Telltale Signs You’ve Outgrown QuickBooks: The Cloud Has You Questioning Your Technology Footprint
Updated: Jul 22, 2021
Technology such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has, obviously, changed our world and continues to make a profound impact on how we do business every day. For example, what once held small businesses back has been made possible with software and services now available through cloud computing. Although QuickBooks is available online, there are a number of other affordable deployment options now available bringing down the cost of more comprehensive business management solutions.
Growing Pain #7: Not Enough Flexible Deployment Choices
The number one reason organizations move to the cloud is so they can experiment easier at a lower cost (Harvard Business Review Report: How the Cloud Looks from the Top: Achieving Competitive Advantage in the Age of Cloud Computing), but security is typically a top concern for organizations. Naturally, the systems that run your business needs to be accessible anytime, from anywhere to allow for flexibility, but only to those granted access to that information. Some organizations ease this concern by taking a hybrid approach to cloud computing, putting some of their data in the cloud while other data remains on-premise. But not many business solutions offer this type of flexibility. You know you’ve outgrown QuickBooks if you’re feeling limited by their deployment options.
Business solutions from Microsoft offer choices whether cloud, on-premises, or a combination of both is right for your business. Microsoft and our partners can deliver on your terms, making sure you have a solution that fits your needs. Here are just a few of the choices with Microsoft business solutions:
On-Premises: software is installed and run on dedicated servers in-house. Under this model, the company owns and services the hardware infrastructure and the installed software licenses.
Public Cloud: the solution takes a web-hosting model in which the data and application resides in a remote server and can be accessed via an Internet browser or non-browser applications for your mobile or tablet devices. Public cloud offers a shared or multitenant infrastructure that may be virtualized and is owned by the vendor or the service provider. The customer typically rents the ERP software and infrastructure, and is charged on a pay-per-use or pay-per-user basis.
Private Cloud: adopts the virtualized, self-service model of the public cloud; however, it typically does so within the company’s firewall and is located at the company or vendor-hosted datacenter. The company either owns the ERP software and infrastructure, or vendors may provide an option for leasing this as a service. An important distinction from the public cloud model is that the service is provisioned exclusively for an organization (i.e., single tenancy) without any sharing of infrastructure among multiple customers.
Microsoft has invested millions of dollars to cloud computing resources over the past few years to ensure our cloud options are what our customers need. With our ongoing commitment to technology advancement, you can be sure your investment is backed by a strong roadmap of future innovation.
Connie Silverman, Controller at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts says, “By using cloud-based Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Dynamics, we generate substantial savings and efficiencies; practice transparent, sound financial management; and bring outstanding performing-arts events to a growing numbers of patrons.”
Take the next steps to see the product in action or learn more about Microsoft’s cloud or on-premises solutions for small and mid-sized businesses with Solution Systems.