Is AWS a Good Alternative to QuickBooks Hosting?
QuickBooks is the preferred business accounting application for millions of small and mid-sized businesses worldwide. With a vast range of features, QuickBooks allows users to keep their accounts neat and organized. Most businesses eventually choose to host QuickBooks in the cloud. It offers added benefits such as anytime, anywhere access, multi-user collaboration, reduced IT costs, automated backup, scalability, and security. Let us break down whether hosting QuickBooks in Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud is possible, and if yes, how easy or difficult it is.
Why Host QuickBooks in the Cloud Rather Than Using QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Desktop is the most robust solution in the QuickBooks product line. It has a wider range of features as compared to QuickBooks Online. If you migrate the existing QuickBooks Desktop application to the cloud, you do not have to learn the new software. Migration preserves the familiar interface and full functionality.
Can You Host QuickBooks in AWS?
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) offers virtual servers in AWS. EC2 allows you to deploy a fully licensed version of QuickBooks, enabling you to access your accounts and records securely. You can use Amazon EC2 servers to configure security and networking, and storage management for your QuickBooks virtual server. The most common method involves using the AWS EC2 virtual server to launch a Windows server into a Virtual Personal Cloud (VPC) you own where you have a public-facing subnet and some Security Group settings that allow inbound RDP connections. This method gets more complicated as you go further. It would help if you were a bit experienced with AWS to set up it properly and securely.
In addition, you can also choose to host your QuickBooks software in Amazon WorkSpaces that provides a Windows 7 virtual desktop in the cloud. This service allows you to operate QuickBooks and access the features virtually from any device. However, you cannot get Windows 10 multi-session experience with Amazon WorkSpaces, as this feature is exclusively available on Azure Windows Virtual Desktops (WVDs).
Does Hosting QuickBooks on AWS Involve Administrative Tasks?
If you take your QuickBooks to AWS, setting up a Remote Desktop Session for the remote desktop app can ensure you get a good experience. However, these types of services are expensive and difficult to maintain without prior IT experience. When you make a shift to a cloud environment without IT expertise, it can lead to complications, if not a failure.
Every virtual machine requires monitoring, active firewall, and maintenance services in order to provide reliable data security and performance. There can also be QuickBooks application-level support issues, that if not addressed on time, can make your application inaccessible. Furthermore, if an effective data backup plan is not in place, you may lose sensitive customer information. All these issues can be resolved with AWS, provided you have a good hold on complex IT practices and willing to pay for add-on services if required.
The best alternative to self-hosting QuickBooks in a VPC or the public cloud is taking the help of an Intuit Authorized Hosting Provider. They have the required skills and expertise to host your books in a fast and secure cloud environment so that you can seamlessly manage your accounts without involving in any administrative complexities. QuickBooks hosting providers such as Apps4Rent can apply the best practice for VM deployment, monitoring, and management. You can also rest assured about data backup, multi-user access, and round-the-clock support.
Apps4Rent – For Right Services to Better Manage Your Business
Cloud is a great option for remote users as it provides a shared experience and fast access. Apps4Rent is an Intuit Authorized Standard Host and can offer a highly secure and reliable platform for your QuickBooks applications. We host your software in cloud solutions such as Azure and our most reliable data centers. We deploy, manage, and maintain your software so you can focus on core business processes. Contact our hosting experts to enquire more about QuickBooks hosting plans. We are available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email to assist you.
