Being security savvy: The cloud advantage

Information security is a big subject that’s top of mind for many accountants. As the world migrates to cloud technology, many accountants and their clients are hesitant to adapt out of fear.

We commissioned a survey of 700 accountants from across the globe to understand what the landscape for accountants looks like today and in the future, and we found that 37% see security as the biggest barrier to cloud technology adoption.

While concerns are understandable, should they be directed at the cloud? Where does this leave practices who simply don’t have extensive resources to protect themselves?

Knowing the facts about cloud security will help accountants and their clients embrace adopting a cloud-based model. For example, many focus solely on the security of the cloud software itself to provide security barriers instead of monitoring the internal factors that are responsible for 43% of data breaches.

Fact is, not all data compromises are done maliciously. What about those simple mistakes we all make? Just one click and your data can be compromised. Employee education is the key – everyone must be vigilant throughout the busy days.

Your security is only as strong as your weakest link. With or without cloud adoption, practices must take steps to protect themselves and their clients. A starting point is investing in things like training and awareness for colleagues, antivirus software, user awareness of phishing attempts, password protection and so forth.

Yes, there is a certain standard that cloud providers must meet, but even the toughest standard means nothing if employees are sharing passwords or not taking the right measures to make sure access to sensitive data is protected. Working with the right cloud provider alongside internal education strikes the right balance.

When choosing a cloud vendor to work with, you are essentially hiring your own enterprise team without the associated costs and management. Cloud technology can permit access to better services, skill, infrastructure, and reduces the headaches associated with keeping systems up-to-date and secure. Ultimately, using a cloud solution affords better protection than if data was stored onsite.

Embracing technological change means embracing the opportunity. Debunking the cloud brings benefits with many facets: collaboration, availability, and even security. Understanding true risks – not just the perceived risks – is an important consideration as it ultimately opens the door to more time to spend either working on building the business or taking time off.