security

Article Dean Dorton

Today your business relies on email and web more than ever. As the use of email and web increases, so does the number of advanced threats targeted at infecting users through these critical channels. An advanced email and web security strategy is critical to maintain business operations and protect your organization’s business-sensitive data.Watch this short video on Cisco email and web security solutions to learn about:

  • The current email and web threat landscape
  • Why traditional security solutions are falling short
  • What you need to protect your organization
  • How Cisco email and web security can help

Watch NowUpcoming Events

Join us this spring as we discuss comprehensive business network security topics including Cisco’s Advanced Malware Protection suite of products that provides a solution to secure your infrastructure before, during, and after a malware attack. We highly encourage company chief financial officers, chief operating officers, and chief information officers in the industry to attend this event.3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream
1210 Manchester Street
Lexington, KY 40504

Registration Closes April 193:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Against the Grain Brewery
401 East Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202Register NowContact Jason Miller at jmiller@ddaftech.com or David Rice at drice@ddaftech.com if you have any questions.View Jason Miller’s Bio

Article Dean Dorton

Question:

If you renovate a building used in your business this year, then is the expenditure a capitalized improvement or an expensed repair?

Answer: 

It is important to understand how the “unit of property” concept has changed regarding buildings. Before the new rules, only the building in its entirety was considered one unit of property. Now, as many as nine building systems can make up one building, and each system is its own unit of property.

The nine systems that can make up a building are as follows:

  1. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
  2. Plumbing systems (pipes, drains, sinks, toilets, etc.)
  3. Electrical systems (wiring, outlets, lighting fixtures, etc.)
  4. All escalators
  5. All elevators
  6. Fire protection and alarm systems (sensing devices, computer controls, sprinkler heads, etc.)
  7. Security systems (window and door locks, security cameras, recorder, monitors, motion detectors, etc.)
  8. Gas distribution systems
  9. Other structural components (roof, walls, floors, etc.)

To follow the new Building Systems rules, you may have to plan more carefully before you renovate and keep detailed records during each project. However, these rules may also provide more certainty that an expenditure appropriately expensed as a repair will pass IRS scrutiny.

Contact your Dean Dorton advisor or Faith Crump at fcrump@deandorton.com or 502.566.1025 if you have any questions.

View Faith Crump’s Bio

Article Dean Dorton

Are your defenses as resilient as your digital ambitions?

Digitization – creating business value through digitized assets and expanded connectivity – is increasing exposure to cyber attacks. As a result, cyber-risk strategies are under the microscope.

New threat intelligence and trend analysis in the Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report explains advances by the security industry and by criminals. Gain insights into how to effectively combat these threats with increased collaboration, communication, and coordination, and by investing for resilience. You’ll also learn how your security peers assess the state of security preparedness in their organizations.

Report highlights include:

  • How industry efforts have crippled major attacks
  • Shifts in tactics by cybercriminals to make money
  • Expert insights into top vulnerabilities
  • How adaptive, integrated solutions can quicken time to detection
  • An update about the state of enterprise security preparedness

Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report: Achieving Attack Resilience in a Digital Age

Contact Jason Miller (jmiller@ddaftech.com) or David Rice (drice@ddaftech.com) for more information.


View Jason Miller’s Bio

Article Dean Dorton

1. The Cloud is less reliable than on-premise

For all accounting systems, operational stability and compatibility is very important. With traditional, on-premise systems, product vendors typically do not offer guarantees for the program to be free of errors or interruptions. This is because the software vendor has no control over the specific network and server setup that their product is installed on. On the other hand, cloud computing companies own and control the systems that host the software, so they are solely responsible if their network goes down or if an upgrade breaks the system. Because they must meet their service level agreements, their datacenters are equipped with redundant power supplies and multiple Internet connections with a variety of ISPs. They also manage offsite backups and disaster recovery plans.

2. The Cloud is less secure than on-premise

Security is vital to every system, and the Cloud is no exception. Cloud computing companies such as Intacct have intrusion detection systems to guard their networks. Each user account has granular permissions available to limit what each person can view, edit, and save in the system. Intacct also provides two-factor authentication, IP address filtering, and forced password changes. As well, data is encrypted as it travels between your browser and the application. This applies not only to the primary data center, but also to their multiple, redundant backups that protect your information in the event that the primary facility goes down.

3. There is no place for cloud computing in your business

Many businesses are running on the cloud without even realizing it. Do you remotely access your email on your phone or laptop, perhaps to send and receive reports or to discuss your work? Maybe you also use a document sharing service such as Google Drive or Office 365? If so, those are cloud applications that are used to run many businesses just like yours.

4. Everyone will have access to your finances

A common objections to cloud computing is the fear that by not keeping in your internal systems, it will be vulnerable to hackers and other unauthorized access. The reality is that your company’s security and backup systems are far less advanced than those employed by cloud computing datacenters. Many breaches of financial data are due to unauthorized access to the physical system. Cloud providers like Intacct perform extensive background checks on all employees and maintain fences, armed guards, and biometric access checks to protect the physical system.

5. There is too much work involved in migrating to the cloud

With Cloud applications, it’s actually very easy to migrate your old data into the system. Modern cloud-based programs generally have several options for importing your data. With Intacct, you can use their CSV import templates, upload a QuickBooks company file, or use Scribe Online to migrate your data.

6. I have no idea where my data is

As outlined previously, your data is stored in world-class facilities run by the cloud provider. For instance, Intacct stores their
customers data in San Jose, California, with additional backups in Sacramento. Each location is monitored around the clock and features multiple fiber-optic data connections, mirrored RAID storage, redundant servers and generators, and guaranteed application recovery within 24-hours should a disaster occur. These types of protections and backups are typical among cloud providers.

7. Cloud computing is a new, untested technology

Cloud computing is a natural extension of business process that has been done for many years: outsourcing. Just like consulting companies can provide more reliable services due to scale and experience, cloud computing companies can provide specialized services better and at a lower cost because they focus on that one thing.

8. Complex data centers are needed for your business applications

Due to legacy systems and software, it’s easy to believe that you need a multitude of servers running on complicated network systems in order to accomplish the business functions your company needs. The reality is that nearly everything from data storage and backups to financial software can be run as a cloud application. With the use of standardized programming interfaces, these separate cloud apps can integrated seamlessly, meaning that you are no longer locked into a single product or vendor.

9. Application hosting is the same as cloud computing

Application hosting is halfway between being an on-premise service and a cloud service. Application hosting services like Citrix or Terminal Services don’t require you to maintain the application servers, but they still require you to purchase software and use specialized client programs. A true cloud computing application only requires the use of a standard web browser such as Firefox, and the application is paid for on a subscription-basis.

10. Cloud computing is more expensive than owning an on-premise solution

While there may be a few larger upfront costs when migrating your data to a new system, cloud-based applications actually reduce costs significantly. With an on-premise application, you have to pay for hardware, software licenses, energy, maintenance fees, storage, support personnel, and everything else that comes with managing your own systems. With a cloud application, all you pay for is a subscription fee based on the features and number of users for that billing period.

11. I don’t own the data anymore/I can’t backup my data

Cloud applications perform and store backups automatically in the event of a disaster. If you want to keep a local copy for yourself as well, there are options for exporting anything you might need. Some systems will even let you schedule offsite backups to your own server or to another cloud provider such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

Article Dean Dorton

I’ve been involved the implementation of accounting software for more than 20 years and have seen a great evolution of the accounting software marketplace. Currently the biggest shift taking place is the move from traditional “on premise” (the software is installed on a local server) to Cloud-based accounting systems. Because I work with both types of systems every day, I decided to highlight why vendors are moving their accounting software to the Cloud. Specifically I will focus this discussion on the investment cost associated with maintaining a traditional accounting software product versus using a Cloud-based accounting system.

Servers

For traditional “on premise” systems, you’ll typically find a server room with racks of routers, servers, hard drive arrays, and tape backup systems. Manning that room are one or more highly trained technicians who understand concepts like “active directory”, “network shares”, and “virtual servers”. All of this equipment is necessary to run the accounting system. In contrast, Cloud-based systems only require a desktop or laptop computer along with wired or wireless access in the office. The users simply access the Cloud-based accounting system from the Internet. Many companies using Cloud-based applications can rely on “IT for hire” firms for periodic IT support because their Cloud-based systems require so much less support.

Workstation compatibility

Traditional “on premise” accounting systems use the computer hardware, operating system, and network to make the system work. This requires that the workstations and servers meet the software vendors “compatibility checklist”. If the product will not run on Windows 8, then you would need to order new workstations with the older Windows 7 product until your accounting software catches up. Network servers need to be compatible too, so Windows Server 2003 or SQL Server 2005 might not work with your traditional system, requiring further upgrade and expense. Cloud-based systems are “OS agnostic”, meaning that as long as you can connect to an Internet browser you can log onto the accounting software. That also means users can run Cloud-based systems on a Dell laptop, an Apple IPad, a Galaxy tablet, even a smartphone if it can browse the Internet.

Updates & upgrades

Most traditional “on premise” systems require updates to resolve software bugs or compatibility issues. Software upgrades, which represent major changes to the accounting software, typically take one to several days and require that all of the users are out of the system. During that time the accounting staff cannot perform their functions while the software team performs the upgrade. If the business has invested in custom programming of the accounting system, they typically need to wait until the programmers have re-programmed their product to be compatible with the new release, and thus most users wait much longer before moving to a new version that might offer new features or functionality. In contract, Cloud-based accounting systems typically offer updates every three to six months, and provide that functionality to users as part of their normal subscription. Users can elect to turn on new features as they deem necessary, or keep their system exactly as they like it.

Data security

Now that data backups can be made over the Internet, system backups can finally be secured off the customer site. But in the event of a disaster (e.g. server failure, catastrophic weather event like a hurricane, etc.) the recovery of the accounting system still requires that the accounting system be down for a period of time until the computer system can be recovered. The recovery of the system could take as little as several hours or may stretch for days or weeks, depending on how much equipment needs to be replaced, its availability from the vendor, and how much data needs to be restored. Statistics on disaster recovery cite that one in four businesses that experience a disaster never recover. Cloud-based accounting systems are typically backed up in redundant locations, so that if one location experiences problems, it’s second (or third or fourth) can continue to allow users to access the accounting software without interruption. Further, if the users cannot access the business environment (the office was devastated by a hurricane and has no power), Cloud-based users can simply make a connection to the Internet from another location and continue to perform their accounting work.

In conclusion, Cloud-based accounting systems offer an opportunity for businesses to quickly recover their initial investment through a lower cost of ownership. They can also benefit from a quicker ROI (Return on Investment) while enjoying enhanced performance using the latest technologies available through the Internet.