Doors Still Open For ITA Conference: There’s still time to register to attend the Information Technology Alliance’s "Fall Collaborative" meeting Nov. 3-5 in Charleston, S.C.
The ITA encourages all professionals interested in technology consulting or in technology used internally in their accounting practices - consultants, resellers, CPAs, CIOs and CTOs - to register by accessing and completing the forms available on its Web site, www.italliance.com
Attendees qualify for general membership in ITA, a consortium that includes most of the nation’s top technology reseller/consulting practices affiliated with CPA firms, as well as many of the leading developers of technology applications for small and midsized businesses. Online registrations are being accepted up to the start of the conference.
The featured speaker at the November event is Robert Anderson, small and midsized business market analyst for technology industry observers, the Gartner Group. The show also includes more than 30 sessions, with 14 CPE credit hours, covering consulting firm management issues, infrastructure tools and sales and marketing.
Intuit Aligns With CPAS To Build Contruction Software Biz: QuickBooks developer Intuit Inc. is looking to expand its recently-created construction industry software business through a new alliance with Construction Industry CPAs/Consultants Association, a Chicago-based nonprofit association of CPA firms that specialize in serving construction companies.
"Intuit is committed to the construction industry and committed to working with accountants, making this alliance an ideal match," said Dan Smith, vice president of Intuit Construction Business Solutions, which Intuit created last year upon acquiring Smith’s former company, construction industry software vendor OMware. "CICPAC member firms deliver the expertise and caliber of service we want to offer our customers."
As part of the relationship, Intuit and CICPAC will work together to promote Intuit’s Master Builder Solution Provider and Certified Professional Advisor programs to CICPAC members.
Managed Ops Adds Navision, Axapta: Accounting software application service provider ManagedOps is adding Navision, a product formerly called Attain, and Axapta to its menu of hosted business management software offerings.
Managed Ops, based in Bedford, N.H., is a top reseller/partner of Microsoft Business Solutions and has for several years carried that vendor’s Great Plains product line. Axapta and Navision were both originally developed by Navision, a company that Microsoft acquired earlier this year.
Managed Ops also plans to offer Microsoft Customer Relationship Management upon that product’s launch, scheduled to occur by year-end.
KPMG Consulting Re-Brands: KPMG Consulting has changed its name to BearingPoint Inc. in the latest move by former Big Five firm consulting arms to split from their accounting roots and re-brand.
Previously, the former Andersen Consulting became Accenture, while Deloitte Consulting announced several months ago that it plans to become Braxton. PwC Consulting planned to adopt the moniker "Monday" and become public, but scrapped those plans when it was acquired by IBM.
The former KPMG Consulting, which separated from its auditing parent and became publicly traded in February 2001, also began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BE." It has already been trading on Nasdaq.
Netledger Beefs Up Online Offering: NetLedger, vendor of the Internet-hosted Oracle Small Business Suite, on Oct. 14 was scheduled to release a higher-end enterprise online offering that includes advanced accounting features, and several enterprise resource planning functions and customer relationship management functions integrated with the accounting.
The company said its NetSuite product, available on lease at $50 per user per month, compares with other middle-market vendors’ on-site installations that could cost $250,000 or more, excluding ongoing hardware maintenance costs.
Functions covered include CRM; sales and marketing; customer support; accounting and payroll; warehousing and product assembly; Web store and Web presence; and employee productivity.
