time to replace a server? consider the cloud

a virtual machine moves from one cloud server rack to anotheryou may need to partner with an external integrator, not just rely on your it team.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

in most firms, the traditional core computers used for operating all applications are internal file servers.

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down time for a day or two is a disaster. if an “out of service” stoppage stretches to a week or more, your partner income will suffer measurably.

simply put, mission-critical servers utilized for tax, audit, time and billing, and email have, at most, an effective five-year life. after this time equipment becomes significantly more difficult to maintain, whether you have a warranty or not.

your it personnel should plan the transition to a new server at least three months in advance of any change to allow for adequate installation and testing. they should also seriously evaluate web-based alternatives where available as the cost of the application and maintenance can be significantly less than the firm doing it themselves.

for any single mission-critical server replacement such as email or time and billing, you will want to compare the cost of outsourcing that service to the internet in a hosted environment, which is referred to today as
“cloud” computing.

cloud computing consists of

  • asps (application service providers),
  • saas (software as a service),
  • externally hosted citrix remote desktop servers in a colocation facility and
  • any other technology that allows a user with an internet connection to work remotely via a website hosted by someone other than the firm.

these external providers can host an application for a monthly cost that is often less than the cost of the firm purchasing a server and maintaining that application for the next five years. microsoft’s hosted exchange and office 365 are examples where firms can pay as little as $4/month to host an individual outlook email account.

web-based tax and accounting solutions will become more prominent within both the wolterskluwer/cch and thomson reuters/creative solutions applications, as well as hosting client accounting such as intuit quickbooks through their online service or hosted providers such as rightnetworks and xcentric. while thomson reuters has hosted all of their virtual office applications for many years, cch rolled out their saas document management and  portal products under the axcess brand in 2009, which now also include profx tax, practice management and workstream.

many firms utilize a “best of breed” approach in selecting accounting applications and end up with a hybrid solution where the more cost-effective cloud applications are utilized in addition to continuing the hosting of traditional applications.

in recent years, firms began outsourcing more and more it technical expertise to external providers, effectively reducing their internal it staff, which has led to some choosing to outsource their entire it infrastructure to colocation, “private cloud” providers such as xcentric. please note that web-based solutions should only be considered for firms that have reliable and redundant internet access so that they can continue to work in the event their primary internet connection is out.

beginning in 2008, many larger firms transitioned to a new environment referred to as server virtualization with products such as vmware, microsoft hyper-v and citrix xen. the 2016 cpafma it survey found 72 percent of firms had transitioned to a virtualized environment.  in a nutshell, this technology combines the functionality of two or more servers onto singular “super” file servers that can host separate instances of each application simultaneously. this translates to measurably lower costs and maintenance time for the firm, assuming the integrator has experience with server virtualization and implementing accounting firm applications.

experience is crucial to implementing a virtualized server environment properly the first time. typically, firms partner with an external integrator to get the installation done correctly. if in a worst-case scenario you cannot find an integrator that gives you a high degree of confidence in their ability to implement this environment, forget about virtualization and go with a traditional network environment where you have one server for each service, but have an it team that can support your network (after of course considering those applications that are more cost-effective in a hosted/cloud environment such as microsoft hosted exchange/outlook).

the worst and most unreliable network installations consistently happen to firms where internal it personnel convince partners they can “do it all themselves” when they have no prior experience or training on new applications or environments. the stakes of downtime in a cpa firm are too high so don’t let your firm be a science project!

recommended actions:

  1. inventory file servers and identify projected replacement cycle, considering opportunities to utilize web-based solutions or consolidate servers if experienced integrators are available.
  2. outsource all “one-shot” projects to integrators with depth of personnel and experience with multiple implementations after evaluating which applications are more appropriate in a hosted/cloud environment.