THE NON-CLOUD SYSTEM (DESKTOP SOFTWARE)
Non-cloud or desktop computing means that a desktop computer is physically loaded up with accounting software (referred to as desktop software). In some environments, software may be loaded onto a file server somewhere on a computer network and this is accessible by computers on that network. This means that without additional software in place, you can only access your accounting software from within one physical environment, in most cases, the business’s office premises.
There are other limitations too.
Desktop software is almost always licensed on the basis of one licence per user. This means that should your business grow and require more users, then the cost of maintaining the licensing of your software increases.
Data security is obviously paramount, and to this end a lot of business owners put in place what they think are robust backup procedures. In reality, however, they rarely are. These back-up procedures often include copying the data to a USB stick, creating all kinds of issues: Who has the USB stick? Where is it kept? Is it secure? What happens if the data is lost from that USB stick? Some businesses back up the data to another part of the network, sometimes even onto the same server – fine, until the server crashes. Sometimes the data is backed up onto tape drives that people will take home; another process that is open to risk.
Accessibility can be a problem. Some people may not have licences for the software, some people may not have access to the software at all times and they invariably will not always have the information they need.
Time lag is another problem with non-cloud software. Say you work from a copy of the data, perhaps having taken the USB stick home. Unless your internal office communications are flawless, can you be sure that the data you are working from is the very latest version and has not been updated in the meantime?
THE CLOUD SYSTEM (CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE)
The cloud was designed to eliminate the typical issues faced by users of desktop software.
With cloud software, your data is stored on the provider’s servers; no data is stored locally. This means that you can access your data from any device anywhere, almost always through a web browser. You do not need any specific hardware; just a computer or tablet with a web browser. You can give access to your data to whoever you want, so they are able to access your data anytime, anywhere, on any device in the world.
Software prices are usually more straightforward; you do not always have to pay more money every time you increase the number of users.
Security of your data – one of the biggest concerns of new cloud users – has been comprehensively configured to be stronger and more dependable than traditional desktop software systems – something we will examine shortly.
Learn more about cloud accounting
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