OSI Business Services has watched with interest as the online landscape has evolved and changed the way we access information.  It has allowed us to provide our clients with a level of access to our online account services that would have been impossible a few years ago.

The Days of Modems and Dialup

Even before we formed OSI, we had a keen interest in business communications.  We remember the early days and the limited online account services that managers had access to. Online communication generally consisted of bursts of information rather than a steady stream.  A manager would dial in to the company computer, download information, and break the connection.  After doing the work needed, the managers would dial in to upload the finished data.  It was a clumsy and slow process.

Employees and managers had trouble accessing online account services while traveling.  It was often impossible to use modems through hotel switchboards and even if they could get connected, transfer rates were slow.  Access while out of the country was harder as modems for the US market were tricky to use with the telephone connections in other countries.

On top of this, these connections were insecure and eavesdropping wasn't difficult.

The Web Revolutionizes The Industry

Online account services as we recognize them today grew out of the development of the World Wide Web.  The web provided a standard platform for easy connection and delivery of information.

More important than the communication advances were the changes in encryption technology.  The 40-bit encryption keys of the early web were not secure enough for financial transactions.  Stronger 128-bit keys have become the standard and provide nearly unbreakable encryption for your critical data.

Accessing online account services on the road is easy since wireless web access is available at nearly every hotel, coffee shop, and many other businesses.  Traveling employees can do their jobs as easily as if they were at their desks.

Mobile Access Is Nearly Here

Connecting with online account services requires to an access point, even for a wireless modem.  Mobile devices such as the Blackberry or iPhone give access from a wider area, but their browsers have limited functionality.

Intuit is currently testing beta versions of QuickBooks Online, one for the BlackBerry and another for the iPhone.  They have optimized the applications for the screens and controls of these wireless devices, giving users a new avenue of access to online account services.

The applications aren't ready for general use yet and are missing much of the functionality the final versions will have.  Access is generally limited to looking at information such as vendor lists and account balances.  These beta versions don't currently allow users to do things like pay bills or send invoices, but those features will be added soon. The freedom this will offer business owners will add tremendous flexibility to their management options, letting them run their organizations from wherever they happen to be at the moment.