As a member of the IMA Technology Solutions and Practices Committee, I follow technology, cultural, and legislative trends. These are very tightly interrelated. They affect the role of the management accountant.
In the January/February issue of GCN Magazine, on page 7, a very small feature called Tech to track in 2017. According to Alan Shark, executive director of the Public Technology Institute, here is what is out and what is in in its place. GCN Magazine provides information on technology, tools and tactics for public sector IT.
OUT: Cybersecurity as a concern
IN: Cybersecurity as a crisis.
Recent hacks and public discussion, even the political discussions, make the issue of cybersecurity top of mind for many organizations. The reputational risk for many corporations is huge. As a business, there is not any silver bullet for cyber protection. There are some things you can do.
- Cybersecurity training for all employees, contractors, and volunteers at least twice a year.
- Monitor all network traffic
- Make sure software patches are current. There are service providers which will do this for your business.
- Make sure that you have current back-up of your data.
- Test and monitor your own systems regularly.
OUT: Perimeter based Security
IN: Holistic active monitoring and response systems
Holistic monitoring involves monitoring all parts of the system. This means that you monitor traffic of all your hardware and systems. You monitor your network, servers, mainframe, and all devices. You monitor the software for performance and usage. You also make sure you develop response plans for any number of scenarios.
OUT: Hackers
IN: Ransomware
Ransomware put on a computer that requires payment to recover the encryption code that has been applied to your data. Usually they demand a small payment per computer (about $250) in bitcoin or some other difficult to trace cryptocurrency. As of this writing, Apple is being threatened with Ransomware.
OUT: Creating on a screen
IN: Creating through 3-D Printers
3-D printing is still in its infancy. With prices dropping, this opens up unlimited possibilities for business innovation. It also enables faster time to bring items to market.
OUT: Government websites
IN: Government apps
Many government agencies application mantra is “Mobility First” Services that citizens are requesting are for information and forms they can obtain using their smartphones. Innovative governments are encouraging citizens to lend their talents to help develop the apps.
OUT: Credit Cards
IN: Bitcoin
Bitcoin represent many forms of cryptocurrencies that are gaining some acceptance. Some experts see it having an advantage in security. That is in part why many Ransomware payments are demanded in Bitcoin. It will be interesting to see where on the Gartner Hype Cycle it currently is and will it end up really being main stream.
OUT: Database transactions
IN: Blockchain
Accountants and organizations are just starting to realize the transformational power of Blockchain. Banks and other businesses are looking at ways that Blockchain can transform their business. It is critical that accountants learn this about this new transaction methodology.
OUT: Data for public consumption
IN: Big data for decision making
Big data is being used to provide the evidence for many of the decisions, including predictive analysis, which both government and business make to meet their strategy needs. Accountants must know how obtain and utilize their data.
OUT: Smart Software
IN: Artificial intelligence
AI is here to stay. Its potential in health, medicine, and enabling independent living is unlimited. In transportation, AI is becoming huge. Business needs to work to get ahead of this development, not fear it, but look to how it may help out.
OUT: Cloud services
IN: Managed services
Every part of the technology may manage through subscriptions with companies that specialize in managing that service. To adopt managed services as a way of doing business requires a significant change in mindset that many organizations tend to struggle.
OUT: Overwhelmed by email
IN: Overwhelmed by data
When people feel overwhelmed, they retreat, ignore it, or only look at it when it is relevant to them. As accountants, we need to understand how to use the tools of the trade to reduce the overwhelmed feeling.
These last two are interesting and controversial for society, but in my opinion less relevant to accountants. They are:
OUT: Drones for public safety
IN: Unmanned vehicle systems for civilian uses
OUT: U.S. Border control
IN: U.S. digital border control
I realize that is one source for trends. Gartner also produces trends for technology. I recognize that much more could be stated on each of these subjects.
Barry Nathan, CMA