with Office products and many businesses will want to ensure they keep on top of this so that they do not lose a competitive edge. Expect disruption and investment in 2025 before the gains are felt in later years. Rise of the finance SuperApp Linked to consolidation we are starting to see the term SuperApp become used more widely. First used to describe WeChat, a messaging and payment app based in China, it was picked up as an objective for X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk in 2023. There are only a handful of Apps that are coined with this term, such as Lark, Alipay, Grab and Tata Neu, but there is one finance app in the UK that has set its sights on this goal. Translucent, from the creator of Dext, is a multi-entity accounting app that is aiming to replace all the additional functional apps that business plug into their finance systems. Starting with reporting it is likely to move into reconciliations, payments and beyond. Set for initial release in 2024 it will be interesting to see whether it lives up to the hype.
transitioned security considerations from those that are in-house to those that are outsourced. Initially, as businesses moved into the cloud, security was not at the fore-front with other facets such as efficiency being the ultimate objective. But with more data leaks on cloud products and greater awareness of varying security levels of cloud products this is becoming a critical consideration. Expect questions to be asked and cloud-based apps to talked more about their internal security through 2024. Data Analytics roles Cash is King, Data is Queen! Data is everywhere and overwhelming. Large businesses have been able to invest to control, understand and utilise their data to give them an edge. With standard models and skillsets for handling data becoming normalised smaller businesses can now afford to explore the data they hold and look to utilise it to differentiate. For those with disparate systems and data sets, to do this effectively a data analyst is needed, either inhouse or as a consultant. This role has become more commonplace in business and will be a key recruitment objective for many
businesses heading into 2024.
As we move away from a recession into static growth across the economy businesses are looking to technology to enable them to differentiate and find growth where others can’t. Opportunities are there but require investment and those that have managed to retain some reserves and haven’t over- leveraged assets have the biggest chance to capitalise on the changes that are coming. With so much changing in the digital landscape it is imperative to talk to independent professional advisers in this field. At Scrutton Bland we value the importance of financial technology solutions and have created our SB Digital Service to help both business owners and accountancy firms’ clients stay ahead in this field. To find out more about our SB Digital Service or to speak to one of the team about your and your client’s software structure and applications please email hello@scruttonbland.co.uk or call 0330 058 6559.
Security considerations escalated The movement towards cloud apps has
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