Why has true-cloud accounting exploded in 2024?

The speed of cloud adoption has been remarkable, but so has the increasing level of sophistication and expectation of what is now a mature cloud buyer, says Alan Connor

Trade

Alan Connor, iplicit

In association with iplicit

After three decades of developing accounting solutions, we have witnessed an exceptional upswing in the demand for true-cloud accounting software. While over the Covid years remote connectivity became a temporary necessity, the unparalleled functionality and flexibility offered by cloud accounting has proved itself far more than a technical stop-gap, or a ‘means to an end’ for a lockdown period.

Historically, there were two types of cloud software. First, we have legacy cloud systems that used older Web technologies, pop-up windows, and Windows Explorer components offered a simplified solution that didn’t fit complex organisations that were used to better functionality from their server-based software.

Second are the high-end solutions esigned to do practically everything, took six to 12 months to implement, required major customisation and client-specific development, and, of course, cost multiples of what the mid-range solutions did.

This left a significant gap in the market that the older or entry-level solutions couldn’t hope to fill or where the more extensive mammoth solutions couldn’t simplify themselves enough to provide a more effortless user experience or a more easily deployed solution.

The team behind iplicit know the mid-range and ERP accounting space inside out with tens of thousands of customers across all sectors and technologies over these decades. We have developed an exceptional true-cloud solution that delivers functionality and versatility at a level that continues to surprise and challenge the historic dominant providers in the sector.

Iplicit was developed not just to replicate the basics of server-based accounting software but to break the mold, to challenge the previous limitations, and to be deliverable in a fraction of the time of the larger solutions.

The speed of cloud adoption has been remarkable, but so has the increasing level of sophistication and expectation of what is now a mature cloud buyer.

Settling for just ‘being in the cloud’ isn’t enough. Increasingly, we are being tasked with surpassing the complexities and flexibility of complex server-based solutions, and this is where the forward-thinking design of iplicit comes to the fore. The historic legacy software limits on levels of analysis, multi-entity consolidations, multi-VAT jurisdictions, old-school pop-up windows, multiple browser tabs, or even the requirement for local installations or specific Internet browsers have been left far behind in the iplicit design.

Integration for multi-level workflow approvals or intelligent OCR / AI scanning of incoming invoices, which were previously abdicated to external third party solutions, were other aspects we decided to build as the cornerstone of iplicit and not as a bolt-on or integration requirement.

The educated and discerning accountant is now cloud-aware. They are confident in the technology, and with partners such as Microsoft Azure, their data can be kept locally and securely in Ireland, offering corporate security to their new-world expectations.

Will server-based solutions disappear in the next decade? After almost 30 years in the accounting software space, I would say no. There are genuine reasons, such as locally integrated devices, bespoke development requirements or integrations, or simply a need to avoid relying on Internet connections means that certain sectors cannot as easily transition to a comparable cloud solution or, more accurately, couldn’t do without spending umpteen times their current local software annual costs.

However, prudent and cautious accountants now want to not just embrace the cloud but run far and fast with it. They want to exploit all it can offer and welcome the digital revolution.

The leap in expectation and accounting software’s remarkable evolution hasn’t been replicated since the change from DOS to Windows in 1998. Accounting and accounting software isn’t necessarily sexy or exciting and certainly involves a fair amount of prudence and fiscal governance. Still, sometimes, we get to be the bearer of good news, the catalyst for change, to disrupt norms, to instil excitement, and to introduce a truly genuine revolution of automation, efficiency, and enhanced workflow practices. Of course, we also get to make our jobs easier, less repetitive, and more rewarding.

Sometimes, being an accountant is exciting, and we look forward to sharing that digital excitement with even more Irish organisations in the years ahead.

Alan Connor is managing director of iplicit Ireland