Migrating to the cloud can provide tax and accounting firms with an array of benefits. However, there are several challenges that make the process daunting and time-consuming. It's important to understand both the difficulties of migrating to the cloud and the advantages it provides organizations.
Challenges of migrating to the cloud
There are a few reasons why migrating to the cloud can be challenging. Here are some of the biggest roadblocks firms have to deal with when considering migrating to the cloud:
- Security: One of the toughest challenges many companies face is IT security. Countless organizations worry about the security of their legacy data when moving to the cloud. These concerns include the migration process itself, as well as how the information is stored on the cloud.
- Costs: Organizations often believe the costs of migrating their legacy data to the cloud are high. It's undeniable that cloud adoption can have a big impact on a company's budget, both initially and in the long term. In some cases, companies are reluctant to make the budgeting adjustments required for this process.
- Lack of resources: Companies might not have the skills or resources to migrate legacy data to cloud servers. If cloud service providers don't offer technical support (though good providers will), it's up to firms to plan and execute migrations.
- Regulations and compliance requirements: Many firms view the current regulations and compliance issues surrounding cloud migration as overwhelming barriers when it comes to managing their data within the cloud. The General Data Protection Regulation, California Consumer Privacy Act and other global regulations are now more important than ever.
Despite these challenges, the benefits of cloud migration are too critical to pass up — and they can mitigate many fears related to making the switch.
Benefits of cloud migration
Migrating your system to the cloud comes with numerous benefits. For one, it increases infrastructure scalability. Tax and accounting firms and other seasonal businesses demand scalability to fluctuate their systems during times of need. For example, tax season is hectic, which means that organizations will need to increase their abilities to meet the demand. Cloud migration provides flexibility because it eliminates any scalability or physical limitations.
In addition, cloud migration ensures the entire workforce — including hybrid and remote workers — can quickly and easily access all essential files, calendars, systems, applications and documents. Accounting firms, in particular, can increase communication and processes and enhance collaboration by using cloud-based IT technologies.
Finally, organizations can benefit from the data security that certain data centers provide. This is particularly important, as there was an
Steps to take after moving to the cloud
After reviewing the challenges and benefits, you might decide to take the next step and migrate to the cloud. But that's not the end of the process. There are some steps to take to successfully maintain your system after migration and ensure you reap the most benefits:
- Get a password manager. You'll want a safe location to securely store and share all the new usernames and passwords with your team. It's also essential to enforce complex passwords, which have at least 12 characters and a mix of numbers, letters, cases and symbols.
- Always use a virtual private network when in public. If you're accessing cloud information in public, it's always important to use a VPN. Using any type of public Wi-Fi leaves you vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. A VPN can reduce the risk of unauthorized users accessing your firm's critical and confidential information.
- Back up your files. Remember to implement an automatic backup schedule for your files. Your team should back up data at least once daily to keep it current. There are various apps that can be useful when it comes to scheduling backups, such as Spanning. Use accounting technology apps, such as QuickBooks or Xero, to back up all your cloud accounting data.
- Provide security training. To better identify and manage security threats, train all employees on cybersecurity measures during migration and provide quarterly refreshers to ensure they have the latest information.
I'll leave you with an example: In the past, we've seen companies improperly store critical virtual machine images, leaving those businesses vulnerable to outside sources accessing images without using passwords and getting ahold of information stored on the cloud. This mistake can have devastating consequences. To avoid it and others like it, follow the above steps to ensure you have the right security measures to prevent any breaches. While migrating to the cloud has its challenges, the benefits far outweigh them — if you take the time to properly manage your system after the move.
