The accountancy sector in the UK is currently undergoing a large scale migration from locally stored IT data into the virtual ‘Cloud’ computing. Gary David Smith - the co-founder of Prism Total IT Solutions – warns accountants preparing to make the move to double check their local infrastructure.
“Many accountancy firms are obviously looking for the efficiencies that can be gained through using certain aspects of Cloud Computing but unfortunately many are located away from the high speed enabled city centres that can capitalise on Cloud services most efficiently,” said Mr Smith - whose company supplies managed IT support services to over 1000 SME’s nationwide.
“We have come across many firms based in small towns or rural areas who are struggling to get the connectivity required to access Cloud services. Unfortunately, some of them seem to have figured this out only after they have attempted to make the transition into virtual computing.”
“They are then faced with the increased costs of leased lines or bonded Digital Subscriber Lines which effectively eradicate any savings they thought they would make,” said Gary David Smith.
“You would think that any SME embarking on the journey into the Cloud would have been better advised but unfortunately, many Managed Service Providers seem more fixated on the ‘land grab’ opportunity of new business and not their individual client’s needs,” he said.
Gary David Smith’s top ten considerations for accountancy firms before attempting Cloud migration:
1. Is it in your companies interests to acquire compatibility across key applications?
2. Will your company benefit from enhanced performance and compatibility of scanning and printing?
3. Connectivity to the Internet – Is the internet speed in your region able to support Cloud services? In some areas Cloud products will not give the end user the best overall experience.
4. Would your company benefit from improved access for mobile users? Can they access data offline?
5. How will you support your end users? Can your provider support your remaining local infrastructure?
6. Where will your data be stored, does this comply with Data Protection requirements? Will new legislation affect your Data Protection policies?
7. Why are you migrating into the Cloud? Be very clear about what it is that you're trying to achieve.
8. What are the terms of the Service-Level Agreement (SLA) quoted by the provider? Are these sufficient for your needs and what cover do you have if your provider fails you?
9. How are you going to get your data back in the event of a breakdown in the relationship with the provider?
10. Contractual tie in - are you comfortable with a potentially long term agreement for something you haven’t yet tried?
