When you finally decide to make the shift from QuickBooks Enterprise on your desktop to a cloud-hosted solution, you are most probably looking forward to the benefits of the cloud. The flexibility and remote working is likely the primary reason to migrate the software.
Other reasons can be cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and scalability of the hosting solution.
Many businesses that shift their desktop QuickBooks Enterprise to the cloud also experience a better, more secure infrastructure. The security of your location-based infrastructure is always vague and often your responsibility.
While the QuickBooks Enterprise software has multiple security layers that work to protect your data, you still need to secure your in-house systems. There are many concerns when it comes to protecting information in this setup.
What if your HDD gets stolen? What if someone enters your office and steals the data from your endpoint? What if there’s a natural disaster?
For all these situations, the cloud is the answer. With the cloud, you can add an extra layer of security to your software. You don't need to worry about theft, natural calamities, and other threats.
Below we have discussed why cloud hosting can make your QuickBooks Enterprise impenetrable. Read on and move towards the right decision.
QuickBooks Enterprise is a robust, agile, and flexible solution that offers you multiple features, such as automation, accounting support, and data security. The only drawback that this software has is the inability to access it from any location. So, if you have installed this locally on a computer, you need to use this particular computer to access QuickBooks. The desktop versions don't need internet, but you still need to be in a particular location to access QuickBooks Enterprise.
This means that your unknown and inevitable off-timing client requests are a huge hassle.
On the other hand, hosted QuickBooks Enterprise is the same solution but on a cloud server. The look-and-feel of this hosted solution is the same. The features are the same, and everything is also the same. The only difference is that you get added functionalities and features. Let’s see what these are:
• You can access the software remotely from any device, such as your phone or laptop.
• The security is impressive, including intrusion detection, antimalware, etc.
• Your service provider backs up data automatically.
• You don’t need to worry about disaster recovery.
• Costs are much lower than your in-house cloud infrastructure.
• You have full control of your system.
• With high uptime and regular backups, your business continuity is intact.
Security is a pressing issue for organizations because managing security in-house is taxing. On the cloud, your data is much safer than you could imagine.
Let’s see how:
One of the most significant benefits of the cloud is user accessibility. You can control and manage your information from anywhere at any time. This means that you just need to sign in to your cloud instance to access a file and share it with a company stakeholder. But, doesn't that sound a bit risky?
It is; there's no doubt in that.
But, on the hosting instance, you get multi-factor authentication. Every time you or a team member wants to access your QuickBooks Enterprise, they need to clear multi-factor authentication. This means that through multi-fold passwords, you have got access to the system.
This reduces unwanted access to a great extent. Even when someone is trying to get into your system, you are able to track that unusual or suspicious activity because of multi-factor authentication and automated monitoring bots.
It’s now a trend to backup client’s data automatically. This is why it is highly likely that your service provider would backup data automatically at regular intervals. Remember that you don’t have to pay anything extra for this service.
In return, you get enhanced disaster recovery.
Let’s face it, it's 2020, and we are in the middle of a pandemic. Every organization is relying on its databases for secure and timely access. For this reason, backups are imperative. During a natural disaster, who would you run to for disaster recovery?
With the cloud, you have it at your disposal. Organizations that have QuickBooks Enterprise hosting would be the first ones to recover and start working again. They would be able to access their data quite easily.
You may be wondering what if the cloud provider also has a server in the location where the disaster occurred. Of course, that is possible. But, remember that many competent service providers also have multiple other datacenters, which are strategically placed in different geographical locations.
In 2020, we are not only fighting the pandemic but also struggling through cyber threats. If we have experienced years' worth of digital transformation in some months, doesn't that mean that cyber activity has also increased? Obviously, hackers have also become more intelligent, and they have devised new methods for cyberattacks.
Keeping your information secure in these times is a herculean task, but not with the cloud. With QuickBooks Enterprise hosting, you get the following:
• Multi-factor authentication, as already discussed.
• High-end security features like Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems, antimalware, etc.
• An expert team to monitor your data.
• Limited access to the actual server of the service provider.
Other than this, your endpoints are not really storing any data. When your laptop is stolen or hacked, you are not risking your financial data because it is not being stored on the endpoint. This data never leaves the cloud server.
Apart from every security control discussed above, one of the remarkable features of QuickBooks Enterprise hosting is access control. You get the power to control who can or cannot access or view or edit your data. If you wish to offer only read-access to an employee and write-access to another employee, you can easily do it.
We can’t deny the fact that the cloud does make the security of your QuickBooks Enterprise more efficient and robust. However, before selecting a service provider, check the above details to know what you should get in the package. Anything less than this should not be accepted as per industry standards. Another thing that you can look for in a service provider is the support offered by the team. Ideally, clients get 24*7 support to resolve issues as soon as they arrive.
Therefore, carefully scrutinize the above factors and then make an informed decision while moving to cloud hosting.
Bhavleen is a writer at Ace Cloud Hosting – a leading hosting provider for tax software, with several years of experience in the cloud industry. She loves to research various technologies and has a firm grasp on topics like Accounting, ERP, VDI, and HIPAA.