CCH is signaling the possibility that the company's products will become a platform for commercial development, not just applications that are now open to add-in product development. The company moved in that direction as it formally announced this week its Open Integration Platform for sharing data and workflows within its cloud products.

It has been said before. But Internet-based applications have moved into the mainstream this year. That does not mean that everyone is using them, especially in the world of professional tax preparation. However, the signs are there that cloud computing has come of age.