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Cloud computing still a mystery for many accountants

A study has found many accountancy firms are not yet reaping the benefits of cloud computing.

New research has discovered that relatively few accountancy firms in Britain are making the most of cloud computing, even though it could offer significant benefits for them in terms of convenience and productivity.

Over 1,300 companies were quizzed as part of the IT in Practice Survey by Thomson Reuters and it was discovered that seven out of ten UK businesses across all sectors will have applied some form of cloud computing technology by the end of this year, Computer Weekly reports.

In contrast, only one in three accountancy companies will be able to say the same, with just 11 per cent currently using cloud platforms.

Although 23 per cent reported that they do intend to bring in cloud services to manage at least some of their operations within a year, it suggests that many are stuck in something of a technological rut.

Indeed, some respondents admitted they felt resistant to this kind of change in case it caused upheaval and made life more difficult, while others were worried about data protection.

Yet those firms that had already applied cloud computing were able to report easier upgrades, cost savings, enhanced flexibility and high-quality support from their providers.

Flexibility alone could provide significant benefits, spokesperson for Thomson Reuters Andrew Flanagan pointed out.

"The main reason practices are looking to move to cloud-based solutions is to allow employees to work remotely; for example, from a client’s premises and to enable use of new mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets," he said.

Just last month, John Barnes from publishing company Wolters Kluwer told Accounting Today that he is seeing accountants become much more productive as a result of electronic document storage alone.

The fact that they can access paperwork in an instant rather than having to go to a room and hunt for it has resulted in a "transformation", he said.

Any business put off cloud storage by the thought that it may be difficult should get in touch with Dajon Data Management. We offer bespoke solutions and can implement everything ourselves, meaning operations will not be interrupted at all.