But some question whether CPAs are adequately committed to technology consulting to succeed in this new area. It's a big commitment and something they're not used to. The e-commerce software opportunity for CPAs and all types of resellers remains in question because of uncertainty about the final makeup of Internet product distribution. De Pinto theorizes that the larger reseller organizations, ones that may have as many as 10 people trained in one type of technology, will emerge as early leaders in electronic commerce, while smaller ones, particularly those not committed to expanding their service capabilities, will be left behind. It's not just a matter of installing the software.
Success depends also on how easy the programs are to install and use.
Platinum is among the vendors touting ease of installation. However, the vendor notes that its resellers will, likely, need to have an HTML programmer on board to handle any customization requested by clients. For the most part, vendors concur that the larger resellers and the ones with the highest levels of technology certification will also likely emerge as the leaders. Several are only making their products available to resellers certified in SQL, the highest level of technology in the middle market. Meanwhile, the alarm clock may be ticking for vendors to realign their sales strategy before middle-market demand for Web enabling systems sets bells ringing.