Category: Cloud Solutions

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Business Data Loss is a Growing Problem

The portable computer was the secret business weapon of yesterday and is today’s essential business tool. The processing power, portability, storage, and connectivity available with laptops, tablets and smartphones has created a seamless extension to the office. Business users can work with their applications and data from just about anywhere. While mobile devices are valuable when it comes to conducting business, they also pose additional security risks. Increased efficiency, mobility, and accessibility can also mean an increased potential for a data breach or business data loss.

The workforce of today is mobile enabled. Business users, owners and managers, accounting advisors and business consultants can access all the information and analytical capability they need to perform their jobs and make informed business decisions, capturing and collecting important information while keeping productivity at the highest levels no matter where they are.

“87% of businesses rely on their employees to use their personal mobile devices to access company apps”, according to a post by Perillon. Some studies have estimated that as much as 80% of the data a company has (like customer files, contracts, financial data, product specifications) might be stored on portable devices. This means that mobility comes with risk, which is why Mendelson Consulting and Noobeh cloud services utilize cloud-based platforms and services to keep data safe and secure.

According to business data loss statistics compiled by Businessdit.com, the two most common causes of data loss are hardware failure (40%) and human error (29%). Overall, malware causes 35% of all data loss, taking advantage of the 21% of files that businesses are not protecting at all.

The stats show that it takes approximately 206 days on average to even detect a data breach, the costs of downtime and losses average around $1,410 per minute for small businesses, and 22% of SMBs close after a ransomware attack.

Data loss or theft can create big business and legal problems, too. Customer or client privacy may be compromised, sensitive information may be exposed, and confidential plans may be made public if a business doesn’t take steps to secure mobile data.

“The average cost of a data breach in 2021 was $4.24 million. That’s a huge increase from the $3.86 million cost in 2020. And it’s only going to get more expensive in the future. Companies need to be prepared to deal with the fallout from a data breach, which can include everything from legal costs to damage to their reputation.”

Businessdit.com

There’s an old saying that there are only two types of businesses: those who have lost their data and those who will. Imagine the potential chaos, risk exposure, reputation damage and the expense of losing your valuable business data or having it exposed to unauthorized parties.

While computing mobility delivers a host of advantages to the business and the user, care must be taken to ensure security, privacy, and confidentiality of the business information and protecting against business data loss.

Increased exposure to liability is a reality for any mobile business, and the risk is only multiplied by the number of systems a company has in the field. Smart businesses reduce risk by deploying secure yet versatile platforms for their workers that allow data to be stored and protected in centralized environments rather than on individual computing devices.

Via the cloud, businesses of all kinds are reaping the benefits of new and innovative service delivery, achieving the freedom and functionality a mobile working model demands. Mendelson Consulting and Noobeh cloud services have the cloud solutions and managed IT services that provide the mobile capability businesses need, but with the additional protection, additional security, and ongoing management that the value of the data demands.

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J

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Upgrade from Small Business to Enterprise-Class IT on Azure

It can be a challenge to forecast when a small business will outgrow their current information technology or platform. Many businesses have complex needs which require enterprise approaches and don’t fit squarely into the SMB box.  Yet every business might need to consider upgrading their technology or platform when they experience certain signs or reach specific milestones that indicate their existing technology infrastructure and tools are no longer meeting their needs. The business’s growth trajectory, operational needs, industry requirements, and budget considerations will all play heavily in the decision to upgrade to Azure platform and enterprise-class information technology.

As a business expands and diversifies its operations, it will require more complex IT solutions to handle various processes, departments, and locations. Expansion generally comes with added complexity in operations, processes, and data management, so growing businesses need platforms with advanced features and integrations that can handle the increased complexity.

When a small business experiences significant growth in terms of customers, employees, or revenue, the existing technology might struggle to keep up with the increased demand. When the current technology causes performance bottlenecks, slow response times, or downtime that impacts business operations and customer experience, it’s a sign that the business might need more robust and scalable software or platforms. Virtualized platforms (Noobeh prefers Microsoft Azure) can provide the scalability and resources needed to accommodate growth and can provide the necessary security features and tools to meet compliance requirements.

If business operations are mission-critical and any downtime would result in substantial losses, upgrading to the Azure platform and implementing the available redundancy and high availability features can ensure business continuity.

If the business is expanding its operations to multiple locations or serving a global customer base, it might need technology solutions that can support distributed teams, communication, and data access from various locations. By its nature, the Azure platform is cloud and not tied to a location, enabling users to collaborate, communicate and work from virtually anywhere.

If the business needs to analyze large volumes of data for strategic decision-making, Azure’s enterprise-level platform supports advanced analytics and reporting. Microsoft Azure database as a service, Power BI and other solutions provide businesses with the robust and powerful tools they need to develop the data warehouses and reporting systems that create a competitive advantage.

It is important to carefully assess the business’s current state, future goals, budget constraints, and technology requirements before deciding to upgrade technology. There may be several suitable upgrade paths that could be followed, the best path for the business is the one that allows for future change. While moving to a cloud platform might come with upfront costs, a more agile and capable system can offer long-term cost efficiency by reducing the need for frequent technology upgrades while providing the affordable scalability the business needs.

Connecting with Noobeh’s cloud services team is the best next step for small businesses looking to improve their IT platforms and operations. Migrating beyond local networks and servers, Noobeh helps businesses upgrade to enterprise-class infrastructure, applications and services which support expanding and changing operations.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Data Are Just Data Until You Do Something With It

The business and economic environment isn’t easy. Competition is getting more aggressive, and customers demand more and different options while margins are shrinking, and the cost of operations just seems to go up. Business owners and their CFOs are recognizing the need to change the way they operate, and that they must innovate and adapt with new technology. A more modern approach to business captures data from every aspect of the operation to reveal information not otherwise available, and that information leads to better decision making and deeper insight. Data are just data until it can be transformed into information that matters.

It is possible to change the way critical business decisions are made and to radically improve how the business serves customers, empowers the workforce, and keeps mobile workers working. The key is in leveraging cloud platforms and technologies to enable the collection of data that comes from every business activity.

What if you could identify trends and patterns in sales and customer data, informing your marketing and sales strategies to make them more effective? How about monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) related to revenues and expenses to improve financial management? Maybe you would like to analyze supply chain and inventory management metrics to find way to optimize those areas of operation.

From software and systems that facilitate field service and mobile work to logistics and supply chain management, business intelligence is developed when the data is available to be combined with other information and reported on in meaningful ways.

Business intelligence comes from all aspects of the business, not just accounting and finance. Particularly in a volatile economy where uncertainty weighs heavily on each and every business owner, it is essential that businesses make the best possible use of their information assets, including finding the best way to identify and capture opportunities which will propel the business forward.

Data is just data, but information is power. We can’t say that often enough.

It takes skill and experience to turn raw data into instant insight, and this is where Mendelson Consulting can help. With a wise and intelligent approach to “enabling” the businesses with tools to help streamline and improve process effectiveness, and structuring systems to capture and integrate data throughout the operation, Mendelson Consulting assists their clients in turning operational and accounting systems into solutions which deliver the data needed to produce actionable information supporting better decision-making.

Cloud platforms enable businesses to take advantage of enterprise technologies without the commitment and spend, and web-based services can solve file sharing and data collection challenges regardless of location. Products like Clearify’s QQube can even transform QuickBooks desktop data for data warehousing or advanced reporting with Microsoft Power BI and more.

Data are just data until you do something with it. Your business should be collecting, analyzing and using all the valuable information it produces.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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QBonAzure: QuickBooks on Microsoft Azure Delivers Great Success for Small Business


For any business, the resilience and agility of IT systems can mean the difference between performing adequately and performing with great success. When a business elects to run their QuickBooks applications and data on the Microsoft Azure cloud via QuickBooks on Azure (QBonAzure) from Noobeh, they gain numerous advantages not available with locally installed IT.

Microsoft Azure is a highly available platform, meaning that it has built-in redundancy to ensure that applications and data are always accessible, even in the event of a hardware failure. Businesses running on the platform never have to worry about whether or not their server is aging and may fail due to hardware issues.

The platform also allows Noobeh to easily scale each client’s system up or down as needed, without the need for additional installation work. This allows each client business to quickly respond to changes in demand and grow their operations as needed.

With Microsoft Azure, Noobeh can provide from a broad range of security features that are built-in as well as enhancing protection with advanced features and services from Azure, Microsoft 365 and more. This all goes to help protect against data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Azure has a global footprint, with data centers in multiple regions around the world. Noobeh provides services from all US-based Microsoft Azure regions, allowing businesses to host their QuickBooks in the location closest to their users, reducing latency and improving performance.

Azure also offers a wide range of services that may be integrated with QuickBooks or other business data, such as analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. This allows businesses to gain deeper insights into their financial data and make more informed decisions.

For businesses focused on compliance, Azure meets a wide range of industry standards and regulations, such as HIPAA, SOC 2, and PCI DSS. This can help businesses meet their compliance requirements and avoid penalties.

Overall, hosting QuickBooks on the Microsoft Azure platform can provide businesses with high availability, scalability, security, global reach, integration, and compliance advantages that can help them run their operations more efficiently and effectively.

Noobeh cloud services and QuickBooks on Azure utilize only the Microsoft cloud for their client deployments so that each business client has the benefits of big enterprise technology without the big enterprise price.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?
J

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Cloud Platforms for Client Data Help Reduce Workload Compression in Accounting and Finance

Accounting professionals have always viewed much of their work as being seasonal, waxing and waning with the turn of the months. From monthlies and quarterlies to the annual tax return, accountants’ work is focused as much on when as it is how much work must be completed. This regularity in the timing of the work has created somewhat of a false barrier to efficiency, largely because many professionals wait for the workload to appear, and it always appears at the last minute. Instead, we suggest leveraging technology to create new working models with clients to alleviate workload compression and deliver improved service and insight in real time, when it really matters.

Accounting is no longer considered to be a final resting place for financial and performance information. Accounting isn’t passive; it is an active participant in developing and managing data as it flows through a business. Professionals who continue to perform write-up and other time-consuming “re-accounting” tasks will often find that their approach removes them from the truly interesting part of the job. Instead, when the professional participates with their clients’ businesses and information on a regular basis, the accounting data can be adjusted so it is treated properly from the start. Better data provides for more informed decision making, and this is the real benefit the accountant can deliver.

The key for every accounting professional is the technology and how it might be applied to decompress the workload and even things out. Structuring standard processes for client intake, implementing workflow tools to closely manage data and deliverables, and improving the speed and quality of internal communications are all areas where tech can make the work more consistent and manageable. Much focus can be placed on the technologies a modern accounting firm would apply to its own workflows and data handling processes, yet there is often little consideration for how the accounting professional might maximize efficiency as well as effectiveness in working with the client data at the source.

Most fundamentally, accountants typically work in places where the client or data is not. Business is done at the business location, and that’s usually not where the public accountant is. Even in large enterprise, the work gets done and data created by others than those in finance, so it is up to finance to find the way to gain access to the data and ensure its proper treatment throughout the system. This is among the reasons for the emergence of remote access solutions and services. Through remote access the professional can access the information of the client businesses, performing data entry or adjustments directly into the client’s accounting system and avoid lengthy reviews and write-ups later.

While remote access solutions may work for some, the time-sharing approach that leaves the client waiting while the accountant does the work does little to maximize the efficiency of either party. Instead, an online working model that allows the client and the accounting professional to work independently yet collaboratively addresses the needs of both.

Online working models in no way require web-based or online applications as the sole foundation. For many operations, online or web-based versions of accounting and line-of-business applications lack the cohesion and functionality that more robust desktop and network applications can provide. Where some businesses have limited functional requirements that a simpler online app may meet, others continue to rely on the maturity and proven functionality of desktop solutions. For these businesses, the adoption of virtual IT platforms brings the “online” working model, system agility and managed service potential that are at the center of web-app popularity.

Once the accounting professional has access to the clients’ systems as well as the data they produce, the accountant can take a more proactive approach to correction and adjustment, as well as gaining a basis for providing insight and advice. The after-the-fact approach to accounting is the essential flaw in attempting to decompress the workload of an accounting practice. As long as the tabulation and treatment of business data remains a job to be completed at the end of the period, there will always be urgency in completing the task and the value of the work product is unlikely to increase.

However, through the intelligent application of technology – online application services and virtual computing platforms – accounting professionals can not only help their clients embrace transformative efforts to improve business and performance, but the accountant can relieve workload compression while delivering even greater value on a continuous basis.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Web-based, Hosted and Cloud: The Confusing Journey to Transformation

There is no doubt that businesses of all sizes and types are moving from analog and paper-based to digital and electronic systems. Moving from postal letters to email, “PDF-ing” instead of printing, and EDI rather than manual order entry, businesses are taking on the challenges of transforming their processes one by one.

Cloud computing and virtualization have had a great impact in these areas, providing the foundations for process improvements and higher business intelligence than ever before. Increasingly, businesses are looking to “cloud” to help them do more with their businesses, and to do it better and more profitably.

In looking at cloud – applications, platforms, and services – it is important to understand that different approaches aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Many businesses implement a combination of technologies and services, creating their own hybrid approach to doing business the way it works for them.

Web-based, Browser-based

When most small business owners think of implementing “cloud” in their operations, the things that initially come to mind are web-based/browser-based applications. Due in large part to how these products are marketed, web-based apps are among the most widely recognized “cloud” type of service.

QuickBooks Online edition is an example of web-based/browser-based application service. It was built to run in a browser, and you access it over the Internet. These types of applications are often referred to as “net native”, because the only exist as Internet-based service. Other examples are NetSuite and Intacct.

The key with these types of application services is that they aren’t just applications; they are subscription services that include the infrastructure and data storage as part of the solution. You access by going to a web URL in a browser, and login and use the system. You own nothing of the system – not the servers its running on, not the application itself, and (if you don’t pay your bill or export your information) not the data.

What makes these systems “cloud” is that they are running on servers – application servers, network server, data servers etc. – that are all meshed to work closely together. You do not have to worry about (in fact, you often won’t even know) exactly where in the world your system is located, and you have no direct contact with or interaction with the infrastructure on which your application and data are running. As far as users are concerned, their application and data exist “in the cloud” … somewhere.

Hosted applications can also be Cloud

Cloud or not cloud really doesn’t have anything to do with whether the software is browser-based versus disk-based (desktop). Cloud really refers to having a ubiquitous network of connected resources which allows for the creation of dynamic, agile, scalable infrastructure. Google Compute, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure are the 3 primary (publicly available) cloud platforms.

Online application services generally use cloud platforms and infrastructure to support their software and data, enabling the delivery of services to large numbers of users regardless of where they are located.

Desktop applications can also be run on cloud infrastructure, enabling businesses to access and use their applications and data regardless of location or device, but to retain all the functionality and capabilities of the more mature desktop solution.

For example, NOOBEH cloud services deploys managed QuickBooks and other desktop applications from the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. With Noobeh’s approach, customers can retain essential control of their infrastructure (Noobeh manages it for them, but it is the customer’s private system), allowing it to be configured to be exactly what the customer needs.

NOOBEH Azure hosting is provided as a subscription service and can be changed or adjusted at any time with just a restart of the system. This agility gives businesses what they need now, but also allows the platform to be adjusted to changing business needs. Not having to purchase or invest ahead of needing new resources, as well as reducing the system size if less is ultimately needed, are among the many benefits of using a true cloud platform. Migrating applications and data from on-premises to cloud platforms allows businesses to reduce or eliminate their reliance on locally installed servers and network systems, which is another step in transforming the business and its capabilities.

When a business elects to migrate from desktop to web-based applications for only some functions, the result is often that other applications and data remain active on the local systems. This forces the business to retain their expensive computers, networks and local IT management services and reduces much of the value of a cloud transformation.

On the other hand, if the business elects to migrate to cloud infrastructure it allows them to migrate all their applications, data, and processes immediately, delivering immediate business benefit and providing the right platform for further improvement.
For most small and growing businesses, it is the elimination of concerns about hardware failures, not having to purchase ahead for possible future needs, and having up-to-date secure and compliant systems that deliver the full value and capability of the cloud.

Business transformation starts with the foundation, and a strong information technology platform becomes the base upon which smarter and more efficient processes are built. Whether your company is just beginning its transformation journey or is well on the way, cloud applications and platforms are integral to helping your business keep moving forward.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J