How To Keep Your QuickBooks Data Safe When Hosting It In The Cloud

Intuit QuickBooks software is the most popular accounting software used by both businesses and individuals. It is very handy to use for payroll management, paying bills, managing expenses, and making business payments. 

Traditionally, people installed the desktop version of QuickBooks on their computers and could only access their data on them. Now, the QuickBooks Desktop software can be hosted on an internet server so that the data is accessible from any remote location. This is perfect for people who are constantly on the go or would like to give multiple people in different locations access to the same data. 

When choosing a hosting provider for your QuickBooks program, the security of your data should be a bigger factor in your decision than the cost. Since QuickBooks stores a lot of sensitive personal and financial information, you cannot run the risk of someone hacking and stealing this data. The consequences could include identity theft and possibly lawsuits if your customers’ data was stolen too. 

There are so many hosting choices to choose from, such as shared hosting, cloud hosting, dedicated hosting, etc. Based on numerous studies and evidence, cloud hosting is the best choice for keeping QuickBooks data safe. Cloud hosting uses several virtual servers and hosting resources to store your data. There is no single server with one set of resources running everything. This makes it harder for hackers to steal information because it isn’t all stored in just one place. 

However, that doesn’t mean it is impossible for a hacker to retrieve information from a cloud server. It just means that it is more difficult for them to do so. 

Choosing a Cloud Hosting Provider

So which cloud hosting provider should you choose for your QuickBooks data? There are several different cloud hosting services available, and it can be hard to distinguish them apart. Basically, you need to choose a cloud hosting provider that offers premium quality security features and goes the extra mile to keep your data safe. 

Let’s look at the ideal qualities of a cloud hosting provider for storing your QuickBooks data:

• Four-Tier Data Centers

Your cloud hosting provider must protect your hosted data with the best security possible. Four-tier data centers must be used to store data because they allow your data to be easily accessible and better protected. Some cloud hosting providers may use one-tier, two-tier, or three-tier data centers. They are not recommended for hosting QuickBooks data, though. You must go with four-tier or higher only. 

• Hardware Protection

Your own personal hardware is practically irrelevant when running software off a cloud host. But it is important that the cloud hosting servers have adequate protection or else it’ll impact your data. For example, all data centers must have their own physical security features, such as locked entrances & rooms and CCTV cameras & video surveillance. There must also be 128-bit data encryption, anti-virus programs, firewalls, and devices which can identify intrusions to the systems as they’re occurring.

• Data Reliability

The uptime rate of cloud hosting must be at least 99.99%. Aside from a four-tier data center, your cloud server resources must be equipped with redundant technology. The purpose of redundant technology is to offer fault tolerance to the most important components of the data center, such as the power source, fire detection system, fire suppression system, air conditioning system, and security system. 

• Data Backup

No matter where you store data, there is always the slight chance that it could be lost or deleted. If you were to lose your QuickBooks data from hardware failure or a virus, then this could cause you a lot of problems. For this reason, always choose a cloud hosting provider that backs up your data. The provider must have a team of backup specialists who are ready to assist their customers. Their backup protection should allow you to restore data from the past week. 

To save you the trouble of screening dozens of different cloud hosting providers, you could simply follow Intuit’s recommendation instead. 

Right Networks

In addition to Intuit declaring Right Networks to be their preferred vendor for QuickBooks, they are also the number one choice for hosting by independent accounting professionals and their clients as well. The platform can accommodate businesses of any size, whether small or mid-level, is completely scalable and integrates easily with most of the top 3rd party applications for QuickBooks.  Because of their relationship and two way transparency with Intuit, they are experts at not only transferring accounting applications like QuickBooks into their servers, but migrating existing company files and keeping them updated and safe with 90 day rolling backups.

Right Networks can offer you the same four-tier data center storage that major multinational corporations and banks use and you will find that the uptime is very consistent. Even when software updates and security patches are applied to the servers, there is no downtime experienced whatsoever. As long as you have access to the internet and a computer, you can access your QuickBooks files from any location and share that information with peers and clients.  Additionally, customer support is available 24/7 and there are no contracts to sign or long-term commitments which means you can sign up and quit anytime you want. 

Although there are certain situations where we will recommend other hosting providers because of special integrations or needs, Right Networks is our “go to” solution for most of the QuickBooks applications that we deal with.  Additionally, as an Elite Partner with Intuit, we can offer additional discounts on all levels of Right Networks hosting as well as bundled packages with QuickBooks Enterprise, Premier and Pro software. This gives you the ability to have lower pricing with one consolidated bill for everything vs. an “a la carte” structure that has multiple monthly and annual charges and an increased overall cost.  

Over the last 6 years, cloud hosting has exploded because of the security, convenience and accessibility factor for businesses.  If you are looking for a new solution for your QuickBooks data, give us a call at 866-949-7267 and we can discuss different options and see if moving to the cloud makes sense.  In some cases, it may honestly be overkill for your current situation and there may be better options to consider. But, for the right scenario, it can be just what you need to take a huge step forward with your business!