We recognise that the majority of people are confused by the cloud’s inner workings, including how it operates, how secure it is, what it can do for us, etc.
Time is previous so we won’t waste it by going into detail about shared hosting, the value of economies of scale, or even how “revealing” photos of famous people may have ended up in the public domain via their iCloud accounts. You can learn more about it on Wikipedia, but we thought it would be more helpful to go into greater detail about how we use the cloud and what cloud accounting software might be able to achieve for you on a daily basis.
How cloud computing functions in the accounting industry
Simply put, your end-user experience shouldn’t differ from the on-screen experience you’re used to (excluding all the additional features we’ll discuss later). The simplest definition of a cloud-based system is that it is not hosted by your on-premises services but rather by a supplier like Sage and their Intacct option.
What advantages does our cloud-based solution offer?
Data backup: Cloud backup provides an additional layer of protection by storing data in a remote location, safeguarding it from disasters such as fires, floods, or theft that could affect on-site storage.
Availability: You can access your accounts and those of your clients anywhere with an internet connection. User-friendly software is promoted to people outside of the finance team, which helps to clear business bottlenecks and reduces the pressure on the finance team.
Cost effective: Instead of having to make large upfront expenditures in server equipment or keep equipment laying around that you aren’t utilising, you may take advantage of monthly payments that are friendly to cash flow and grow and contract your use of the cloud as needed.
Time saving: With automatic upgrades, backups and automation, you can free up time, space, energy, and IT resources – and IT expenditure.
Technical words to be aware of
The next time you find yourself perplexed by needlessly complicated explanations or acronyms, just refer to this article and the helpful little acronym buster below; knowledge is power! Cloud computing should no longer be a secret that puts you at a competitive or financial disadvantage.
Cloud Computing: The delivery of IT services on-demand over shared networked computing resources.
IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service): A cloud computing service model where virtualised computing resources are provided over the internet.
PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service): A cloud computing service model that provides a platform for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications.
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service): A cloud computing service model where software applications are provided over the internet, typically on a subscription basis.
XaaS (Anything-as-a-Service): A term that encompasses all cloud computing services, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
Cloud Provider: An organisation or business that offers access to cloud computing services, generally for a fee. Examples include AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Cloud Migration: The process of moving data, applications, and other IT resources from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud environment.
Cloud Backup: Backing up data to a remote, cloud-based server.
Hybrid Cloud: A cloud computing environment that combines on-premises data centres with public or private cloud resources.
Multi-Cloud: The concurrent use of separate cloud service providers for different infrastructure, platform, or software needs.
Cloud Automation: The practice of automating cloud infrastructure management processes in line with IT resource demand.
Cloud Provisioning: The process of delivering cloud resources and services to customers on an as-needed basis.
Cloud Native: Applications or services that are designed specifically for cloud computing environments.
Container: A lightweight, portable unit that packages an application and its dependencies, allowing it to run consistently across different computing environments.
API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules and protocols that enable different software applications to communicate and share data.
Data Migration: Moving data between multiple formats, servers, storage systems, or warehouses.
Public Cloud: A cloud infrastructure system that is hosted by a cloud services provider and can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.
Private Cloud: A cloud infrastructure system that is used exclusively by a single organisation and can be hosted on-premises or by a third-party provider.
CDN (Content Delivery Network): A system of distributed servers that deliver content and services to users based on their geographic location.
Cloud Operating System (Cloud OS): A specialised operating system that manages cloud computing and virtualisation environments.
So that’s a brief overview of cloud-based accounting. This is obviously a simplified explanation of how everything functions; if you’re curious to learn more about our cloud-based system, real-time reporting, or cloud computing in general, send us an email. We’d be delighted to assist in taking your company to new heights.
Sage Intacct is a powerful tool for financial management and budgeting, and we at Itas Solutions are aware. We are great fans of Intacct due to the variety of reports the system produces, the cloud-based accounting solution, the ability for numerous users to utilise the system at the same time, and connection with other business systems.
Itas Solutions began working with one client in 1995 and today offers services to more than 200 companies in the UK. We are always willing to help our customers.
Our customers have trusted Itas for more than 20 years, and we have grown as a result of their referrals and those of IT professionals who respect our knowledgeable but individualised service.
Contact us at info@itassolutions.co.uk, call us at +44 (0) 1824 780 000, or write an email to learn more about how Itas can assist your company with increased purchasing management, Sage Intacct deployment, and finance automation.
