Conference Speaker Offers Suggestions for Simplifying Technology Conundrums

By Jay Dismukes

As technology continues to evolve, users risk falling into one of two categories: “dinosaurs” who are so far behind the times that they still run on DOS, or “early adopters” who pay too much to have the latest gadget—usually one that doesn’t yet have the kinks worked out.

The key, especially for CPAs who increasingly rely on technology to perform their personal and business affairs, is to position oneself in the technological equivalent of the middle ground. This group, according to Jerald M. Savin, CPA, CITP, with the Cambridge Technology Consulting Group in Santa Monica, Calif., is known as the “business user” who utilizes technology “to get something done.”

To help CPAs stay current with technology while not going overboard, Savin conducted a continuing professional education session titled “Putting New Technology to Work Without Going Crazy,” during the 2002 New York CPA, Business and Technology Show and Conference in midtown Manhattan. The New York State Society of CPAs and the Foundation for Accounting Education sponsored the event.

During his Aug. 7 session, Savin conveyed a number of basic to highly sophisticated suggestions and considerations to a crowded room of CPAs looking for ways to ease their technological burdens. Among other ideas, Savin encouraged the audience to think about their information storage needs, whether they call for volume, safety or remote storage. For volume, he recommends large drives from 18 GB to 181 GB; for safety, users should look into RAID 5 (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) to help ensure that no data is lost. Those who want remote storage should consider network attached storage (NAS) devices like SNAP drives for removable storage. Savin also suggested the audience think about other storage options like ZIP drives, flash memory cards and the use of nonmagnetic storage items like CD-Rs or CD-RWs, which he said are good for long-term storage but require appropriate software.

Savin further suggested replacing servers every three to four years and workstations every two to three years. Depending on whether they spend much time in the field, Savin, also a faculty member at the University of California-Los Angeles, told the audience members they may want to invest in peripheral devices such as scanners, CD burners and digital cameras, as well as switch from a desktop to a laptop computer, if they have not done so already. The inclusion of universal serial buses (USB), he said, is particularly essential to these devices if the users expect to get the most from the equipment.

When upgrading or buying a new product, Savin reminded the audience to always bear in mind certain issues such as functionality and compatibility. This last point brought Savin to the one question that perhaps was on the minds of everyone in attendance: “What do you do with old computers?”

To this question, the speaker offered two suggestions. The first was to consider using Citrix software because it enables administration and processing on the server side rather than the client side, which Savin said was “great for centralizing management” but “is a crutch if you are trying to give new life to old hardware.” He added that the future of Citrix is uncertain, as technology is moving to more Web-based applications.

Savin’s second suggestion for what to do with old equipment perhaps was much less complicated, though. “Donate,” he said.