HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW

THE CPA CORNER: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN 2005…
By C. Kevin Moore

Kevin Moore is a Principal of C. Kevin Moore & Associates and has two decades of experience as a Certified Public Accountant. Each week he provides the information you need to grow and protect your business.

IT and our computers are so important to normal everyday business. What will be new in our future.

The following is a list of the potential Top 10 2005 Technologies:

Information Security. The hardware, software, processes, and procedures in place to protect an organization's information systems from internal and external threats.

Electronic Document Management (paperless or less-paper office). The process of capturing, indexing, storing, retrieving, searching, and managing documents electronically. Formats include PDF, digital, and image store database technologies.

Data Integration. The ability to update one field and have it automatically synchronize between multiple databases, such as the automatic/seamless transfer of client information between all systems. In this instance, only the data flows across systems from platform to platform or application to application. Data Integration also involves the application-neutral exchange of information. For example, the increased use of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) by companies worldwide provides for the seamless exchange and aggregation of financial data to meet the needs of different user groups using different applications to read, present, and analyze data.

Spam Technology. The use of technology to reduce or eliminate unwanted e-mail commonly known as spam.

Disaster Recovery. The development, monitoring, and updating of the process by which organizations plan for continuity of their business in the event of business information resources through theft, virus/malware infestation, weather damage, accidents, or other malicious destruction. Disaster recovery includes business continuation, contingency planning, and disk recovery technologies and processes.

Collaboration and Messaging Technologies. Applications that allow users to communicate electronically, including e-mail, voicemail, universal messaging, instant messaging, e-mailed voice messages, and digital faxing. Examples include a computer conference using the keyboard (a keyboard chat) over the Internet among two or more people.

Wireless Technologies. The transfer of voice or data from one machine to another via the airwaves and without physical connectivity, Examples include cellular, satellite, infared, Bluetooth, WiFi, 3-G, two-way paging, CDMA, Wireless, WiMax, and others.

Authentication Technologies. The hardware, software, processes, and procedures to protect a person's privacy and identity from internal or external threats, including digital identity, privacy, and biometric authentication.

Storage Technologies. Storage Area Networks (SANs) include mass storage, CD-recordable, DVD, data compression, near field recording, electronic document storage and networked attached storage (NAS), as well as small, personal storage devices like USB drives.

Learning and Training Competency (End Users). The methodology and curriculum by which personnel learn to understand and use technology. This includes measuring competency, learning plans to increase the knowledge of individuals, and hiring and retaining qualified personnel.