CPA Practice Advisor - 16

REVIEW: HOSTING PROVIDERS

By Mary Girsch-Bock

Anytime/Anywhere Access
on-premise applications. While this loyalty
is admirable, in this day of remote workers and the desire for anytime/anywhere
access, adhering to an onsite application
can be limiting.

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Which is why application hosting can be so important.
The ability to host any application, providing you, the business owner, with convenient access, can be invaluable to
small and large businesses alike.
The premise behind hosting is really simple. Instead
of installing an application on your own desktop, the
application is installed on the hosting company servers.
Your business is then provided with online access to that
application via a web login or a virtual desktop. By having
these traditionally on-premise applications hosted, you can
then access them from anywhere at anytime without the
need to migrate to a different application. Remote hosting
can also greatly reduce or eliminate the need for extensive
IT staff, as the product is maintained solely by the hosting
company.
Of course, not every application on the market today
can be hosted online, but the majority can, and many
hosting companies also specialize in custom hosting, so
if you have a custom program you're using, don't assume
that it cannot be hosted online.
In addition, having your applications hosted online can
be beneficial in many other ways, including:
■ Reduction in related IT hardware costs, as that cost would

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core group of users who maintain loyalty to

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cloud-based solutions, there remains a

be defrayed to the hosting company.
■ Increased mobility for you, your business, and your staff. No
longer will you have to rely on staff members or co-workers
to provide you with the necessary files since you'll be able
to access them from anywhere with an internet connection.
■ Increased security. Hosting companies offer bank level
security, with data protected around the clock. Sure, you
have anti-virus software, but it's much more likely that your
system will be hacked than it is for data to be breached at
a hosting company.
■ Help and support is all handled by the hosting company,
and you'll always have access to the latest version of any
software application that is being hosted.
In this issue of CPA Practice Advisor, we've reviewed five
product hosting providers. The products vary, with basic
QuickBooks hosting offered in some, to custom server and
data migration services offered in others. The products
included in this review are:
■ Abacus Private Cloud
■ Cetrom CPA Cloud
■ Cloudvara
■ Right Networks
As always, we have also included a chart that details
the features and functions found in each of the applications. If you're tired of being locked out of your desktop,
or just want to be able to run a report when you're not
in the office, it may be time to start looking at hosting
applications.

MOB
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AS THE PROFESSION moves more towards

ABACUS PRIVATE CLOUD

CLOUDVARA

4.5

RIGHT NETWORKS

*NOT SPECIFIED

NOVEMBER 2019 ■

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