This question was asked by an attendee during the Proformative
A video of the webinar can be viewed here https://www.proformative.com/resources/webinar-video-whats-stopping-cfos-moving-
When our ISP goes down, all access to the cloud is gone. With an internal system, loss of ISP connection does not shut down internal systems. How do you address this concern? (Webinar Attendee Questio
Answers
Ask the vendor if they support 'online/offline' synchronization. Changes that you make when you are offline are automatically updated when you are back online. If this is not an option AND you have significant and periodic outages, then using cloud services may not be an option. But in today's connected world, it would be hard to imagine a company that can live with periodic outages even without cloud services - after all, you still rely on the ISP to send and receive email, handle your phone services (for VOIP) and external collaboration.
In addition to Donald Koscheka's response, in a world where connectivity is so vital, doesn't it make sense to have a backup ISP in place? Or use an ISP that has a planned solution for outages, whether expected or unexpected? Does your company purchase connectivity merely on price or do you evaluate uptime performance as part of the calculation?
I think the real issue is that committing to doing business over the wire (communications, on-line shopping portals, etc.) makes running accounting over the wire normal rather than unusually risky. If your IT group is competent, chances are they will be able to provide a document that addresses your concerns about connectivity.
Even if you don’t have cloud resources, we’re so dependent upon outside sources of data (email, collaboration, payroll, etc.), it makes sense to have multiple ISPs in place. We have to remember that many organizations have a remote workforce, or multiple offices, and in that case, having your systems on-premise results in the inability for anyone to access them from outside that building. To be able to access cloud resources from an on-premise location, I would certainly invest in a secondary internet line. They’re inexpensive and it just makes sense.