A new report developed by IDC (International Data Corporation, a global provider of market intelligence) provides a few interesting predictions for Information Technology in the coming year.  Not surprisingly, many of these predictions center around the same "ingredients of IT industry transformation" which were identified in past years as being disruptive technologies - cloud computing, mobile devices and applications, wireless broadband, virtualized infrastructure, social networking, and smart devices being among those listed.

 

We have all seen the rise in number and type of online and mobile application services, and if you haven't noticed that just about everyone has a smart phone, then you've got your head buried deep in the sand.  What this clearly indicates, and IDC supports it with quantifiable evidence, is that the "disruptive technologies" of yesterday have transitioned from early adoption to mainstream adoption.   This means that use of these technologies has pushed "well beyond" the first 10 to 15% of the market, and that later-adopting customers are ready to integrate these new solutions as core parts of their overall IT strategy.

If you don't believe that cloud computing, virtualization, and mobile access are becoming (have become?) mainstream, consider the staggering number and variety of mobile devices and networks available today.  The adoption of these devices is driven by the availability of broadband wireless service, and their use is fueled by applications offering "social business" and "pervasive analytics".  No longer limited as a voice communications device, the mobile phone has now become the mobile workstation, capable of supporting a wide variety of business and personal interactions and functioning, helping us to generate and analyze "unprecedented volumes of information".

IDC places an interesting focus on the impact of this new era of IT, believing that it is a launchpad for  the creation of "intelligent industry" with an IT-enabled "intelligent economy".  This doesn't apply only to those very large multinational corporations, like the IBM commercials about a smarter planet, and the commercials where the box tells us where it (and the delivery truck) is.  This new-found intelligence will allow businesses of all sizes to offer better and more customized services locally, dramatically expand their market reach beyond geographic boundaries, and to position themselves for accelerated growth. 
 

Business owners who find a way to leverage this new capability through innovative applications of cloud computing and mobile device access will almost certainly find that their businesses are better suited to addressing the needs of their current market, but are also poised to take advantage of emerging opportunities in emerging markets as well.

By the year 2012, IDC predicts that we will begin to see the "slow death" of cloud computing - the term, not the technology model.  Even though cloud computing is one of the hottest buzzwords in tech today, the model is becoming mainstream to the point where it will no longer be considered a new-fangled way of computing requiring its own descriptive name.  Rather, cloud computing is expected to become the norm... simply the way IT is done.

 

Here are some notable predictions for 2011 from IDC:

•  Emerging markets will generate over 30% of all IT spending
   
• Public and private clouds will drive 15% of IT spending (growing at 4 to 5 times the rate of the overall IT market)
• One half of the 2.1 billion people connecting regularly to the Internet will access the Internet through a mobile device (non-PC)
•  The "digital universe" of information and content will expand by almost 50% - to almost 2 trillion gigabytes

Cloud computing is really about using the Internet as the network, and leveraging computing infrastructure that others have already put in place to create an "economy of scale" that individual businesses typically can't afford.  Cloud services may be implemented to handle simple processes, such as using Stamps.com to produce postage, or they may be designed to address more complex business requirements, such as Salesforce.com for customer relationship management or NetSuite for enterprise resource planning.  In short, anything "cloud" is really just anything "Internet" - an application or service that you access online.
 

As businesses learn more about the advantages and benefits of cloud computing solutions, they also begin to see that the opportunities for personalization and customization frequently reduced.  For many smaller businesses, this isn't much of an issue, as their processes are fairly basic and straightforward.  There isn't much "customization" required when all a business needs to facilitate is simple invoicing, payments, and checkbook management.  Further, processes which are readily standardized in business - such as an accounts payable approval and payment process - may be fairly simple to address, as the requirements may be very similar among businesses of different types and sizes.  Solutions such as Bill.com have hit upon this reality, and are servicing the needs of a wide variety of businesses in this fairly straightforward business requirement (bill paying).

When a business looks beyond the standard processes - those processes which are fairly fundamental to every business - they begin to see where the unique requirements of their operations come in to play.  An example of this may be a construction business.  While the business has the same basic requirements as any other - pay bills, invoice customers, pay payroll, etc. - there are nuances to each of these processes which may be unique to the construction industry.  The business needs solutions which address their specific business requirements in addition to supporting the basic, fundamental processes.  In the world of "cloud computing" solutions, the tools required to meet these unique needs may or may not be available.  So where does the business go?

The cloud may still be the right answer, but the public cloud?  Maybe not so much.  Businesses need to understand that their cloud computing options are not limited only to those shared SaaS solutions where it is assumed one size fits all.  The answer may be found with an application service provider who can offer the managed service that cloud computing offers, as well as the flexibility of having access to the specific applications and tools required to properly support the unique requirements of the business operation.

One application service provider, CPAASP, offers both shared and custom application service deliveries for subscribers.  In addition, integrations to some of the most popular SaaS and Cloud solutions are available, creating a comprehensive and integrated IT environment.  This model allows businesses to leverage the infrastructure and scale economy developed around the delivery of standard applications and cloud services, and have a completely customized delivery of applications and services crafted specifically to meet the unique needs of their business.  The business gets managed service, remote access, standardization and control of their business computing platforms, and a single point of access to cloud services that work the way they need them to.

Wouldn't it be great if there was just one place where you could log in and see all of your client data, perform adjustments and report on that data?  There is with the Virtual Desktop service from CPAASP.

 

CPAASP Virtual Desktop services provide a great deal of flexibility when it comes to establishing a hierarchy of permissions for accounting firms working with their business clients.  From a single desktop login, an accounting professional can get realtime access to client accounting applications and data.  Additionally, the model can be extended to address the unique requirements of outsourced bookkeeping or contract worker relationships. 
 

Most small businesses need only one network permission level, because everyone uses the same applications and needs access to the same data.  This doesn't mean, for example, that they can't use QuickBooks usernames to control what a user can do from within the QuickBooks application.  It simply means that, if all users are QuickBooks users, then they all need the permission to run the QuickBooks program and access the company data file.
 

A professional accounting firm working with online clients needs to access the QuickBooks (or whatever) applications and data so they can work on their client files.  In order to prevent this professional from having to log into the network multiple times, CPAASP can provide a single login which will allow the professional to access all online data for clients associated with him.
 

When the client business user logs in to the system, they are provided with access to their own company data and applications, but have no visibility or access to any other businesses running on the network.  This provides a maximum level of privacy and security for the client businesses, while at the same time allows appropriate access by the accounting professional.  Applications which provide multi-user capability even allow the accounting professional to be in the data at the same time as the client, increasing the efficiency of working together to keep the books clean and complete.