Stand-alone installation using cloud based storage?

[pccdavef]

Greetings -

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I'm a sole practitioner looking to improve my security posture by moving data files containing sensitive client data off my local machines. I currently have a standalone installation of ProSeries on Windows 11.

Does anyone know if I can move my client files into a cloud based storage solution that can be accessed like a Windows drive (H:, G:, etc.), such as Amazon S3 or the Azure Files? If anyone has done such a thing, what are the pros can cons you've experienced? Are there alternatives I haven't considered?

I appreciate your thoughts -

Dave

[Strongsilence-CPA]

I hope this helps.

I use MS One Drive. I have used it for 2020 and 2021 tax years.

Con - It is not supported by Intuit.

Pro - I can access data from both of my laptops

Con - I spend time managing my directory structure/managing MS One Drive. It is not a lot of time. I'm not very savvy with these types of issues so I'm probably slower than some sole practitioners.

Pro - LC support has helped me with various file saving problems I have encountered.

Pro - No need to purchase the Intuit product. So, cost savings.

Con - I can access data remotely.

[Skylane]

Well, the people at Intuit would love to sell you their hosted product… I’m just not convinced of their or anyone else’s security… I’m also a sole practitioner but still prefer to work and back up on my own hard drives/networks and use firewalls and a limited exposure to the ether-world…

[dascpa]

Hosting the program in the cloud and putting your data in the cloud are two different items. Besides Intuit, there are a handful of vendors who will host the software on their servers, accessed by you. So not technically cloud-based but remote login in. The problem I've had with that is all the data is on their servers and not in my office. I personally will not accept that for security purposes as well as having no backup.

We were originally told that data such as QuickBooks, ProSeries, etc. can be backed up to the cloud (Dropbox, Carbonite, OneDrive, etc.) but since it's an open database type of file (different than Word, Excel, etc. type of files) it should not be used while in the cloud as errors could / have occur(ed). This may have changed as technology has changed but I am not risking it. That's your decision. If you find out "definitively" from ProSeries that it is okay to do so, please update your posting to let us all know.

[qbteachmt]

This is sort of backwards: "I'm a sole practitioner looking to improve my security posture by moving data files containing sensitive client data off my local machines. I currently have a standalone installation of ProSeries on Windows 11."

Nothing is more secure than something that is on your local machine, as long as that machine is under your control with security measures. Once you put something out to the Cloud/Web, now it is available simply because it is no longer local in that one place you control.

The issues for not using a relational database from Cloud storage is integrity such as record locking, or...you have the file open remotely, but you are trying to use it with local program(s) to make update(s) and any interruption or concurrency (multiple users) can create "conflicted copies" and corrupt that database (in this case, a client file). You can use it for storage, such as backup files maintenance. Example: I am on an errand while my office burns, but my working files are all in DropBox, so I can recover from that disaster.

You didn't specifically explain which part of your current system you feel is the weak point for security. Putting the working files on the web can create exposure to fraud or the opportunity for unauthorized access. It's typically more affordable to improve site security than to go out to third-party providers.