Cloud Accounting in Canada is becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. The advantages to computing in the cloud are numerous. It provides enhanced security, reduces cost, allows for virtually limitless mobility, and drastically improves the client’s experience. Cloud computing gives professionals the ability to access applications and files in real-time, from any computer, without the need for anything but an internet connection. The benefits of cloud computing become even more important when you consider the fact that many CAs do not provide services at or near their clients business location.
ELIMINATING THE ISSUE OF GEOGRAPHIC SEPARATION
Canada is a country spread out across many thousands of miles. This results in time eaten up by transportation and causes many financial professionals to lose productivity when out of the office or on the road. In order to better assist clients, Canadian accountants are looking towards the cloud. Having your software and files hosted by an authorized provider such as InsynQ allows you to access your apps and data from any internet connected PC, Mac or tablet. This means that the user can be on the road, at home, in a coffee shop, at a client’s office or waiting in an airport and still be given the same access as they would from their office. With hosted applications, there is no need to lock yourself into using your applications on just one device or at just one location.
CANADIAN APPLICATION HOSTING
Any accountant who has ever travelled can instantly identify the benefits of application hosting. Yet surprisingly, Canadian accounting professionals have not adopted the business model as quickly as their American counter-parts. In a recent Leger Marketing survey of more than 700 Canadian business and government leaders for Microsoft Canada, just 29% of respondents said their organizations had implemented cloud computing. By contrast, a 2011 poll by Sunnyvale, California-based technology firm Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. found that almost 75% of U.S. organizations were using or considering using cloud applications.
SHARING FILES WITH EASE
Eliminating the access concerns from a geographic perspective can be a dramatic time and money saver for Canadian accounting firms alike. For the larger bookkeeping firms, the ability to access and share files with offices located many miles away without the need of emailing large documents or mailing USB sticks is quite beneficial. Instantaneous access allows users in offices located throughout multiple provinces to edit and view their co-worker’s and/or clients’ data in real-time. This instantly boosts productivity thus eliminating cost. In addition to the accessibility features, it also eliminates the need for program updates or installations. Cloud computing therefore allows the accountant to improve their productivity by focusing more on their clients and less on their technology.
The accessibility and mobility offered by cloud computing quickly becomes a huge asset to any financial professional that integrates it into their business. With popular versions of Canadian applications like QuickBooks, Simply Accounting and the all new Sage 50 being hosted, there is an option for almost anyone to start working in the cloud.
How much of the poor adoption rates in CA are the result of people simply being slow to adapt to new technologies and how much is the result of active resistance by IT professionals uncomfortable with releasing some of their control over the security and platforms of those accessing corporate data?
Hey Kaito,
Although the demand for cloud computing services in Canada have yet to match the adoption rates of businesses in the US, we are noticing a huge increase in demand for application hosting services out of our Canadian datacenter. I think that part of the cause for slow adoption is due to the fact that much needed services are only now starting to be offered out Canada. Previously, application hosting was primarily based out of the US, India or Asia, which deterred Canadians from moving applications and data to the cloud.
As for the IT professionals…they are often the driving force behind many of the companies that decide to move some or all of their IT infrastructure to the cloud. A survey in 2011 revealed that 53% of professionals moved to the cloud due to ease of management. It basically cuts down the time and stress involved in managing employees IT needs. In addition, IBM has estimated that cloud computing has the potential to reduce overall IT costs (including hardware, software, maintenance, and operation costs) by as much as 29%. With the budget-conscious business environment that everyone is currently surrounded by, cloud computing simply offers professionals the ability to do more with less time and money involved.
For information on how secure cloud computing is out of our Canadian datacenter, check out http://cpaasp.com/site/about/canada.htm
Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for the reply. I hadn’t thought about the location of hosting for the cloud. That changes my perspective.