Understanding the Cloud and the Benefits for the Accountancy

Sector

Presented by:Adam Chetnik and Steve Thorns

Understanding the Cloud and the Benefits for the Accountancy Sector

• Overview of the Cloud - What is Cloud Computing?

• Types of Services• Hosted Desktop – How is it different?

• Benefits and Risks – Highlight the benefits and address the common concerns

• How does it work in practice? – Case Study

Working in the Cloud?

What is Cloud Computing?

• ‘Buzzword’ for the Internet

• Name was inspired by the ‘cloud symbol’ that was often used to represent the Internet in diagrams and flowchart

• Cloud symbol used to represent the Internet as early as 1994

What is Cloud Computing?Cloud computing refers to services and

applications that are provided over the Internet, stored in a secure data centre and accessed via

any Internet enabled device.

Cloud Computing ServicesDo you use any Cloud Computing Services?

• Websites: 1&1, FastHosts, WebFusion• Email: Google Mail• Email Anti-Spam and Virus filtering: Symantec

Message Labs• Data storage / synchronisation: Dropbox, iCloud• Online backup: Mozy, iDrive• Hosted Services: Desktop, Applications and Servers• SaaS: Xero, KashFlow, SageOne

Cloud Computing Uptake

2012 Survey of 250 SMBs :• 61% of organisations use at least one hosted

or cloud based service (compared to 48% - 18 months ago)

• Of those not using – 26% said they anticipate adopting in the next 12 months

• 77% include consideration of Cloud services within their wider IT strategy

Source: Cloud Industry Forum in the UK

Types of Cloud

Three main categories:

• Public Cloud

• Private Cloud

• Hybrid Cloud

Public, Private or Hybrid Cloud?Public Cloud • Using the Internet to access computer services• Charged on monthly basis according to

gigabytes transmitted and bandwidth used• Cloud provider bears the entire cost of

infrastructure• Pros – cost efficiency, short-term

commitment, faster to deploy• Cons – one-size-fits all approach

Public, Private or Hybrid Cloud?

Private Cloud• Using virtualisation technology to provide

similar function to public Cloud• Owned and managed in-house• Supplier of hardware – Dell, HP, IBM & NetApp• Pros - customisation• Cons – expensive to deploy and maintain

Public, Private or Hybrid Cloud?

Hybrid Cloud• Outsourced options to a third party – public• Partitioning – own virtual system• Provides the customisation of private cloud• Cost efficiency of public cloud

Types of Cloud Computing

Three main categories:

• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

• Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Types of Cloud Computing1. Infrastructure-as-a-Service• Cloud provider supplies infrastructure - access

to virtual servers• Examples – Rackspace and Amazon

2. Platform-as-a-Service• Includes IaaS and the operating system• Examples – Windows Azure, Google App

Engine

Types of Cloud Computing3. Software-as-a-Service• Includes IaaS, PaaS and the application• Cloud provider installs and operates

application software in the Cloud • Users do not own or manage any hardware• Examples:

Hosted Application e.g. SalesForce Microsoft Office 365 Bookkeeping software e.g. Xero, KashFlow

Types of Cloud Computing

Desktop-as-a-Service• Also known as “Hosted or Virtual Desktop”• All applications, data and user profile stored

on a virtual server in a different location• Access available through Internet connection

with any Internet enabled device• Removes need for in-house IT infrastructure

Hosted Desktop – what is it?

• Looks, feels and behaves the same as a normal desktop PC

• A complete hosted desktop solution includes: Windows Operating System Software applications Microsoft Office Standard or Professional Email system e.g. Microsoft Exchange

Hosted Desktop Screen Shot

Benefits of the Cloud• Work from anywhere• Scalability – easy to add or remove users• Support – some providers include IT support

and software updates • Reliability – most providers will give an SLA

with minimum of 99.9% uptime availability• Backup (and replication) • Cost savings• Lower carbon footprint & electricity savings

Typical Cost Savings

NO. OF USERS COST SAVINGS £

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL

5 users in 1 office 4,937 5,197 5,258 15,391

10 users in 1 office 3,931 4,513 4,694 13,138

20 users in 1 office 1,444 2,607 2,969 7,020

25 users in 1 office 14,940 16,424 16,907 48,272

35 users in 2 offices 13,349 15,055 15,780 44,184

75 users in 3 offices 8,667 11,378 12,889 32,935

Examples of cost savings with a Hosted Desktop solution versus a traditional on-site set-up:

Cost savings on average up to 50%, not taking into account staff / partner time on IT. Expenditure becomes OPEX rather than CAPEX.

Concerns over the Cloud• Security of Data – physical and virtual security. Data centres built with highest level of physical security. Intrusion prevention systems used to prevent an possible hacking. Transmission over the Internet and encrypted. SSL encryption, same as used for online banking and secure payment. Biggest source of data loss/leaks actually come from misplaced USB sticks, stolen laptops, unsecure internet connections and less than honest employees.

• Internet Speed and ConnectionA hosted service doesn’t need high speed Internet connections as no actual processing of data or data is transmitted over the Internet. In August 2012 Ofcom found that the average Internet speed in UK is 9.0Mbit/s. City locations higher than this and speeds increasing all the time with investment backed by the Government. Internet is now consistently reliable in the UK, and if yours is not it is more than likely a fault with internal equipment or cabling. If your Internet connection does ever fail – options to work from another location, 3G or purchase a dongle.

• Location of data People are concerned that they don’t know where there data is stored. Our answer to this would be to check out your supplier is before moving to them.

Concerns over the CloudUnder the Data Protection Act 1999 storage of data remains the responsibility of data controller (i.e. you the accountant), so you must ensure that data processor (cloud provider) maintains good practice in terms of security, but all this really means is that you need to check that your data is either within EU or if in US with a safe harbour provider.

• Cloud Provider – do your homeworkCheck who the provider is - do your homework . Check who they really are: are they are reseller.A good provider will give you all the reassurances you need on who they are and how they operate. Do they provide all support, are there support team technical, what do they charge as extras, are their data centres in the UK, what is there disaster recovery procedure, what is the lock in period, what is there SLA and downtime record.

• Changes to the way you workStaff worry that it will change the way the work, business owners worry that training will be required costing time and money. A hosted desktop looks, feels and behaves the same, so there is no need to have any concerns. A business can move to a hosted environment with no re-training requirement. IT staff fear redundancy – yes this is inevitable, but we have found that in some cases the IT manager actually welcomes less time spent on IT maintenance allowing them to spend more time on planning, strategy etc.

Hosted Desktop Uptake

Recent poll of 250 Accountants at IT update webinar by the ICAEW IT Faculty showed:

• 11% using hosted services• 27% using a mixture of both• 50% will consider it next time need to change

their server(s)• 12% systems not robust enough to host

How does it work in Practice?

Case StudyScenario:• 30 users over 2 offices • Separate databases in the two offices • Some software only available in one office• Transferred data around on memory sticks

Moved to hosted solution in June 2011 ……

How does it work in Practice?

• Integrated database of software and all data• Staff can work from home or access system at

clients• As well as no capital costs on servers, able to

purchase much cheaper PCs – Thin Clients, which take 5 mins to setup compared to 5 hours previously

• All using latest version of Microsoft Office• Software updates done by hosted provider

Summary• What is Cloud Computing?• Adoption rates are high and set to increase• Different types to consider, but all have same

benefits and possible concerns• How does it work in Practice

• What is the future of Cloud Computing?Improved security e.g improved encryption techniques. Cloud services will be optimized for mobile. Already over 27% of emails are opened on a mobile device. European Cloud Partnership (ECP) met for first time this week kicking off the process of building an EU Digital Single Market for Cloud Computing. Will create a common framework for cloud computing across Europe to stimulate the migration of IT use to the Cloud. Initial budget of 10 million Euros allocated.

Any Questions?

Adam Chetnik and Steve ThornsStand A352

020 3239 6181www.hosteddesktopuk.co.uk

@HostedDesktopUK