Private Cloud Services For Central PA CPA Firms

Private Cloud Services For Central PA CPA Firms

The accounting industry has evolved over time thanks to the increased adoption of innovative technologies. The latest technological trend in the accounting sector is the incorporation of cloud-based solutions into mainstream business processes. Cloud computing helps CPA firms streamline their accounting processes, cut IT costs, improve efficiency and optimize the security of their environment.

Essentially, there are two main types of cloud computing services available for CPA firms: public cloud and private cloud. This blog explains the difference between the two and why CPA firms in Central PA should choose Private cloud over the public option.

What Is the Difference Between Public, Hybrid, and Private Cloud?

• A public cloud is cloud computing technology delivered through the internet and shared by several organizations. In other words, public clouds are exposed to the public and can be used by anyone. Public cloud providers leverage virtualization to build cloud services offered to the public for a specified fee. A good example of a public cloud is the Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• A private cloud is cloud computing dedicated solely to a single organization. Since it is used by a single CPA firm, private clouds are typically not exposed to the myriads of security risks that public cloud faces. Private cloud resides inside your organization and is secured behind a firewall, so only you can access and manage it prudently. Also, since CPA firms typically handle sensitive client data, mostly targeted by cybercriminals, the private cloud is better than the other options.
• A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that leverages both public and private clouds. The hybrid service is distributed among public and private clouds where users can interchangeably use either service depending on their needs.

The Benefits of Private Cloud for CPA Firms

The main benefit of a private cloud is that resources are not shared. It is, therefore, an ideal option for businesses that must meet high regulatory and compliance thresholds, such as those in the accounting industry. By allowing you to have complete control over your environment, private cloud guarantees you are meeting your business governance, compliance, and security requirements without much fuss.

When implemented properly, a private cloud offers several other benefits, including:

More Control

Private clouds are dedicated to your organization, meaning you have better control and easier access when you need it. Ideally, your IT team can conveniently and effectively configure the platform and make changes when a business need arises. Your IT team can also predict issues such as downtime and bottlenecks in service delivery and take proactive action to minimize their impacts. With the public cloud, you don’t have much flexibility when it comes to managing your IT resources because you share several resources with other organizations.

Greater Security

You can hardly find a more secure option for cloud computing than a private cloud. Private clouds are ideal for any organization looking to protect its data and environment from hackers and insider threats. Private cloud allows your in-house team to manage your IT environment prudently and fully control all the sensitive data. Even in a situation where a third-party data center is managing your resources, you have better knowledge regarding the location of your files and who has access to it. In a shared public space, all your sensitive data resides in a shared platform, thus raising the risks of security breaches substantially.

Meeting Compliance Requirements

The upsurge in cyberattacks in recent days has resulted in several regulatory and compliance laws intended to guarantee secure IT environments. CPA firms in central PA have to strictly adhere to regulatory requirements and compliance standards from organizations such as the GDPR and CCPA. Accounting firms may also be subject to a range of sector-specific regulations. Private cloud solutions for CPA firms can be tailor-made to meet both federal-specific and industry-specific compliance needs of the firm. They can also be modified easily whenever the compliance requirements change.

Reduced Costs

When correctly implemented, the private cloud can effectively reduce the TCO when compared with the public cloud. This is because it helps you avoid the unexpected charges typical of the public cloud. Notably, the cost of data migration is not always projected in a public cost model, leading to users paying far more than foreseen. A stable cost model provided by a private cloud can help you slash IT-related costs by as much as 40%.

Performance and Scalability

Since the private cloud resources are completely at the disposal of the cloud’s owner, there is less risk of resources or capacity contention. At the virtual layer, scaling becomes convenient and simple. You can deploy and configure new cloud servers with ease whenever a business need arises. At the physical layer, new bare metal servers can be added quickly to enhance the overall capacity of your cloud platform when the demand rises. Private cloud technology is flexible and can adapt to firms of different sizes and diverse objectives, goals, and other factors. You can configure your resources in a manner that best suits your accounting needs.

Reliability

With a private cloud solution, you are assured of business continuity because your websites draw their resources from multiple virtual machines. In case of system failure due to various issues, the virtualization enables the servers to pull resources from other active servers, thus enabling business continuity. With a public cloud, you are never assured of business continuity in the event of an unexpected disaster such as floods, fires, hurricanes, or cyber-attacks. If your public provider suddenly winds up business, it becomes a challenge for you to migrate your data and files to new servers.

Are There Any Issues with Private Cloud?

The primary issue with private clouds is the complexity they can introduce to your IT environment. You definitely need a highly experienced IT team to avoid these issues and maximize the advantages of the private cloud. At MicroXpress, we understand not all CPA firms in Central PA have the resources and time to recruit, train and retain a dedicated IT team to take charge of their private cloud investment. As such, we provide reliable MSP solutions to ensure 100% uptime, consistent performance, and excellent security in your cloud environment.

Private Cloud Services For Central PA CPA & Accounting Firms

If you think a private cloud solution is ideal for your CPA firm, contact MicroXpress today to learn more about how we can work with you to secure the right private cloud solution.