Intuit Injects Note of Caution on Cloud

Richard Koreto for AccountingWeb writes: AccountingWEB recently conducted an email interview with Intuit's David Bergstein, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Regional Strategic Account Manager in the Accountant & Advisor Group. What does one of the most important players in the accounting technology space think about the cloud and other technology issues?

Who should be moving to the cloud: Big firms? Small firms? Everyone?

Who should move to the cloud depends less on firm size and more on the possible benefits firms can receive from the transition. The general goals of large and small firms will be the same, but large firms may just take those goals one step further.

Despite size, every firm should think about the answers to these questions when considering a transition to the cloud:

• Will it provide a more efficient workflow and automation of tasks?
• Does it save more time?
• If it exceeds present costs, what is the return on investment?

Based on the answers to the above, a firm can decide whether a move to the cloud is the right decision. Weigh the costs and benefits of the cloud, and the answer should be clear. 

What are the key things—possible pitfalls—you should know about moving to the cloud?

When considering a move to the cloud, a firm should view the transition as a change in "operating systems" and plan accordingly. Firms should develop a plan that transitions everything in a systematic way, ensuring all applications and solutions function together. Similar to the way a firm would approach any major business change, when transitioning to the cloud, firms should create a document with the designated goals and outcomes for the change, including what needs to be adjusted to meet those goals. They should also develop a way to track how the solutions being implemented are solving for desired outcomes.

There will of course be challenges when migrating to the cloud, and these challenges are the same for any size firm, though in a large firm the magnitude of the data conversion, and administrative need to monitor permissions and users, are both greater. To avoid pitfalls, as mentioned, firms should be ready with a checklist of what they need to do throughout the process, from start to finish. Things to consider:

• Is the firm moving one or all applications to the cloud?
• If a firm is using a desktop application for bookkeeping and payroll, is it moving both?
• What steps should be taken to ensure all data is transitioned to avoid re-entering data?

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