The Cloud. Once nothing more than an industry buzzword, it has now transformed modern accounting, delivering powerful fund accounting applications to the masses in ways not possible from on premise platforms.
But with the rise of cloud-based accounting, myths have taken root. We get it – accounting systems inherently house sensitive information. But, that doesn’t make the myths true. Let’s dispel some of the more popular myths about cloud-based fund accounting and set the record straight.
MYTH: CLOUD-BASED FUND ACCOUNTING ISN’T SECURE
At first glance, it seems to make sense. We’ve all heard about the flurry of retailers that have been attacked by malicious hackers. Shouldn’t cloud-based applications be vulnerable as well? That, quite simply is not the case.
Modern cloud-based fund accounting solutions provide physical and digital security measures that are designed to protect user accounts and data in ways that are difficult to replicate in on premise solutions. In fact, security is the backbone of SaaS accounting companies. In many cases, accounts and data are protected by measures including strong encryption, two-factor authentication, IP address filtering and much more.
More importantly, they have the resources and expertise to ensure security. Most small and mid-sized businesses simply don’t have the resources to staff their data centers with security guards, or hire security experts to patch and maintain their servers to keep out hackers. Cloud-based accounting companies do.
MYTH: THE CLOUD IS LESS RELIABLE
Like security issues, there have been more than a few media stories about outages affecting major cloud providers – from Yahoo! to Apple and Amazon.com to HealthCare.gov.
While no system is infallible, the very premise of cloud computing is built with reliability in mind. Cloud-based fund accounting solutions are more reliable than other platforms because they are built with multiple locations and servers in mind, providing additional protection. This means that quality cloud providers can deliver more reliable uptime than virtually any other. If one data center is down, another is quickly available.
But, what about your own Internet connectivity? It is true that most cloud-based fund accounting solutions require an Internet connection. However, most businesses have multiple Internet connections to ensure reliability. And, in the era of unprecedented mobility, users can often access all functionality through their tablet or smartphone if needed.
MYTH: MIGRATION IS COMPLEX
Often, our past experience is instructive. We’ve all had issues moving data from one server to another, or from one application to another. However, this myth falls apart when it comes to cloud-based fund accounting solutions.
Modern cloud-based fund accounting solutions provide numerous, easy-to-use options to migrate complex accounting data, such as CSV, XML, Quickbooks, or other standard options. In most cases, the transition from your current accounting solution to a cloud-based solution is both seamless and pain free.
MYTH: CLOUD ACCOUNTING IS EXPENSIVE
While there are costs associated with migrating data to the cloud, in the long term, cloud-based fund accounting solutions often reduce costs significantly. Consider the costs associated with on-premise solutions:
Management
Energy
Hardware
Software licensing
Backup storage
With cloud-based accounting, you share the costs of those resources, typically paying a monthly cost based upon usage. Think of it this way: is it more efficient to hire someone to make your office’s pens, or buy them from an office supply store? Clearly using a provider that specializes in these things lends efficiencies.
GETTING STARTED
While these myths continue to persist, the reality is that cloud-based fund accounting is secure, affordable and accessible for nearly all small- to mid-sized organizations.
If your organization is ready to make a change, contact Zobrio to see how we can partner to deliver a fund accounting solution that fits your needs.