Ideas in Motion: Windows Vista and the CPA: A Match Made in Microsoft Heaven?
By Scott H. Cytron, ABC
With the planned January 2007 release of Windows Vista, accountants across the world are curious as to how Microsoft’s new operating system will affect their offices, practices and delivery of accounting services.
Probably the most enduring question accounting professionals want to know is how Windows Vista will interface with household-name accounting software applications and programs. It may be too early to tell at this point, according to various technology experts who work in the accounting arena – and some vendors have not revealed their intentions. Still, for more information, there are some Web sites popping up that address this issue.
I sat down with Susan E. Bradley, CPA/CITP, MCP, GSEC. Susan is a principal with Tamiyasu, Smith, Horn and Braun in Fresno, Calif. TSHB, a member of the Financial Consulting Group, has been involved in beta testing Microsoft systems and applications for many years. She is a beta tester for Windows Vista, and offers a first-hand glimpse into what certainly is going to make a substantial impact on the way we conduct business. In addition, included below in many answers are embedded links for more information. | |
Susan Bradley, CPA/CITP, MCP, GSEC
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Scott Cytron: Tell me five specific ways in which Windows Vista differs from Windows XP.
Susan Bradley: Good question – and mostly my answers have to do with security and related issues. The main thing to remember is that Vista was written five years after XP. As a result, Vista is the first desktop operating system written from start to finish with secure coding guidelines in mind.
Here are what I think are the five differentials:
1. Access control – this concerns the license user agreements. This point is probably the largest difference and the biggest issue. It may cause the biggest pain for all those lines of business applications that have never practiced least privilege.
2. Issues focusing on Windows Vista security – there are two areas here, the built-in disablement of the Administrator account and new authentication functionality.
3. The Internet Explorer (IE) browser is much more locked down – again, could cause line-of-business application issues as coders of software get used to the new tighter browser standards.
4. Vista has a two-way firewall with more group policy control of the traffic in and out of the desktop.
5. A much enhanced and granular event viewer gives a ton more information.
SC: How do you see Vista as being more fluid, or easier for us to use?
SB: I’m not sure I see it as “more fluid” ... I guess I'm not into the wiz bangs of the multiple sliding windows that they always tout in demos.
I see the advantages of Vista more from the admin viewpoint of better browser protection and malware protection. From the phishing toolbars in IE 7, Vista brings IE and the platform up to today's threats.
I do see Microsoft’s BitLocker disk encryption as being a huge benefit for mobile accountants. We carry a lot of sensitive data and it's embarrassing how many times our profession ends up losing identity data.
SC: Why was there a delay from Microsoft in rolling out Vista?
SB: They bit off way more than they could chew. Initially, in 2003, they were offer a new file system (WinFS), but this was way way too much to have happened. Even Microsoft acknowledges that the mountain was too high.
SC: Tell me five ways in which the average accountant or CPA can use Vista to improve his or her practice.
SB: Aren't you asking a lot? This isn't a time and billing program! It's an operating system. However, what it brings to the table is this:
1. First and foremost, Vista is built to today's risks and threats of the current security world, and IE is much more protected and sandboxed.
2. Encryption – again, Vista include BitLocker drive encryption that will better protect mobile data – and that’s huge for CPAs and their staffs.
3. Vista will need less rebooting for patching and when it reboots, it can reboot and bring you right back to where you were when you left the box. The advantages? Think about an Excel spreadsheet. If that spreadsheet were left open that night accidentally, you won't lose data during a patch maintenance rebooting window.
4. Due to increased use of hibernation, Vista will boot faster.
5. There's a certain “eye candy” marketing effect for CPA firm geeks to ensure their firm are up to date, which occurs when you stay on the latest platform.
SC: Given that MS is in deep with its emphasis on Small Business Accounting and Microsoft Dynamics, what functionality in built into Vista that will enable these programs to better operate?
SB: I’m not sure I quite see this happening. At this time, Small Business Accounting (SBA) 2006 runs on a MSDE database, that, per reports, will not be supported on Vista. As a result, Microsoft Office SBA will need to be on SQL 2005 essentials (the current equivalent of MSDE) in order to be supported on Vista.
SC: For business users, what does this release bring to the table that helps back office productivity, whether it’s integration with other accounting applications or another ways to be more efficient?
SB: TechWeb just published a really good article from Gartner on what Microsoft must accomplish surrounding virtualization, or adding updates after the initial release.
Vista is built for the current risks and threats of today's world; that’s what Vista brings to the table … a stronger browser as just one example, and the push, finally, for running the machine without administrator rights.
SC: When do you think you’ll begin using Windows Vista – in January or at a later time?
SB: Even though we’ve been beta testing it for some time, my firm will go through tax season using XP. A January release is just too late for the 2006 tax season, but in all fairness to Microsoft, they probably did not have the accounting market first in mind when it came to scheduling the release before or after a certain date. Once April 15 hits, I’ll begin implementing Vista carefully and methodically – good advice for anyone wanting to upgrade their systems.
About Author:
Scott H. Cytron, ABC, is an accredited communications and public relations consultant working in the accounting, health care, high-tech and finance industries. He also teaches efficient and effective writing to professional services’ groups and can be reached at scott@cytronandcompany.com or through his Web site, http://www.cytronandcompany.com.
About Column:
Ideas in Motion is a monthly column designed to focus on best practices within CPA firms and organizations involved in providing technology related services.
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