Every tax and accounting firm has unique needs, culture, and ways of doing business. Partnering successfully with a cloud provider can be complicated because the fit must go beyond technical expertise alone, several other factors must be weighed.
We have put together a couple of questions you should consider when interviewing cloud providers:
What are their security best practices?
Cybersecurity and data protection are top priorities for tax and accounting firms. All it takes is one data breach to cause significant problems for your firm and trust with your clients. Ask your potential cloud partner how they can help train your employees in security best practices to avoid one of the most common sources of data leaks, human error.
Ask about their compliance protocols.
Data compliance is paramount for tax and accounting firms. Ensure that your data is housed in secure, independently audited data centers that meet SOC and GLBA compliance. Ask for audit reports.
Do they understand the specifics of your industry?
Tax and accounting firms have particular data security requirements, make sure your potential cloud provider is aware of these requirements and meets or exceeds them. A cloud provider unfamiliar with your industry could put your company at serious risk from a cybersecurity or data compliance standpoint.
How do they handle data security and backup?
Experienced cloud hosting providers understand the importance of data security and the need for redundancy. Daily backups mitigate a wide range of risks including natural disasters, theft, or cybersecurity attacks. Saving data in multiple geographically dispersed data centers is the best way to prevent data loss in the event of a catastrophe.
How skilled is their support team?
Support and ongoing maintenance are critical factors to your success with a cloud hosting partner. A couple of questions to ask your potential cloud provider:
- Is your support team in-house?
- What is their average experience level (entry-level or veteran)?
- Do you offer a 24/7/365 service? Just email tickets, by phone, or what is provided?
- What is your downtime record?
What is their data migration process?
Migration is one of the most significant question marks in this industry, the number of horror stories from terrible, unending migrations would shock you. Ask your potential cloud provider what their migration process is like, how long it will take, and what is needed from your firm to make the migration as smooth as possible.
Ask to speak with existing clients.
By speaking to other firms that are already working with the cloud hosting provider, even if they give you their cream of the crop clients, you will be able to get a better idea of what working with that service provider is like on a day to day basis.
About Verito Technologies
Verito Technologies provides fully-managed, turn-key cloud hosting solutions for all size companies. We host your favorite tax/accounting software on a dedicated cloud server backed by enterprise-grade security that is SOC, PCI DSS, SSAE compliant, and our strategically located data centers offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee. Automated backups and a 24/7 support team provide complete peace of mind.
