Today, there are many great desktop applications that have served our firms and our clients very well, such as various QuickBooks ® Desktop apps, but where the market is leading us is to the cloud, where real-time, immediate collaboration is supported. Essentially, this means that the technology helps us get from where we are today to where we should be tomorrow. If we agree that collaborating is valuable, the real question is: “Is SaaS/cloud or hosted the better solution?” Many thought leaders in the profession feel that “hosted” is a transitional technology. The value of these solutions is overtly clear. Compare this to working on desktop applications, where real-time communication and data sharing with clients is not possible. Real efficiency is only realized when both the accountant and client have access to information when and where needed. Both SaaS/cloud-based and hosted solutions enable firms to create a collaborative environment where information can easily be exchanged and accessed between staff and clients.
#SOFTWARE CATEGORIES SAAS CLIENT SERVER DESKTOP SOFTWARE#
Hosted solutions mimic SaaS applications, allowing users to operate desktop software via the Web and enjoy some of the same benefits as a SaaS solution (convenient online access, anytime-anywhere capabilities and other benefits).īoth categories of solutions offer value to accountants, primarily in the form of elevated client service. Hosted solutions – These solutions are typically written to run as a desktop version, but due to the value of anytime-anywhere access, they’re moved to a data center where they can be accessed online.These solutions are not offered in desktop versions they are only offered via the Internet and accessed with a unique URL (e.g., ).
Some classic examples of SaaS/cloud-based applications are Intuit Tax Online, QuickBooks Online, , SmartVault and. SaaS (Software as a Service), or cloud-based applications, are written to run natively over the Internet (or in the Cloud). SaaS/the cloud – These terms, in my mind, are truly interchangeable.Let’s examine these terms and work to make sense of it all. But, before you can do that, you must be clear on what each means.
You simply have to know which is the right choice for your practice. The fact is that each type of solution – whether it’s described as in the cloud, SaaS or hosted – offers true value to today’s busy firm. At every turn these days, you hear the buzzwords, the “cloud,” “SaaS” and “hosted.” If you are like most accounting professionals, you are likely a bit confused on what each means and how they apply to the value to your firm.
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