Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/160971
FROM THE TRENCHES a separate private cloud for you at a premium charge. Te key benefts to a private cloud are more fexibility, integration and customization, and in most cases greater security but at a premium price. So, What Should Be Your Strategy? but you are still using resources that are publically available with sup porting hardware infrastructure components shared by more than one company. When security is set up correctly, your private data will be secure. Some vendors would arg ue that even though you are sharing common data center and applications, your frm's data is kept private, and they'll refer to their ofering as a private cloud. We prefer to think of private cloud of fer i ngs where you bu i ld a nd maintain a private cloud in-house or in hosting centers that provide a completely separate infrastructure using oferings like Citrix XenApp, Citr i x Xen Desktop or V Mware View. You may fnd the long-term costs to be less to build a private cloud in-house and you will typically see greater speed and fexibility. For most CPA frms, Microsof's HyperV and App-V aren't as fast for CCH, Tomson or Intuit products today. W hen a v i r t ua l ized net work is extended with these technologies, whether the network is in your frm or in a data center, you provide users the ability to run from anywhere, anytime with similar performance to the ofce. Tis approach is a private cloud. A few vendors, Cloud 9 Realtime and Xcentric for example, will build You should look at what you are trying to accomplish as a frm. If you are in public practice, think about the interfaces to your clients frst. If you are in industry, think about how you interface with your customers and suppliers. Te technical tools today allow you to work anywhere, a ny t i me a nd a ny pl a c e . You should look at the sofware that fts your needs the best. If the solution you need is only available as an in-house or network based application, t hen don't f e e l ba d l y a bout choosing that approach. If your needs can be met by a SaaS application, then choose that. Make sure you understand that you'll have to spend money on interfacing systems un less the vendor prov ides the interfaces. Generally vendors will provide many interfaces to make it easier for you to adopt their system. If you conclude you need an inhouse application, as noted above, you have t wo pr i ma r y choices: implement a traditional in-house LA N/WA N extended with technologies from Citrix and others OR turn to a hosting company that supports all of the applications that you need and want to run. If you have a mix of in-house and SaaS applications, or a hybrid solution, then you have to make sure your hosting provider can support all of the applications you desire. Model all of the costs for a ten year period. This will help you see the cost/beneft of being in the cloud or remaining in-house. Te reason for using ten years in the model is that traditional servers and Storage Area Networks (SANs) need to be scheduled for replacement every fve years. One of your largest unexpected costs will likely be on sofware licensing and upgrades if you have an in-house implementation. Cloud vendors factor in hardware infrastructure and upgrades in their monthly costs. You will continue to have technology local resources that have to be maintained whether you are in the cloud or have an in-house "private cloud" implementation. Tese technologies include: a next generation firewall, good cabling (CAT 6af), 1GBps switches with Jumbo Frame and Power Over Ethernet support, Phone ser vice (VOIP), copiers/MFP, end user computers including UltraBooks or desktops, mu l t i p l e mo n i t o r s , s c a n n e r s , printers, smartphones and encryp- IN THE CLOUD tion everywhere. Optionally, you m ay w a nt to h av e: re du nd a nt internet lines, wireless (public/private), tablets, cellular data, portable monitors (MMT, HP U160), conference room displays or projectors connected with an Apple T V or McTivia appliance, a well thought out web site, and digital signage. Te advantages to being in a data center include: redundant communication lines, generators for backup power, SLA (Service Level Agreements) of 99.999(9) percent, physical security and control, command centers, SOC/SSAE 16 certifcations (ofen inherited), and probable BC/ DR preparedness. The issues for pr ivate cloud i mplementat ions include: sufcient local expertise, M ic rosof t l icen si ng , on-goi ng maintenance and managed services costs, sofware updates, the capital expense of replacing server, SANs and backup appliances every five years, power outages, physical risk in the ofce, and internet costs for greater speed. As you do your evaluation of how to use the cloud, think about your goals. Look to maximize reliability and speed, minimize downtime and costs, and provide f lexible client/ customer solutions. With either a public or private cloud, you can work anywhere, anytime, anyplace…or not. September 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 17