In-Firm 2012 IT Predictions and 2011 Results

1. In-Firm Audit Engagements: With the roll out of 4G digital cellular systems and firms asking clients for access, we expect to get Internet access at over 95% of those locations, which will allow firms to do the majority of their audit work directly on the firm’s servers via remote access. This will minimize security risk and reduce maintenance (backup and networking) in the field.
2. Cloud Adoption Leaps: We see many firms with a completely outdated IT architecture, and IT people that have not kept up with the front edge of technology enough to competently install it. This sets up the perfect environment for firms to cost-effectively transition to Cloud hosting. So we expect to see double-digit growth in the number of firms taking the leap to the Cloud.
3. Patent Wars Heat Up in 2012: Apple sues Samsung, Samsung sues Apple. Using lawyers to slow your competition will become more common and may be the only way that HP makes back any money on their Palm investment (since Palm owned so many handheld patents) so we expect a lot of headlines this year.
4. Slow to No Windows 8 Adoption for Workstations: While a solid Windows 7 was adopted by firms after Microsoft’s Vista fiasco, the stability of current Windows 7 will keep firms standardizing workstations on the 64-bit version of that operating system.
5. Stabilization on Office 2010/2007: Firms transitioning from older versions of Microsoft Office will jump up to 2010 to take advantage of the larger Excel grid, while those on 2007 will stay there unless they have already paid for Software Assurance. 2012 will be No-Go for 2012 as it takes the major accounting vendors at least a year to stabilize their products; so early adoption of Office 2012 goes against any positive technology ROI.
6. Android Leads Smartphone Platform: We will be running surveys this year to find out what smartphones firms are using, and while we believe the Apple iPhone 5 will be the coolest phone by the end of 2012, we see the overall market numbers going to Android and putting them in the top slot.
7. iPad Clear Tablet of Choice: While there is a lot of hype about iPads not running Flash, Microsoft’s announcement that they won’t support Flash in the future will help buyers overcome that hurdle and decide to buy iPads anyway, particularly if the iPad3 is delivered as promised.
8. Minimal VDI Adoption: While the real techs are running Virtual Desktop machines to lower the cost of workstation maintenance, the majority of firms won’t want to deal with the headaches, keeping VDI on the list of “bleeding edge” technologies for 2012.
9. Video Calling Becomes Commonplace: Okay, for my “Dick Tracy” prediction of 2012, we believe the majority of firms will implement video calling capabilities within their practices and use it to connect to other firm members and clients. For those of you that don’t know who Dick Tracy is … Google it!
10. Nationwide Cyber Security Laws: With the security breaches of the last year, I’m bringing back my “freak out” prediction from last year and saying all 50 states will have a cyber security law in place by the end of 2012 as an accounting firm security breach causes accounting firm partners to take note.

We know you are approaching your 2012 busy season so we wish you the best and suggest you revisit this list in May when you are ready to improve your processes for the coming year.