Few industries are as heavily computerized as accounting work now is. Unsurprisingly, a lot of folks turn to managed IT services for accounting firms to keep their systems working properly. Before looking into these options, it's a good idea as a client to understand some of the basic IT services for accounting firms. Let's take a look at four widely used services in the accounting world.
Software
Most accounting offices need to utilize a full stack of software, usually something provided by Intuit and a couple of applications from Microsoft. A managed IT services provider can oftentimes offer their clients discounts on licensing. Likewise, many now use cloud-based solutions to provide highly available software.
Thanks to the managed ecosystem, a tech professional will keep your software updated at all times. Also, many managed licenses allow users to upgrade without new costs as new versions of the software come out.
Monitoring and Security
Folks in the accounting industry often have the type of information from clients that bad actors want to get their hands on. Securing your data and your network are paramount goals. A managed IT services company can set up a monitoring system, and they also can handle things like updating antivirus definitions, performing scans on machines, and issuing security alerts. Similarly, they stay on top of notices from industry and government agencies so they can get in front of problems before they hit your systems.
Long-Term Planning
Some aspects of your IT infrastructure require long-term planning. For example, you'll need to think about how long you want to keep your desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones. Most companies plan around a 5-year upgrade cycle. You'll also need to decide within that upgrade cycle whether you want to replace systems gradually or all at once.
It takes a lot of planning to keep these moves from disrupting your business. As a practical matter, you'll want to perform upgrades at times that don't threaten your work. Likewise, you'll need to think about the costs involved.
Assessing New Technologies
Anyone who has been in business for more than a decade has stories about how new technologies have taken over the world within a few years. People went from not using mobile phones at all to having one on them at all times, and soon that phone because a smartphone that could do jobs once reserved for desktops. A similar transformation is in progress with cloud computing, and another big one is on the horizon with blockchain. It is nice to have a guide in an ever-changing tech landscape.
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