Best Practices of Hosting Applications in the Cloud. Douglas Sleeter, Founder The Sleeter Group

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Best Practices of Hosting

Applications in the Cloud

Douglas Sleeter, Founder

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About Doug Sleeter

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CPA Practice Advisor

• Columnist, Successful Small Business Consulting • Top 25 Thought Leaders, 2011, 2012 and 2013

The Sleeter Group

• 700-member Accounting Consulting Group • Author – Textbooks and Reference Guides • Consultant to Software Developers

Accounting Today

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Client Collaboration Accountant Security Manage Data Operations Timesheets Job Costing POS Dashboard Bookkeeping Consulting Payroll Taxes CFO Services Dashboard • Anytime/Anywhere • Enhanced Security • Less Expensive

• Data Always in Sync (Live) • Simplicity

• Reduced Client IT Needs

Software

Live Data Internet

Cloud

The New World

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Benefits of Hosting

• In addition to cloud benefits, hosting provides:

– No data conversion. Upload and go… – No retraining of users.

– Can keep local data backups.

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Should You Be a Host Yourself?

• Short answer – No!

• There is a lot involved in hosting applications for

businesses

– Platform Hardware and Software

– Multi-tenant infrastructure

– Connectivity

– Access and Delivery (Service Level Agreements)

– User Interface and Application Presentation

– Network Resource Administration

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Should You Be a Host Yourself?

• Longer Answer – No! Focus on Your Core Competency

– Is technology or managed IT service your core

competency?

– Does your company have the resources to build, manage,

and maintain a high-tech business?

– Why risk the other aspects of your business by

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QuickBooks Licensing Options

• QuickBooks hosting offers flexibility in obtaining

QuickBooks licenses:

– Subscription rental licensing for Pro or Premier,

QBES and QBPOS

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Presented by:

Kacee Johnson, MBA

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• U.S. Based with Headquarters in San Diego, California

• Licensed by Intuit & Sage as Commercial Host in the US and Canada • SOC2, SSAE16 Certified Data Center

• 2012 & 2013 Reader’s Choice Award “Best ASP/Hosting Provider” by

CPA Practice Advisor Magazine

• 2013 Sleeter Awesome App Award

• 2012 K2 Enterprises Technology Award for Top Hosting Company • Building Custom Cloud Solutions since 2000

• Free Whitepapers at www.cloud9realtime.com

• Sleeter Members Receive 10% Off!

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What is Cloud Computing?

• Cloud = Internet

• Highly Scalable

• Increase Capacity Quickly without a

Large Investment in Infrastructure

• Users don’t need to control or update

their Cloud

• Save on Licensing Fees

• No Learning Curve for Common

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What is the “Cloud” made of?

Applications

Storage

Servers

Network

Appliances

Estimated Infrastructure

$452 Billion Dollars

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Different Types of Cloud Solutions

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Hosting: Managed Service Providers

Virtual Servers hosting all of your Apps, Data and Users. Example: Cloud9 Real Time



Online Access: Logging in via Browser to View

Website that allows user to login and view account info but is not a full application. Example: Online Banking



Storage: Online Portal for clients

Primarily used for online data storage or file transfer. Example: Many CPA’s have Website Portals on their website

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SaaS: Software as a Service

An application accessed online that is provided by a Vendor or Manufacturer; Not Desktop Edition.

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Overview of Hosting

EMPLOYEES

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Best Practices

• Avoid High Up Front Costs

• Learn from Early Adopters

• Vetted, Certified Cloud Providers

• SAS70 Old – SOC2 New

• Address Security Concerns

• Try before you Buy

• Solve the Integration Problem

• Singular Sign On

• Dual Monitor Functionality – Connection Managers

• Backups – Disaster Recovery

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• Risk Assessment of Cloud Provider

• Data Migration

• Local Security

• What you need locally

• Implement strong ongoing governance

• Assign a Project Lead

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Shared Environment

What’s Included:

• Privately Labeled Portal

• e-Dashboard • Microsoft Word 2010 • Microsoft Excel 2010 • QuickBooks Hosting • PDF Reader/Writer • DMS • Technical Support

• Backup and Storage

• Self Service Help Desk

3rd_{Party Apps Available:}

• Peachtree/Sage50

• Bill.com

• SmartVault

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The Cloud9 Virtual Server

• All Inclusive Servers • No Storage Fees

• No IT or Maintenance

• 3rd_{Party Applications Hosted}

• Includes the e-Dashboard

• Bulk License Discounts for 10+ • Packages based upon # of Users • Microsoft Office 2010

• Exchange Hosting Available • PDF Reader/Writer Pro

• Document Management & Storage • Letter Drive on your computer

• Copy & Paste capabilities

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3 Ways to

Login:

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Launch Multi-User Full Desktop of

QuickBooks With One Click

Access 3rd_Party

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Security

• SOC2 /SSAE16 Data Center

• 256-bit Encryption

• Automatic Off Site Backups • Cisco firewalls

• Cisco routers

• Uninterrupted Power Supply • Mirror disks

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Applications in the Cloud

Over 400 Hosted Applications



QuickBooks® Premier



QuickBooks® Enterprise



Thomson Reuters Suite



Microsoft Office



CCH Suite



Lacerte



Drake



Qqube



Spring Ahead



Microsoft Exchange Services



1040SCAN



Office Tools Pro

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Time and Money Savings

• Instant access to

financials

• Faster turn-around time

• Accountant and Client

can work in the files at

the same time

• No more “Accountant’s

Copy” or Backups

• Stop sending documents

and files back & forth

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Reduced Cost

Cloud technology is paid incrementally, saving organizations money. State of the Art IT Infrastructure with 24x7x365 Hands On Service

Better security and compliance with continuous monitoring, results in improved reliability, performance and productivity

Disaster Recovery

Automatic Offsite Backups remove the liability and ensure backups with integrity as well as stored remotely.

No Application Learning Curve

You are using the same applications you use today, full Desktop versions. They are just now stored and running in the Cloud versus locally where you manage. Allows IT to Shift Focus

No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, you can now shift the focus to be on billable hours.