Contents of CPA Practice Advisor - MAR 2012

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

Page 5 of 38

TIPS & TRICKS
Five Reasons Cloud-Based Backup is Better
What would you do if all of your client data was suddenly gone?
Web-based applications are now an
integral component of virtually every American's life, both personal and professional. From online banking programs for consumers, to profes- sional programs that once were installed on local computers and servers, the benefi ts of these soſt ware- as-a-service systems is that they are instantly accessible from anywhere, allowing us to be more mobile, and yet still as productive, if not more so. This does mean, of course, that some of our personal or professional
data is hosted outside of our personal control – it's "in the cloud" – stored on remote servers that are usually owned and managed by major data hosting providers like Amazon, by the technology developers themselves, such as Intuit, Thomson Reuters, CCH and BNA, or through third- party providers, such as Iron Moun- tain, Gillware, SmartVault and Acct1st. T e primary concern of all com-
puter users should always be security, especially those in professions such as accounting, tax compliance, fi nancial advisory services and others that manage sensitive client informa- tion. However, over the 15-plus years that online programs and web-based backup have been available, it has been proven that online storage is not only secure, but is actually safer and more reliable than simply keeping the
information on your offi ce computers or servers, even when you perform backups in-house.
With Data Backup, Humans are the Weakest Link. T e main reason for this is the human element. As with any technology, a data backup routine is only as eff ective as the weakest component, and human error is the most common contributor to lost data. Whether it's get ing lax on backups and performing them less and less frequently, storing the backups or having a backup drive located in the same offi ce with the computers, or being too casual with passwords and offi ce security proto- cols. While it is easy to see the potential
danger of theft related to the final point, the problem with where the
Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor
Isaac is the Editor for CPA Practice Advisor, having joined the publication in September 2002. Through his experience in the areas of consumer and professional- level software and peripherals, as well as knowledge of the public accounting fi eld, he provides reviews of technologies used by accountants and their business clients as well as contributing a regular column that provides helpful information that ranges from improving search techniques to when to upgrade a computer to computing security issues. He can be reached at isaac.obannon@cpapracticeadvisor.com.
6 APracticeA FIVE March 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
Reasons Cloud-Based Backup is Better than Local:
• Automation of backup processes • Safer from natural disasters • Safer from computer/server crashes • Redundancy (data stored in more than one location) • Support when restoring data
backup is located becomes a factor when dealing with natural disasters or fi res that may damage your offi ce building and the contents within it. T is wouldn't result in unauthorized access to the sensitive information, but suddenly losing all of your client information and their tax, accounting and financial data would have a crushing eff ect on your practice. After the "weakest link" human
factor, the most common cause of data loss without a fi re, theſt or natural disaster is system crashes. It's a simple fact of life in the technology age that we live in, that hard drives fail, including those in external backup devices. When this happens, some- times the data can be recovered, but with total crashes, all is lost. T e odds of both your computer and external hard drive failing simultaneously are about nil, but if you haven't been maintaining a near-perfect backup routine then you may still lose days or weeks worth of client activity. T is wouldn't necessarily result in a total failure of your fi rm, but the time spent recreating that data would put incredible stress on staff and clients alike.