Changing the Paradigm…

In a meeting this week with a high ranking younger executive of a large organization, I learned that the desire to "keep a large IT organization in-house" when facing a new application deployment is still an often favored position, despite the virtues of the cloud being touted by industry giants and advisors alike in recent years.

I believe that the self-hosting paradigm will change dramatically over the next few years. But this experience made it painfully clear that even younger executives may be unaware of the benefits of remote computing.

In addition to the industry giants promoting cloud computing and SaaS applications, it remains necessary for client advisors to help executives understand that, under the right circumstances, the cloud is a very appropriate and viable solution.

Among other arguments, we should remind people that cloud computing:

• Shifts many business and information risks to the software vendor
• Enables businesses focus on what they do best-which is typically not running server support and end-user PC maintenance
• Offers far more secure, disaster-resistant data security than a business' own server rooms (or closets).

You can learn more about SingerLewak in this month's issue of Accounting Today, in the article, Blueprint for the future.