Dispelling myths that limit organizational change.

• Author: McGeever, Jim
• Position: Technology

Many of the annoyances and irritations that afflict most back offices are a product of outmoded software deployment schemes. Cloud computing--the use of third-party services to run business applications through the Internet--can help cut through conventional hassles. All it takes is a willingness to look past some traditional misconceptions and misunderstandings to gain a balanced overview of this new way that businesses are being run. Five myths will be addressed here.

Myth 1: My business can't afford to lose control of sensitive data by putting it in the hands of a third party.

Many of the same people who say this have, in a sense, been using cloud services for sensitive financial procedures for years. Third-party payroll services are some of the most pervasive financial applications in business today and they handle some of the company's most sensitive data.

Yet, for decades, companies large and small have entrusted these vital financial operations to outside vendors, who have proven themselves worthy with efficient, reliable and secure services. Moving the books to the cloud only feels different, because it is a new concept. But the principles are the same, and the efficiency, reliability and security of cloud computing can prove itself for broader finance tasks as well.

There is a natural impulse to believe that no outside company will protect your data and your interests as fervently as you do. Enterprise cloud computing providers are serious about network security and most of the leaders offer enhanced security options, including two-factor authentication and restricting access based on an Internet protocol (IP) address.

Cloud vendors must be comprehensive about security because a breach would decimate their business overnight. As a result, they have built layers of precautions and protections that far exceed the capabilities of most independent companies. In this way, they are the banks of the enterprise technology world, with vault walls far thicker than are practical in a private home or business. Just as one's money is safer in a bank than in a mattress, one's data is safer in an ultra-secure cloud data warehouse than in most on-premise databases.

Keeping data gated in separate, on-premise systems has another obvious disadvantage. One of the biggest frustrations faced by any finance department is the chaos and confusion that takes over when different people look at different data in different systems. Reconciling these...