How is your data protected in the cloud?
You might envision “the cloud” as bits of data floating around cyberspace, waiting for an app or service to call them into use. The reality is slightly less sci-fi, but far more secure.
Let’s take a look at 4 factors that ensure optimal security for cloud-based accounting.
1. Physical storage
Cloud data is stored on physical servers, typically lined up in large rooms or warehouses, that are connected to the Internet. Vendors often have servers in several states or even different continents to ensure data doesn’t reside in a single place.
For example, Intuit’s servers are stationed in multiple data centres for redundancy. This means that multiple copies of your information are stored to essentially eliminate the risk of destruction of your information due to equipment malfunctions, power outages, or a natural disaster.
On top of that, Intuit’s data centres and offices maintain 24/7 onsite security.
2. Automatic backups
Did you remember to save last month’s expense reports? Did you make a copy of those invoices? You can spare yourself these questions (and countless more) with cloud-based accounting.
QuickBooks Online Advancedalso offers online backup and restore, which automatically backs up your data every few minutes and allows users to restore previous versions from a specific point in time. Think of it as an “auto-save” function for bookkeeping.
We’re not just talking about one backup file, though. Multiple copies of your data are stored in several locations to ensure that your information is never lost. You get the convenience of automatic offsite storage without the extra effort and cost of creating and managing physical backup copies on your own.
And, should the unexpected ever happen to your system, all of your data will still be instantly accessible to you from any computer connected to the Internet -all with little to no effort on your part.
3. (Digital) Paper trails
Advanced uses unique always-on activity log and audit trail features, both of which record every login to the service as well as any changes made to every financial transaction. These features cannot be turned off by a user.
The always-on activity log is a complete record of activities, while the audit trail is an easy-to-read history of all changes to a specific transaction. That means nothing can happen to your records without you or your accountant knowing all about it. Plus, you’ll always have a paper trail should you need to trace a transaction back to its source.
4. Encryption
Cloud-based accounting software uses encryption to move and store data. In other words, your information is rewritten into a code. For example, Advanced utilises 128-bit SSL encryption, which is the same technology used by some of the world’s top banking institutions.
Advanced is a VeriSign Secured product. VeriSign is the leading secure sockets layer (SSL) Certificate Authority.
