Category: Cloud Hosting

Accounting firms are now thinking about making a shift to QuickBooks hosting. It makes the entire accounting process a lot easier and error-free.

If you are also thinking of moving your QuickBooks Desktop to the cloud, you need to find the right QuickBooks hosting provider. But, with so many hosting providers in the market, how do you find the right one for you?

Making such decisions can undoubtedly be very daunting. This is why we are here to assist. We have tried to narrow it down to a few specific points that will help you find the right QuickBooks Cloud Hosting provider for your business. Take a look:

1. Hosting Tariff

Whether you are hiring any service or purchasing any commodity, the first thing that you might think about is the cost. It would be best if you compared the pricing options available. You need to select the one where you can avail of top-notch services with excellent attributes within your pricing range.

It would also be best to compare the features of multiple providers. Accordingly, you can proceed ahead with your decision-making process. Many cloud service providers charge extra for data backup and advanced security features. You can clear your requirements, ask about any hidden or extra charges. For example, Ace Cloud Hosting offers excellent features like advanced data security measures and 45 days rolling backup with no hidden/additional charges.

2. Security

The next thing that you need to check is whether the data shared on the cloud gets top-notch security or not. This is because most accounting firms handle sensitive financial data that needs to be protected at all costs.

So, it is crucial that you only select a Quickbooks hosting provider equipped with top security offerings like the latest firewalls, antivirus, intrusion detection systems, and more. Before selecting the QuickBooks hosting provider, you can ask about all the security measures they offer. If they faced any past issues? How would they help the accounting processes continue during a crisis? You can also ask about the data centers and their locations.

3. Customer Support Rating and Efficiency

With your data stored in the cloud, there might be instances where you might experience some technical glitch. But, this doesn’t mean that you need to visit the office of the QuickBooks hosting provider and get in-person assistance. You must check whether the provider has an attentive and efficient support system in place or not.

If the hosting provider can assist you with round-the-clock customer support, you can hire their services. The support executives must be well-equipped and able to help you quickly. The quality of the support has to be one of the major contributors to your decision-making process. Most reputed providers offer quick responses and can be contacted via phone, chat, and email.

4. Scalability

The following important factor that you must check with your potential QuickBooks hosting provider is whether they are scalable enough to assist you in the future. Every single business has to experience inconsistent growth. So, they would like to use their resources wisely and scale their solutions accordingly.

This helps you scale up or down the cloud resources as per the organization’s needs without any hassle. It also allows you to opt out of the cloud service seamlessly. This is why you must check whether the QuickBooks hosting company will offer the scalability you need.

5. Server Uptime

The only thing that makes it possible for you to access your data from any location and is server uptime. Uptime means the duration when the server is up and running without any trouble.

This is why you must not hesitate and consider checking with this factor as well. As per industry standards, the uptime should be above 99.99%. If any cloud service provider offers above 99.99% uptime or the same, then you can opt for the cloud service company.

Summary

These are the aspects that you need to look for in your Quickbooks Cloud hosting provider. Connecting with the right company can help you keep your data safe and secure. So, always check with the points mentioned above and then make your final decision.

Learn more about Ace Cloud Hosting

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The pandemic has become an inseparable part of our work and personal lives, at least for now. There’s no doubt in the fact that COVID-19 has disrupted our working methods and made it challenging to collaborate in a way we used to. Therefore, organizations across the globe are significantly trying to streamline their remote working architecture – making it stronger, more secure, more accessible, and more efficient.

This is where cloud VDI is breaking traditional boundaries. Cloud VDI is a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure hosted on the cloud, popularly known as DaaS. While users receive virtual desktops on a browser through an internet connection, the backend of DaaS is still VDI.

We are implementing DaaS in place of VDI because of its ability to provide a managed service and mobility. In VDI, you get the same features and security, but at your own expense. In DaaS, you get these features + mobility, scalability, and feasibility via a managed service.

As a result, the adoption rate of cloud VDI is increasing day by day. For example, a new report by Allied Market Research has predicted the cloud VDI market to reach USD 10 thousand million in the following two years. This is an increase of 16.5% from 2017.

Read more if you want to understand the future of cloud VDI, hosted VDI pricing, and many more things.

What is Cloud VDI?

Desktop as a Service (Or cloud VDI) is a service by third-party cloud providers who install desktops on the cloud. These deployed desktops have pre-installed the data and applications of any company. The employees of this company can use their end devices to open a virtual copy of the desktop. Due to its in-built security architecture, it is secure to access DaaS devices or thin clients from anywhere on any device.

This is the reason why businesses are adopting cloud VDI solutions. Last year, Gartner’s report was released saying that a 60% increase in DaaS growth would be observed till 2023.

Benefits of Cloud VDI

Cloud VDI offers some value-driven benefits that increase its adoption and acceptance. Check how cloud VDI is the future in many industries across different domains.

Hosted VDI Pricing

Hosted VDI pricing is the most desirable benefit of cloud VDI solutions.

As the end-user, your business doesn’t need to spend on initial setup incurring high capital investment. You only need your desktops to access virtual desktops on the cloud.

The cloud provider manages the servers, hardware, licensing, upgrade, management, maintenance, and every other important aspect like load balancing. Your business can take a monthly subscription and reduce virtual desktop pricing in the long term.

Business Continuity

Cloud VDI is available all the time, as the CSP automates your backups to many servers.

So, whether you are going through a pandemic, disaster, accidental data deletion, or any other issue, you would be able to continue working. You can restore the entire infrastructure when you lose data due to unforeseen situations, such as an earthquake. When you are suddenly stuck at a particular location, such as in the case of the pandemic-related lockdown, you can continue working.

You don’t need to sit with your team, plan your recovery, and spend time on managing it. DaaS is your contingency plan.

Agility

Hosted VDI pricing is also dependent on the dynamic nature of the cloud. If your business needs more storage and performance, you can scale without adding new hardware to your structure. Depending on your per desktop pricing, your costs will increase.

If you don’t need this new storage and resources, you can descale also. Hence, easy optimization options and improved agility.

Mobility

Your employees can open their cloud VDIs anytime from any device. They only need a stable internet connection to access applications, data, and everything on the hosted VDI desktop. The feasibility of this structure comes with flexible access to the cloud via PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, or any device with an internet connection.

Overall, according to their feasibility, your employees can work flexibly without any hassle-free or security issues.

Security

Cloud VDI solutions are secure.

Once you shift your resources and operating systems to the cloud, you only open a virtual copy of these desktops. Therefore, whether an employee uses a cloud desktop on a smartphone or a personal computer, cloud VDI data is not being stored on the end device. Now, this means if the end device is hacked, stolen, lost, or hampered, your data and desktop are safe. Security is in the infrastructure of cloud desktops.

The cloud VDI provider additionally uses encryption topologies to ensure data security in transmission and at rest.

Is Hosted VDI The Solution?

Cloud VDI solution expands the future and presents opportunities for businesses. Here’s why we believe that:

• Cloud VDI helps you minimize resource utilization. From using your current office devices for the long term to ensuring seamless personal device usage, cloud VDI enables you to optimize how you use resources.
• For a small or medium business, creating a security structure for remote working is crucial and challenging. Cloud VDI is a futuristic technology allowing us to create a robust contingency plan.
• Desktop management issues are resolved with centralized on-demand access to the cloud.

The increasing demand for mobility, security, and scalability is closely gripping cloud VDI solutions. A survey by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) revealed that security is the primary concern for every business. As much as 79% of enterprises have marked DaaS and VDI solutions secure compared to traditional office models.

From the same survey, you can also understand that 60% of businesses are on the brink of DaaS transformation.

Conclusion

Cloud VDI is a computing model that separates traditional office infrastructure from desktop access. While your desktop infrastructure is no longer residing in your office server or computing units, you can draw upon the resources hosted on the cloud. This type of functioning offers many perks, including lower virtual desktop pricing, scalability, reliability, and efficiency.

Therefore, if your business needs transformation, technology support, remote working infrastructure, and better security controls, DaaS is for you.

Learn More About AceCloudHosting

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Desktop-based computing is a chokepoint for small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses. There’s complexity in managing resources, ensuring configuration, reducing downtime, and allowing secure access. This means that the IT and admin departments of the business are constantly struggling to keep the computers working.

If this is not the tipping point of IT evolution, what is?

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is the answer. It is the solution to the challenges discussed above. Whether you need better uptime, reliable systems, or BYOD policy, DaaS offers a simple medium for this change.

However, the pricing model of DaaS is still unclear. The idea of spending too much money on cloud technology stops various businesses from adopting this solution. Therefore, we have explored DaaS pricing in this article, read on and evaluate the factors that impact the pricing model of DaaS.

Evaluating TCO of DaaS

Multiple factors contribute to the total cost of Desktop as a Service. We have discussed a breakdown of some of these categories.

1. Endpoint

The first category of costs is the endpoint. In DaaS, endpoint costs are minimized. You can enable BYOD policy to allow new hires or work from home employees to use their own devices. If not that, then it is possible to use PCs for longer without worrying about outdated configuration in the case of DaaS.

2. Server

When using DaaS, the cost of servers is not included in your capital expenses. This means that if you were to deploy VDI, servers, and RAM per the virtual desktop would be added to your expense. In DaaS, this cost is still there but minimized. Firstly, because the DaaS provider manages and purchases the cloud servers. Secondly, these servers are being used by several other businesses. Hence, your share of maintenance is minimal, and everything is included in your subscription fee.

3. Storage

When using in-house storage, your business pays the cost of hardware and security. It is necessary to understand that whenever you scale the resources, it adds to physical storage somewhere. In DaaS, the DaaS provider takes care of the storage. So, your budget doesn’t include the cost of hardware purchase.

Therefore, you can deduce that in DaaS, the cost of server and storage is only added to your bill to manage these resources. You don’t have to pay for the entire setup.

4. Software

Software licenses are a significant part of the entire desktop management cost. With multiple in-house PCs, you need to purchase various products (per user charge model), such as Microsoft Office.

DaaS mitigates these costs by allowing you to use one license on multiple virtual desktops, as necessary according to your requirements.

5. Overheads

Since you are not managing and purchasing servers and VDI architecture, the service provider manages the overheads. Businesses receive DaaS as a managed service at a pre-decided pricing model.

6. Labor Costs

IT labor costs contribute to a major portion of your expenses in desktop and IT resource management of your office. DaaS eliminates labor costs to some extent by removing various issues.

For example, in DaaS, downtime is not resolved by your IT team. Reputed cloud providers offer 99.99% uptime, which means your virtual desktop is mostly online, and your IT team is not spending time on such activities.

7. Additional Costs

Some of the costs you will find in your SLA are:

• Remote monitoring and management of your desktops. The CSP manages and monitors your data and apps around the cloud. So, some of them might charge you for this service.

• Antivirus is necessary to protect systems from cyberattacks. The cloud uses antivirus for virtual desktops to eliminate the chances of attacks.
• If you are not bringing your Office subscription or OS subscription to the contract, the CSP may charge for this service.

• Many CSPs also offer patching services to manage your licenses, software, and hardware. Therefore, they may add the charge of patching and upgrades to your SLA.

DaaS Pricing

If we draw a comparison between office desktops and DaaS, then DaaS pricing helps you save approximately 36%.

When your organization uses office desktops or PCs, IT labor, endpoints, and software costs contribute to your expenses. Here, IT labor costs amount to more than half of your capital expenditure in office PC units, and the rest is taken up by endpoints and software licensing.

Contrary to this, DaaS solutions offer managed services. In this case, endpoint costs can be minimized because you don’t require hardware upgrades frequently, and it is easier to allow BYOD policy. If we talk about labor costs, the IT team is responsible for managing access control and communication flow with the CSP. You can easily manage this with a small IT team in the case of DaaS.

In all, PCs can cost you up to USD 1281, but DaaS costs you only USD 842.

Questions To Ask Related To Pricing When Choosing a DaaS Service

When you are finalizing a DaaS service provider, ask the following questions to understand the pricing model.

Where is DaaS Hosted?

We can get DaaS service hosted on a public cloud or semi-private cloud. Many CSPs use a semi-private cloud, which is a cloud instance in the CSP’s data center. In public cloud DaaS, the service is offered via public cloud service of vendors like HP and Amazon.

Since the cost of the data center is a service inclusion, a semi-private cloud service is costlier than a public cloud DaaS.

Tell Me The Licensing Fee?

In public cloud DaaS, the Microsoft OS fee is in your offering already, making it affordable. A semi-private cloud creates its own virtualization infrastructure. Hence, an additional licensing fee may be incurred in this case.

How Desktop Processing Power Will Impact The Cost?

When selecting a pricing package, businesses can decide their performance package, such as premium, standard, etc. Based on this package, your processing power is differentiated. If you take more processing capability, the cost will increase accordingly.

Conclusion

DaaS pricing depends on the type of configuration and processing power you require for your business. Figure out what type of service, processing performance, and support you need in your organization. Once you have evaluated these factors, read the above pricing factors, understand business needs, and select the right DaaS provider.

Learn More About Ace Cloud Hosting

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