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Digita chases computing's New Wave

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6th Apr 2011
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With the advent of new devices and work patterns, it's important not to carry on in the same old ways, says Digita founder Jerry Rihll.

As the founder of Digita and current head of accounting firms for the EMEA wing of its parent, Thomson Reuters, Jerry Rihll sees computing experiencing its fifth wave. After mainframes, microcompmuters/PCs, workstations, laptops and smartphones the latest paradigm is all about mobility and having data up in the cloud, he told the company’s recent user conference in Cirencester.

The numbers are compelling: according to Morgan Stanley Research, by 2014 more users will access the internet via a mobile device than with a traditional desktop PC. The Apple iPhone has 5.5m users in the UK and 17m across Europe. With more than 2m iPads sold in its first two months and an estimated 16-18m units shipped in 2010, the iPad was the most successful product launch in recent history. Deloitte is estimating that more than 50m tablet devices will be sold in Europe this year, with consumers attracted by user-friendly, non-intrusive devices that can display info in new ways.

“I think it’s really important to not think you can just carry on with the same stuff,” Rihll said. True to his word, during the event he presented examples of a Digita client contact app on the iPhone and a version of the Digita suite apparently running on an iPad. It is worth noting that no actual program commands were invoked during the iPad demonstration, but it still looked good.

“That’s the sort of thing you’d sit along client and show,” said Rihll. While few accountants are clamouring for this kind of technology today, Rihll said he was showing it so that Digita customers will “know we we’ll have it tomorrow”.

Even if the big developers were slow to respond, the iPhone and iPad have encouraged a new wave of apps. “You won’t see tax preparation apps, but little tools like the BBS Business Analyser and our Digita mobile apps. The iPhone is very much a reading device; but if you keep it simple, it can get you in to access your data.”

According to Thomson Reuters, demographic changes are matching the changes in computer technology. Many of the accountants at Digita’s conference were Baby Boomers born between 1945 and 1965. As accountants in this generation retire, their places are being taken by so-called Generation X and Y accountants, and  “milennials” who have grown up with the internet.

According to Rihll, these milennials don’t have the same concerns about privacy and data ownership and are comfortable about banking online and entrusting personal information to the internet. “They’re loosening things up,” he said.

The tie-up with Thomson Reuters has accelerated Digita’s mobile developments. In an article on our sister site AccountingWEB.com, practice management product manager Matt Jagst expanded on the dynamic taking place within the profession in north America.

In practice, the first steps many firms take into mobile computing are to support mobile connections between employees and the company network, so people can work effectively away from the office, he wrote. Those that have done so reap a number of benefits:

  • Access to real-time information – whenever you want, from wherever you are – makes client service faster and more effective.
  • Performing tasks such as time entry and project status updates away from base is more efficient and can help ensure projects deadlines aren't missed.
  • Instant-on devices (as opposed to laptops) make for better use of your time and can help professionals strike a balance between their private life and work.
  • Positioning your firm as tech-savvy practice that utilizes cool technology. This can help attract new clients and attract or retain employment talent.
  •  

If employees can connect remotely, the next logical step is to offer similar connectivity to clients with branded mobile applications that let clients access services and financial information. “Not only will this help drive your firm's tech savvy image by way of new, sophisticated client communication channels, it will help differentiate your firm from the one down the street,” wrote Jagst.
 
“Providing your clients with 24/7 access to tax returns, financial statements, and other key documents makes it more likely that they'll access their financial data from their mobile devices, which cuts down on office appointments and phone calls and improves client service and convenience.”

This type of connectivity is especially important for “millennial” customers who have lived their entire lives in a digital world. “When these individuals are looking for a tax and accounting job or professional services, they will expect their accounting firm to embrace technology and communicate with them in the manner to which they're accustomed,” Jagst added.

The ease of use, huge universe of apps, and Apple’s “cool factor” have lured many people to adopt a new technology they might not otherwise have considered. It is also driving much greater acceptance of Apple products as business tools.

Ironically, Rihll made his fortune as a long-time Microsoft developer, but now confesses he was a Mac fanboy all along: “The Mac is clearly a far better platform, but the PC is what customers use. As a software developer I’m in awe that my three-year-old can operate the iPad and it’s wonderful we have a device that is gaining very rapid uptake in the corporate world. I can see why, because we got a barrier with clicky-clicky.”

Just to confirm that he’s still even handed on hardware matters, he added that Samsung’s Galaxy is very cool and “there are amazing android devices coming out”. Digita will also support BlackBerry’s, he said, “because that’s what customers want”.

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Adrian Pearson
By Adrian Pearson
06th Apr 2011 17:58

Instant on devices

I understand what Jerry means but let's not forget that PCs can be "instant on devices" if needed.

Instead of clicking Start > Shut Down on your PC at the end of a work session, try clicking Start > Sleep instead.

Result: next time you want to use the PC, click any key or flick the mouse and hey-presto, your PC instantly comes alive, in the state you left it in.

Adrian
http://www.adrianpearson.com. 

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By dkharkness
06th Apr 2011 21:25

Digita

Glad to hear Digita are considering new platforms for their Suite- having been an early adopter of their products in the 1990s and exceptionally satisfied as a customer -it would be frustrating to watch their competitors increase the mobility/platform flexibility of their products, while my loyalty to Digita prevents me from switching over!

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