Financial software programs are an important part of any business and this may be the reason that many businesses have been slow to move their financial products onto the cloud. In its early days it was a relatively untested and even unknown tool. The cloud financial has now become a part of everyday life for individuals and for businesses. The question is whether financial software has now ‘crossed the chasm’ and are businesses choosing to use it for their financial products and information. The latest research ha s been conducted by Brian Sommer, an industry expert; his research suggests that many small and medium sized businesses have now embraced the cloud and the trend is increasing rapidly:
Knowledge
Sommer’s research was surprising in that it demonstrated most business were not just using the cloud but could provide a list of the products they were using just from memory. Common financial products which are used and on the cloud included CRM, Marketing Automation, Sales compensation, Financial Planning, Talent management, Office automation and even payroll!
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Rapid Increase
The research also suggests that as businesses move their systems onto the cloud they are telling other businesses and they are moving other parts of their own business onto the cloud. The result is an increasingly rapid movement of businesses and even individuals onto the cloud; this is not just for financial products but for a variety of services which will be beneficial to both the firm and the customer.
Sales Figures
The research is backed up by the annual sales figures which are released by the various software suppliers. Sales of cloud solutions are growing every year, and at an impressive rate. Unfortunately, sales of the more traditional software options are rapidly dropping. These figures confirm Brian Sommer’s research, although this is not necessarily good news for those businesses which have on premise solutions and not cloud solutions.
No Fear
As with any new software, when it is first released it is usually only the software experts who can confidently choose whether to use a product or not. Considering it can be a costly and time consuming process to switch a current operating system to a new one, businesses are, understandably, reluctant to commit to a new product. The cloud had an additional problem in that it is a vague concept and at first it was very difficult to understand where your precious data was being stored.
Businesses and individuals have now moved past this fear and have started to embrace the cloud, in all its guises. It is not just financial products which are cloud based; almost every piece of software can now be based in the cloud, instead of on the premises. Acceptance of the safety and practicality of this method of doing business has created a steadily increasing flow of people and businesses to cloud based software. In fact, customers are generally crying out for new cloud based products!
Education
The need to educate people in what the cloud is and its potential has dramatically decreased in the last few years. What was once a vague concept is now an accepted fact to the majority of people? This acceptance leads to less of a need for education and an increase in the use of the cloud, whether for financial products or for personal software applications.
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Using the cloud to stay organized and keep your finances in check is an easy, smart and safe way to save up, invest and spend; regardless of the purpose of your investment. There are lots of tools one can use can nowadays; however, before making a choice you should get some advice from a financial guru to help you make the right selection.
The digital age is rapidly changing and evolving, the initial fear of what it may entail or where it may lead is now being replaced with a genuine fear of being left behind! Perhaps the greatest asset of any cloud app is that it is designed to integrate with other apps. This means that there is a much greater range of flexibility and control over business and personal needs and software use. This part of the cloud has much potential that has not been tapped into yet.
