Connected data in accounting software vastly benefits modern accounting teams. But what is connected data, anyway? It is simpler than it sounds, and we use it every day.
Connected data in software applications allows users to reuse data across other different software applications, which is extremely beneficial for accountants who perform a wide variety of functions.
Accountants who use Caseware’s suite of products, for example, can reuse single-sourced data in many of Caseware’s other products.
Connected data allows all enterprise data to be connected to and accessible from a centralized source. This can be a software suite of two or more applications where data can be easily exchanged between platforms, a well-known example of which is Microsoft Office 365. Often, programs in the suite feature a similar graphical interface and common navigation conventions, allowing users to easily use new software in the suite.
Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, well-known software applications in the Microsoft Office 365 suite of products, share a very common user interface, and data can be easily exchanged between platforms. This improves the user experience as individual users are able to do more with the software they purchased.
Enterprises with connected data often use a large number of software applications, and they have many different suites targeted to different professions and purposes. Some well-known examples of these software suites include:
- Microsoft Office 365
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- G Suite
- LibreOffice
The Benefits of Connected Data
Connected Data is also important for the software company itself producing the software, and connected data is pertinent to the success of a software company for the following reasons:
Greater Opportunities for Innovation
Connectivity in software suites enables software companies to make great innovations. With complementation from other previously existing software, new software can be easily created to perform new kinds of functions. As a result, a new software in a suite, especially software for a specific industry, can easily be created.
If new software is being built, the process can be made faster if UI and programming elements can be reused rather than made from scratch.
A Better Experience for Users
A product suite that allows data to be transferred saves the time-consuming process of having to re-import data manually when using completely different software products. Instead, data can be single-sourced to allow for a seamless transition between software. For example, Caseware imported data from Working Papers can be reused throughout Caseware’s suite of products. For example, Caseware data imported from Working Papers can be reused throughout Caseware’s suite of products.
Artificial Intelligence
An important topic when discussing the impact of connected data is a software company’s ability to provide AI services. Artificial Intelligence is gaining prominence in the software industry because of the competitive advantage it provides within the industry. AI software can pull data from a variety of individual software and use that data to perform highly advanced functions that would be difficult for standard software perform.
There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is changing the software industry.Caseware AnalyticsAI, for example, makes it easier to perform analysis in any engagement by incorporating automated testing into established workflows.
These days, you can’t have a conversation on connected data without discussing cloud-based data.