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Category Archives: blog
5 Hidden Costs of Hosting Your Database On-Premise
When it comes to storing your critical business database, there are two basic optics – hosting your own database yourself or outsourcing the hosting to another company. Your initial thought is likely that on-premise hosting will help your business save money compared to paying others, and from the standpoint of hosting fees, that would seem logical. In addition, self-hosting gives you more control. However, hosting your database yourself has several hidden costs that you’ll want to consider before deciding on the best hosting solution.
Hardware and Maintenance Costs
One of the most obvious types of costs you’ll incur by self-hosting your database are hardware and maintenance costs. It will be up to your team to determine the specifications you’ll need on your server to support your database hosting needs – and then purchase the required hardware. The costs to maintain your hosting hardware will also be purely your responsibility, whether the maintenance work is done in-house or outsourced.
Electricity and Bandwidth
On-premise hosting means you will also be responsible for the cost of the electricity required to run your hosting hardware. This not only includes the amount of power you will consume for your data center, but also the electricity needed to properly cool your data storage system. Along with electricity, you will also have bandwidth expenses, which can vary based on the speed your hosting needs require.
Cost of IT Personnel
Finally, if you choose to use on-premise hosting for your business database needs, you will likely want to use in-house staff to oversee and provide maintenance for your hardware. This means salary costs, payroll tax and other costs for one or more IT personnel. While in some cases these IT team members may be able to work on other tasks as well, larger hosting requirements may require a dedicated staff member for this aspect of your business.
If you’re considering hosting your business database in-house, it’s important to weigh all of the advantage and disadvantages. Understanding the true costs of on-premise hosting will help you make the right decision for your organization. Remember that we offer a variety of 30 day free trials for hosting Access and SQL Databases.
Top 10 Reasons to Move Your Access Database to the Cloud
The cloud is a fast, convenient technology suitable for modern businesses and consumers. You simply get faster time to market. It’s not a surprise 90 percent of businesses already utilizing the cloud in some way.
If you haven’t already, consider moving your access database to the cloud. Here are the top 10 reasons why you should. Remember that Access Hosting offers great web database hosting solutions for small businesses.
1. Unmatched Storage Flexibility
Most businesses have growing or changing needs, and they need data services with flexibility. Access Hosting’s Cloud capacity can easily be scaled up by drawing on other servers (or scaled down). With such capabilities, cloud computing has a distinct advantage. Perhaps that’s why IT experts rank “operational agility” as a top reason for increased cloud adoption.
2. Collaboration Capabilities
As companies move increasingly online, it’s vital for employees to still be able to collaborate on projects. Access Hosting’s private cloud provides users the ability to access, edit and share files from virtually anywhere — which helps increase productivity. For instance, if you choose to build an MS Access Web Database that integrates with Excel, you can secure and manage access to data, and choose what to share within the organization with our Windows Terminal Servers.
3. Lower Costs
Cloud computing takes out the cost of hardware, and most employ a pay-as-you-go or subscription-based model. While spending on cloud services is projected to reach $240 billion in 2017, services are getting cheaper and more efficient. That’s why large-scale adoption is taking place. Access Hosting has plans starting at only $19/month to get your database in the cloud.
4. Constant Worldwide Access
Think about this: Lost laptops cost companies tons of money, with estimates in the billions of dollars. If an employee is storing work just on his computer, that work is lost if something happens to the computer. If the work had been stored in the cloud, it would still be accessible from another device – our RDP hosting plans even let you access and run your MS Access Database from iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.
5. Competitiveness
Moving your database to the cloud does many things to make you more competitive, from increasing team communication and productivity to reducing expenses. Furthermore, having all that data in one place gives decision-makers a comprehensive view of what’s happening, making it easier to dig through and choose directions that will benefit the business.
6. Strong Security
The cloud helps prepare businesses for disaster, as it is a timely data backup built to consistently ward off the latest cyber-security threats. If something like a server crash happens with your MS Access database, a dedicated IT team from your hosting service is already there to deal with the issue, and you’ll be running your business again in no time.
7. Instant Publication
The cloud is popular because of its ability to show changes and updates instantaneously. For example, if you are using MS Access and have chosen an efficient MS Access hosting service, you can publish data to SharePoint within minutes. This boosts team productivity and makes it easier to get new products and updates to your customers.
8. Automatic Updates
There are two main advantages to automatic updates from cloud computing providers: One, you save time, which saves your company money; and two, you don’t need to bring in an IT expert to install the update, which again saves you time and money. With most services, installing updates is very straightforward. If you use Quickbooks to handle accounting, for instance, updating is just a support ticket away.
9. Environmentally Friendly
Companies have a responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint. Cloud computing does use its fair share of energy, but it leaves less waste. According to a Scientific American report, consolidating documents on remote servers is more energy efficient than saving them on personal computers.
10. Easy Integration
Many employees may have trouble understanding the cloud, but most reliable providers do one thing well: They make it very user-friendly. Hence, moving your database to the cloud is usually a seamless process that doesn’t waste resources.
Posted in blog, Cloud Hosting Tips, Tips & Tricks
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8 Benefits of Using Collaborative Software in the Cloud
Cloud technology was a global phenomenon just a few years ago, but it is now integral part of business operations. The cloud has been particularly helpful to companies that use collaborative software like Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and Access, as it allows for safe, quick and encrypted access to potentially sensitive data — from anywhere in the world.
If you are contemplating moving your collaborative software to the cloud, there are eight very clear benefits of doing so.
1. Reduced Hardware Costs
The cost of purchasing and installing sophisticated IT systems can be considerable, particularly for startups and small businesses. But using the remote servers of a cloud provider like Access Hosting means companies and relatively small organizations can bypass these costs and save money. There is no systems maintenance or management cost, but just a fixed monthly subscription that makes financial planning simple.
2. Reliable Security Features
The use of collaborative software can pose significant security problems. Several users all accessing and sharing the same data via different devices is a situation with inherent risk. But cloud storage providers offer protection from all the latest viruses and malware. And depending on the provider, there may be the option of two-factor authentication at login. Most cloud providers offer automatic updates, which means businesses don’t need to pay IT specialists to update several physical servers and devices with the latest protection.
3. Remote Working
This brave new world of cloud computing is making the traditional office environment increasingly obsolete. Users with access to collaborative software in the cloud can view, share and update files from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. That means you can collaborate in MS Access, Excel or even Quickbooks without having to physically be in the office. This can reduce costs, improve staff morale and boost productivity levels.
4. Reduced Operational Costs
Most businesses have fluctuating bandwidth costs, so there’s often a need to scale up and scale down capacity at short notice. Cloud storage allows businesses to pay for only the capacity they need, rather than wasting cash on excess storage and bandwidth.
5. Seamless Collaboration
The success of collaborative software — such as the many packages developed by Microsoft Office 365- relies on the ability to share, view and edit files in real time. Any updates made to files in cloud storage are immediately available to all users, so they’re able to make their own contributions in the knowledge that they have the latest information at hand. Best of all, our terminal services collaboration plans allow for developers to leave their MS Access Database as-is and move it into the cloud seamlessly.
6. Cost-Effective Disaster Recovery
Every business needs to prepare for the worst when it comes to data storage. A man-made or natural disaster has the potential to wipe out a business’s data in seconds, so having a plan to continually back up data — and restore lost data — is essential. However, this can be a complex and costly process, and it can put a huge financial and administrative strain on small organizations. Collaborative software in the cloud usually includes disaster recovery measures, saving businesses time and money. Access Hosting takes daily backups of our architecture and you can add individual file backups for as little as $20/month.
7. Improved Competitiveness
Small businesses often struggle to compete financially with their larger competitors. Collaborative software in the cloud can level the playing field in this respect. Cloud computing is cheaper than installing and maintaining physical IT infrastructure, which makes it possible for smaller organizations to be competitive within their industries.
8. Restricted Access Based on Security Clearance
In an organization with hundreds of employees, it is inevitable that certain people will need to access sensitive files that aren’t for general consumption. Providers of cloud-based collaborative software offer varying levels of user access, so sensitive data remains private.
Cloud technology gives businesses flexibility, reliability and simplicity — and cuts the cost of doing business. This is why more and more organizations are transferring their collaborative software to the cloud.
Announcing Quickbooks Hosting options and integrations
We are currently hard at work on some exciting new hosting options including QuickBooks Hosting in our private cloud. We are going to build out and extend our Remote Desktop hosting options beyond Office 365 and into a full-featured QuickBooks Desktop at anytime, from anywhere. Increase collaboration and flexibility in a secure, fully-managed environment. We are currently in the final stages of testing with some hand-selected clients who were looking for this feature and would be happy to notify you as soon as it is a widely available. If you are interested in hosting your quickbooks application alongside your Access database and Microsoft Office, please provide your email address below:
Here is a quick list of features and benefits to using our hosted Quickbooks solution.
Multiple QuickBooks Hosting Versions
Run any number of full-featured, desktop QuickBooks editions or versions from QuickBooks 2013 Pro to QuickBooks 2016 Enterprise. Use additional versions of QuickBooks at no extra charge.
Full-Featured Desktop QuickBooks
Access the full features of the desktop versions of QuickBooks from anywhere.
Multi-User Access
Have multiple users access the same QuickBooks company file at the same time. A business user and their CPA can be in the same file at the same time.
Multiple QuickBooks File Access
Access multiple QuickBooks company files from a single log-on, all within your hosted desktop. You can work with multiple company files for the price of just one user login.
Save Time
With a hosted desktop by Access Hosting, you are able to access your files from anywhere at anytime. There is no more waiting for clients to send their files. Instead, you are able to share the files from your computer, no matter where you or your clients are located.
Increased Security
Access Hosting handles all of the server management. Your data and applications are stored in SSAE-16 compliant, top-tier data centers. Fully-clustered server redundancy, encrypted communication, encrypted backups, firewall protections help to secure your data and applications against natural disasters. Rather than keeping your servers in house, our server management increases your data security.
5 Unconventional Ways Microsoft Access Can Power Your Business
Since it’s inception, Microsoft Access has been the go-to database for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly, as Access’s features and cloud capability have rapidly expanded over the years, so too have the different ways the technology is used. Here are a few of our favorites:
1. Employee Training
There are few things more valuable to a business than properly onboarding and training new employees. While for most companies the ROI on hiring and app developer for a training application wouldn’t be high enough to justify the cost, building them in house is an appealing option. And as the company’s hiring scales, moving the backend of the app to a server like Microsoft SQL Server will be a low-cost way to scale your training app with it.
2. Customer Relationship Management
For many small businesses, CRMs like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics are either too expensive or too cumbersome to implement. However, having accurate, up-to-date customer and prospect information is crucial to running client-facing departments . As an MS Access user, it’s more than likely that much of this data already exists there. By standardizing this information and creating relational tables for objects like leads and deals, you too can have a CRM without the cost and learning curve.
3. Displaying Access to Data
While we’re on the subject of prospects and customers, many of them will want to access some of the data that you store in your web database – for example, recent invoices or the date of their next appointment. You can easily deliver this data easily by offering them a form they can fill out on your site. ASP.NET forms can query a Microsoft Access online database directly, so by implementing them on your site, you can surface this data to your customers with limited effort from your developers.
4. Business Intelligence
If you’re like many, you’re using an endless string of VLOOKUPs in Excel to report on related data from different tables or sources. This is really a job for Microsoft Access’ relational tables. Built on top of Microsoft’s Jet Database Engine, you can use these powerful tools to easily create queries that quite literally fly.
5. Development Waterfalls
If you’re in software development, one common practice you’re likely familiar with is creating waterfall models to manage the progress of an application. Since you may be creating an application that leverages Access or SQL Servers as your backend, why not keep track of your app’s progress there as well?
These are just a few of many ideas for uses for MS Access – the beauty of the software is that it’s uses are really only limited to the imagination<.
Posted in Access 2010, Access 2013, Access 2016, Access Developer, blog, SQL Hosting, SQL Server 2012
Tagged Access 2010, Access 2013, Access 2016, Access on the Web, Microsoft
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3 Great Reasons to Choose Microsoft Access
The database market is divided among four major players: MS Access, Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL. Due to accessibility and focus on user interface, MS Access has garnered some negative press as being unsuitable for professional level database development. However, depending on the needs of the organization, there are many compelling reasons to choose MS Access as your business database software.
1. It’s widely distributed
MS Access is bundled with the MS Office suite, making it the most widely available desktop database program in the world. This also makes it one of the most affordable options for businesses, which tend to purchase businesses licenses of MS Office. The common interface among all the MS Office programs makes it easy to import and move data to and from the database without having to resort to specialized software. Due to the popularity of the product, support for MS Access is also very good, with plenty of online tutorials and articles available, in addition to Microsoft’s excellent customer service.
2. It’s user-friendly yet powerful
One of the main benefits of MS Access is its ease of use. Even users new to database development can pick up the basics quite easily, as everything is presented in an intuitive manner. Much of the user interface in MS Access is designed to assist users with creating and editing tables, and there are many templates available to ensure that the database meets organizational needs. MS Access also provides options for importing data from other databases, and provides troubleshooting tips for every step of the way.
Despite this focus on ease of use, MS Access users have access to powerful SQL tools that allow for rapid development. MS Access is also .NET friendly, meaning that developers wanting finer control of software development can take advantage of the ease of use and functionality of MS Access.
3. It has excellent third-party support
Due to the widespread popularity of MS Access, there are many third-party plugins and developmental tools that are available. This means that MS Access is far more flexible than other databases, making it easier to customize and adapt to the changing needs of your business. In addition, there are many more external consultants well-versed in MS Access, and they are generally more affordable than consultants for Oracle and SQL Server.
MS Access is an excellent database choice if your organization requires a database that is easy to use and that has established, reputable support structures. MS Access is powerful enough to meet the demands of most small to medium businesses.
Best of all you can utilize Access Hosting superior hosting infrastructure to further bolster your Access Database and get it in the cloud easily and securely. All of our services offer a free 30 day trial so that you can easily test everything with Microsoft Access to make sure that it meets your needs.
Posted in blog, News
Tagged Access 2010, Access 2013, Access 2016, Access on the Web, Remote Desktop
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