Cloud Computing?

[AZ-Tax]

I am at a crossroads where I need to either setup a physical server in my office OR consider this Cloud Computing. Anyone use Cloud Computing and if so who are your using?

[ChEAr$]

No way to so called "cloud" computing. What if a tornado comes along and blows that cloud away? Or a cyber attack from China which destroys the system where your data is stored?

Backup, physical backup on a secure disk is the answer.

[Uncle]

Our experience

I am at a crossroads where I need to either setup a physical server in my office OR consider this Cloud Computing. Anyone use Cloud Computing and if so who are your using?

We used a cloud system for two years. It did work well. All programs were on servers in the US, maintained 24/7/365 out of India. Local workstations were only used for hooking onto the server and for local scanning. Rolling backups occurred daily, we used Carbonite, and we downloaded a copy of the data every day. Technical support was very quick and reliable. Disadvantages were cost (about $350 a month for all our programs and all our users, language barriers, and a general ongoing frustration with the company. The particular company we used never really seemed to have its act together. We eventually found a very reliable IT staff person at a reasonable cost who maintains a server in our main office.

[Gretel]

I haven't used cloud service for my office but a client of mine used it (probably still is but is not my client any more). I found it (RightNetworks) too slow to work with, we also had recurring problems with file access. I never would convert to cloud computing.

[Dusty2004]

Why the need for a server

I am at a crossroads where I need to either setup a physical server in my office OR consider this Cloud Computing. Anyone use Cloud Computing and if so who are your using?

Why do you have a need for a server versus networked PC's?

Dusty

[Roberts]

For my personal laptop I use SpiderOak. 2 GB free and that's never been a problem since I can check which folders get updated (I'm not uploading the junk). It's encrypted on their servers so that even their own workers can't access the files. I did a review about 2 years ago on it and it came back as the safest site for storing data like this.

You download the small program and then check which folders you want backed up. I open the program once per week (or so) and do a backup which takes about 10-45 minutes depending on what needs to be updated. I can work while it's backing everything up. I also have most of it on a 4GB travel drive at home but that's not updated nearly as often. I update that maybe once per quarter.

[John of PA]

I just want to throw out that I have been told that Cloud computing is slower than working off your own server.

[Bees Knees]

Interesting all the talk about never using cloud computing, when you are all doing it right now by participating on this message board. Ever go to IRS to download a tax form? Cloud computing. Ever file a tax return electronically? Cloud computing. Ever use an online tax research service? Cloud computing. Ever do EFTPS? Cloud computing.

Just because they gave it a new name doesn't mean it is anything new. Even your tax software that resides on your local hard drive uses cloud computing when it comes to updates. I remember the days when we use to get a CD in the mail once a month to update our tax software. The day will come when you won't have the option to buy software to install on a local hard drive.

[Uncle]

Not my experience

I just want to throw out that I have been told that Cloud computing is slower than working off your own server.

We found that speed, response time, etc. was pretty much identical with working directly on the local desktop. No noticeable lag.

[Gary2]

Interesting all the talk about never using cloud computing, when you are all doing it right now by participating on this message board. Ever go to IRS to download a tax form? Cloud computing. Ever file a tax return electronically? Cloud computing. Ever use an online tax research service? Cloud computing. Ever do EFTPS? Cloud computing.

Just because they gave it a new name doesn't mean it is anything new. Even your tax software that resides on your local hard drive uses cloud computing when it comes to updates. I remember the days when we use to get a CD in the mail once a month to update our tax software. The day will come when you won't have the option to buy software to install on a local hard drive.

I bet to disagree.

Cloud computing is not synonymous with "using the internet", but refers specifically to using the internet for services you previously did in-house. Message boards aren't cloud computing, because if you did it only in-house, you'd be limited to talking to your staff. Downloading forms or updates aren't cloud computing, because previously you relied on getting them through other external channels. Research services aren't cloud computing, because previously you relied on phone calls or snail mail.

Online backups are cloud computing, because previously you could do that entirely in-house, using your own external drives, or DVDs, or tape drives, etc. If your tax software is based on a central server, with the ability to access returns from any computer in the office, and you change to use a remote server that's physically owned by someone else, that's cloud computing, because you've moved your data out of the office.

DIY tax software provides a convenient example. You can go into a local computer or office supply store, or some department stores, and buy consumer tax software in a box for installation from a DVD. You can also buy the same software online, download it, and run it on your local computer. Neither of those is cloud computing, because the software is still executing on your machine; once it's installed and authorized to run, no network connection is needed. But the third option is to use a web browser to access tax software running remotely, with all of the data stored remotely, all of the calculations done remotely, and with your computer running nothing but a web browser.

The reason why it's a concern has to do with reliability and security. If your network goes down for half an hour, and you need some tax form from the IRS, you can still work on some other part of the return or on another client's return. But if it's your tax software server that's in the cloud, you're dead in the water. Or, for backup, if you back up returns without encryption onto a USB drive, and then lock the drive into a safe deposit box at a bank, that's pretty reasonable (assuming you go directly from the office to the bank). But if you back them up onto a server rented from the cloud, you've got to do extra due diligence to make sure that the employees at the cloud company, some of whom have superuser access, can't get at your data.

Wikipedia has a good article on cloud computing, though it's fairly technical. The How Stuff Works site has a somewhat easier discussion.

[Bees Knees]

Cloud computing is not synonymous with "using the internet", but refers specifically to using the internet for services you previously did in-house. Message boards aren't cloud computing, because if you did it only in-house, you'd be limited to talking to your staff. Downloading forms or updates aren't cloud computing, because previously you relied on getting them through other external channels. Research services aren't cloud computing, because previously you relied on phone calls or snail mail.

From NSA Practice Advisor, September 2012, Volume 22, Number 9, page 10:

...Cloud computing is all about hooking up to giant servers on the Internet and getting all the computing power you need. The servers run the software that let you perform the tasks you want to perform. You may be using the cloud right now in your daily routine - email, online shopping, online banking, online tax research are just some examples.

That from the President of Accountants World, Chandra Bhansali.

[Bees Knees]

The servers run the software that let you perform the tasks you want to perform...

Online message boards are cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to communicate with other message board users. Prior to online message boards, you did the same thing in-house by talking with co-workers at the water cooler about various tax client situations.

Downloading forms from the IRS website is cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to search and download PDF files that contain the various forms, publications, and instructions you desire. Prior to downloading forms from the IRS website, you did the same thing in-house by pulling out Package X and taking it to the copy machine.

Online research services are cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to search and view various books and publications designed to answer your tax question. Prior to this, you did the same thing in-house by pulling out a hard copy of TheTaxBook (or competitor Q) to look up answers to your tax questions.

[Dusty2004]

For me

Online message boards are cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to communicate with other message board users. Prior to online message boards, you did the same thing in-house by talking with co-workers at the water cooler about various tax client situations.

Downloading forms from the IRS website is cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to search and download PDF files that contain the various forms, publications, and instructions you desire. Prior to downloading forms from the IRS website, you did the same thing in-house by pulling out Package X and taking it to the copy machine.

Online research services are cloud computing because you hook up to a server over the internet that runs a database software program that allows you to search and view various books and publications designed to answer your tax question. Prior to this, you did the same thing in-house by pulling out a hard copy of TheTaxBook (or competitor Q) to look up answers to your tax questions.

I guess, for me, you can call it whatever you want. I, personally, want my tax program on my computer. I want my Office programs on my computer. If the phone lines go down I can still provide services and do taxes / spreadsheets / word documents. I cannot do that with cloud computing. So I will keep what I consider essential items on my personal computer in my office and everything else in the cloud.

And my personal experience, through other jobs I have held, when an application moves from a local PC to the cloud it is slower. Just me $.02

Dusty