,
IT executives had a dimmer view of
their performance, with only a
minority being satisfied with
service delivery levels.
There have always been questions
about the alignment of information
technology to the business need, and
IT is often perceived as being out
of touch with the business. In this
new research, McKinsey & Co indicate
that IT executives are very aware of
the issues of keeping up with the
business and are finding
innovative ways of addressing
them.
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About Us
InsynQ is an Application
Service Provider, delivering
quality hosted application
services to a broad business
audience since 1997. When
it comes to business
technology, we learned very
quickly that one size does
not fit all. This is why
InsynQ specializes in the
hosting and delivery of a
variety of applications and
business solutions - to
provide our subscribers with
the complete functionality
they need to operate their
enterprise.
InsynQ believes in working
together with software
developers and ISVs to
ensure that your hosted
application delivery
performs as it should, and
we work with channel
resellers to connect
customers to the
implementation, service and
support resources they need
to get the most out of each
solution. It is our goal to
be a good business partner
for our ISVs, resellers, and
subscribers, and to
continually grow our
"application ecosystem" to
incporate the solutions and
services businesses need.
Thank you for subscribing to
our newsletter to learn more
about our philosophy and
solutions. We look forward
to working with you.
Joanie Mann, Managing Editor
CPAASP: The e-Accounting
Center
3220 Rosedale St
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335
866-206-1781
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In This Issue |
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QuickBooks Desktops in the Cloud
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Turning to IT When Times are
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