Cloud computing surely has gone mainstream when CPAs, probably as conservative a bunch as you can get, have jumped into the cloud in a big way. Through a subsidiary, CPA2BIZ, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has launched a cloud-based portal for finance and accounting SaaS applications.

According to a recent report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the cloud computing services market is expected to hit $222.5 billion over the next 5 years. Driving this is the need to upgrade IT capabilities in an effort to cut costs and boost performance.

A report from International Data Corp. (IDC), Framingham, MA, shows cloud services jumping from $17.4 billion in 2009 to $44.2 billion by 2013. Of that, almost half is accounted for by software services, such as AICPA is touting. Big as it seems, the 2013 IDC figure represents just 10 percent of the total IT services market projected by the analysts.

The AICPA portal opened with four applications: Intacct, Bill.com, Copanion, and Paychex. In time, reports Erik Asgeirsson, CPA2BIZ president, they expect to encompass workflow, audit, and other financial functions.

1. Intacct, which has been referenced previously in wiredFINANCE, provides financial management and accounting applications.

2. Bill.com offers paperless bill management and online bill payment for business.

3. Copanion provides tax document automation software.

4. Paychex offers payroll and payroll tax services, HR services, 401(k) plans, insurance, and time and labor capabilities.

You also can find dozens of financial SaaS applications at the SaaS Showplace.

Cloud-based SaaS financial software eliminates the need to invest in IT hardware or deploy and maintain on-premises software. The subscription or pay-per-use models also work well for smaller and midsize organizations. For larger organizations, SaaS pricing can become a problem unless the vendor has a pricing scale that drops to nearly zero.

Organizations, however, resist cloud computing and SaaS for two main reasons. First, they are reluctant to displace incumbent systems unless facing a crisis. Resistance to change is natural. Second, they are concerned about security and confidentiality. This is a legitimate concern and has not yet been fully addressed by the IT industry. But your on-premises systems and data aren’t guaranteed secure either. It comes down to risk management.

In 2008, Gartner predicted that cloud computing would become as influential as e-business. Today, there aren’t many businesses that don’t participate in e-business at some level. Even if they aren’t taking orders through a website, they may be paying bills, doing procurement, or handling customer service over the Internet. In one way or another, it is all e-business. And don’t forget e-mail. Back then, Gartner described cloud computing as an evolving phenomenon. It still is. Stay tuned. ###