Getting the cloud message across AccMan

This from a panel assembled by AccountingWeb:

Is “the Cloud” relevant to accountants and their clients?
No. When we set out to find accountants to attend our accounting event at the Business Cloud Summit, nearly two-thirds of the accountants we approached said it wasn’t part of their thinking. We got a similar reaction when we tested the phrase on sole practitioners at an ICAEW conference. Here’s what our panel participants had to say on this subject:

“They just want software to do the job. What the majority of clients want to know is how much tax do they have to pay and when. Have you filed the corporation tax return? They’re only interested in having something that works.”

“I don’t have any clients at the moment that talk to me about Cloud Computing. They’d like to be able to see the data, but they don’t talk about Cloud.”

The problem with this argument is that it is reactive. It doesn’t recognize the professional as someone who should be leading clients. Perhaps that’s at the heart of the problem AccountingWeb commenters keep espousing? In an earlier conversation I said this to a confused commenter:

When I make the case, I rarely start from the accountant’s position, which is the Sage default. Instead I argue that cloud services are commoditizing the profession’s Pacioli-esque thinking. It is forgivable to think that a system that has lived since the 15th century is not going away. What is going away are the complexities that attach to systems built with Pacioli in mind. Today we are seeing a shift to systems that better reflect the needs of non-technical users while still giving the professional a firm basis upon which to do their job. That’s a direct threat to incumbency and a commodification of past structures and practices for both vendors and professionals. It is this dual aspect of cloud computing that makes it the future.

So when companies claim ease of use (as an example) it is not only true but serving to shift power away from incumbents and professionals alike.

When I close out that argument with professionals I say they should see this as an opportunity. Rather than try make the comparisons [with on-premise apps] you demand (which are untenable), consider the value add that cloud brings alongside its disruptive influence.