To replace their in-house server most businesses purchase a Cloud, this gives them an online edition of a product that they can access any time and anywhere. The Accountants Cloud is a bit more difficult because it is also hosting their clients. It is a direct reflection of their firm and must perform for their clients as they themselves would. This presentation includes all of the details involved with the cloud product including ease of use, security, and of course performance. It is important to recognize these differences and see that if the Accountant is hosting their client's data on their Cloud and they go down for any reason, not only is the Accounting Firm down, but their clients are down as well. This could be disastrous for the client as well as the Accounting firm and makes the decision of which Cloud Computing provider to use, an even more delicate choice.
Traditional software programs that use Microsoft Office differ and are surpassed by accountants. There are a number of things Accountants can use Cloud based services for. Accountants, their employees and their clients have access to an endless list of programs and applications. Dealing with the financial stats in real time is necessary for the final result.
Accountants need to consider that security is paramount in picking a cloud services provider. Cloud will host their client's financial information and confidential records without risk to security breach at any time. Research into the physical location of the hosts' data center as well as their redundancies and precautionary measures taken to secure data is of great importance. It is obvious that an Accountant cannot re-create the physical or intellectual security that an enterprise level hosting company can, but the details in which that host rolls out their security protocols needs to be researched as well. A typical standard of any Cloud Computing provider is that they are at a SAS70 Type II data center that is highly secure as well as staffed with on-site security at all times. To save on costs many Cloud Computing companies outsource their data storage to the Middle East or Asia. Under IRS regulations, whenever data is transmitted to non-American locations, the written consent of the clientele is mandatory. The tech support can also be done out of house, and this is something the accountant needs to consider when conducting research to seek a good provider of cloud services.
Now that we've found that every firm has different needs, let's talk about how each cloud can be specialized for each user. The following are the most popular reasons for an Accountant to head to the Cloud.
Cost Savings: Numerous firms fail to recognize their excessive, annual IT expenditures. When you combine the cost of purchasing large hardware to support the max usage you could have, the cost of an IT consultant to come and network, setup, maintain, update and service the equipment and software, the licenses for the operating system etc, the backups, anti-virus protection, and security protocols, etc, the Cloud can save firms on average 30-50% on IT costs annually.
Security: Its very common to believe that a traditional client-server setup is more secure then the Cloud, however this is a simply not true. Cloud service offers a service that is secure and solves a lot of problems that accounting firms could offer if they had the means, and most of them don't.
Convenience: The Cloud provides anytime, anywhere access. Accountants no longer need to have their applications or data installed on the PC they are using; instead, they require only Internet connectivity.
Scalability: You pay for what you use and use what you need, like a computing power grid. The era of buying huge servers and maintaining them are gone. Virtualization has created an environment that is more cost effective than a traditional IT managed infrastructure.
Shift the Focus: Accountants did not go to school to spend their days managing a server or focusing on updating their software to the new release. By moving to the Cloud, accountants will be allowed to shift their focus from billable hour work to IT.
Collaboration: Let's you work well with others. This will give the client and the accountant up to date numbers and financial information to collaborate with while making important decisions within their business.
Transforming IT: The new trend is to move away from a hardware set up to an IT where you pay as you go.
New Service Offerings: Cloud services offer new services to the clients and thereby open up new revenue streams for the accountants It will be possible for them to charge clients for more electronic services like an online portal, disaster recovery plan, document management and storage.
In Conclusion: There are a number of Cloud providers. The difficulty lies within relating to your customers' requirements and providing them with a specialized product that brands their company and gives them the virtual office solutions they want. Accountants should keep in mind features like security, adaptability and expertise in accounting technology before choosing a vendor The benefits of moving to the Cloud are evident, the timing and the selection of who to provide those services is more complex.
Traditional software programs that use Microsoft Office differ and are surpassed by accountants. There are a number of things Accountants can use Cloud based services for. Accountants, their employees and their clients have access to an endless list of programs and applications. Dealing with the financial stats in real time is necessary for the final result.
Accountants need to consider that security is paramount in picking a cloud services provider. Cloud will host their client's financial information and confidential records without risk to security breach at any time. Research into the physical location of the hosts' data center as well as their redundancies and precautionary measures taken to secure data is of great importance. It is obvious that an Accountant cannot re-create the physical or intellectual security that an enterprise level hosting company can, but the details in which that host rolls out their security protocols needs to be researched as well. A typical standard of any Cloud Computing provider is that they are at a SAS70 Type II data center that is highly secure as well as staffed with on-site security at all times. To save on costs many Cloud Computing companies outsource their data storage to the Middle East or Asia. Under IRS regulations, whenever data is transmitted to non-American locations, the written consent of the clientele is mandatory. The tech support can also be done out of house, and this is something the accountant needs to consider when conducting research to seek a good provider of cloud services.
Now that we've found that every firm has different needs, let's talk about how each cloud can be specialized for each user. The following are the most popular reasons for an Accountant to head to the Cloud.
Cost Savings: Numerous firms fail to recognize their excessive, annual IT expenditures. When you combine the cost of purchasing large hardware to support the max usage you could have, the cost of an IT consultant to come and network, setup, maintain, update and service the equipment and software, the licenses for the operating system etc, the backups, anti-virus protection, and security protocols, etc, the Cloud can save firms on average 30-50% on IT costs annually.
Security: Its very common to believe that a traditional client-server setup is more secure then the Cloud, however this is a simply not true. Cloud service offers a service that is secure and solves a lot of problems that accounting firms could offer if they had the means, and most of them don't.
Convenience: The Cloud provides anytime, anywhere access. Accountants no longer need to have their applications or data installed on the PC they are using; instead, they require only Internet connectivity.
Scalability: You pay for what you use and use what you need, like a computing power grid. The era of buying huge servers and maintaining them are gone. Virtualization has created an environment that is more cost effective than a traditional IT managed infrastructure.
Shift the Focus: Accountants did not go to school to spend their days managing a server or focusing on updating their software to the new release. By moving to the Cloud, accountants will be allowed to shift their focus from billable hour work to IT.
Collaboration: Let's you work well with others. This will give the client and the accountant up to date numbers and financial information to collaborate with while making important decisions within their business.
Transforming IT: The new trend is to move away from a hardware set up to an IT where you pay as you go.
New Service Offerings: Cloud services offer new services to the clients and thereby open up new revenue streams for the accountants It will be possible for them to charge clients for more electronic services like an online portal, disaster recovery plan, document management and storage.
In Conclusion: There are a number of Cloud providers. The difficulty lies within relating to your customers' requirements and providing them with a specialized product that brands their company and gives them the virtual office solutions they want. Accountants should keep in mind features like security, adaptability and expertise in accounting technology before choosing a vendor The benefits of moving to the Cloud are evident, the timing and the selection of who to provide those services is more complex.
No comments:
Post a Comment