Benefits of cloud accounting

[Samir]

Cloud Accounting or online accounting allows you to access and store your accounting data and applications on the cloud(i.e. Internet) rather than on desktop computer. The top most benefits includes security, anytime anywhere access, cloud storage, reliability and ease of access.

Typically ubiquitous access and security are inversely proportional in the IT world. Making something more accessible only increases the potential for security attacks.

Case in point is how credit card information is now easily stolen since systems are using Internet access for processing versus dedicated (and secure/less accessible) connections. Mass credit card number theft was unheard of a little as a decade ago.

When you open the door for convenience, you also open the door to trouble. If you want your data safe, keep it private and under your own lock and key.

 

[Philipp]

There is a great extent of literature out there that explains the benefits of cloud accounting software and addresses some of the most common misconceptions.

Intacct, a leader in cloud accounting, has published a number of whitepapers on the topic. One that I found particularly helpful is "Ten Questions to Ask About Cloud Computing":

 

[Samir]

There is also a vast amount of marketing materials out there that do not address the fundamental technical issues of cloud security.