More and more "The Cloud" looks like the easier alternative for data storage. It is just another way we can hold someone or no one else responsible for something that is ours. Recently a CPA suggested that I switch to an online version of the accounting software my business was using.
Like many things in life, it is cheaper this month to "rent" than to buy. For $39 a month I could get software that I could download for $99. Ok so month one I pay $39, and keep $60 in my wallet. The next month, I pay another $39 and keep $21, but then the third month I am now $18 behind and each month, I get another $39 behind the financial curve.
The truly rich rent nothing and buy everything. Looking at the accounting software option, you can quickly see that the software company is getting pretty rich because they own it and other people rent it.
My next concern is simply: What am I really doing with my data?
Am I just storing my data or sharing it? If the data sits in my office, the little green light on my server tells me it is there doing fine. The CD on the shelf and the one I take home make me feel better about my data being there in the morning.
I did look at "renting" the online version of the software but I found two things. First the EULA made my eyes cross and there is another company that offers just about all the same features for just $19 a month. I discovered a couple of features that even my "purchased" version didn't have.
What I was trying to find before my eyes crossed while reading the EULA was an answer about what happens to my data if they get bought or the CEO goes nuts with company money and they go out of business? What if I sell the company and get audited two years later? Would I be able to get the data?
I never got to the answer if it was in the EULA, and decided the $99 download only version was the quick and easy way to upgrade for the year. A little more background is probably due here. I was using a 2009 version of the software. One feature was going to go away in May. When I sent my files to my CPA for my 2011 taxes, he couldn't open the file or make changes because my software version was too old. That is why I started looking.
As soon as I upgraded the software, I got a popup asking me to "share how I use" the software. I started thinking, if they know how I use the software and what is in the data, who is really running my accounting? The problem I have is that "they" aren't going to have to sit with the IRS when something goes wrong.
The more I looked at the accounting software the more I started to wonder about anything else stored in "the cloud". I mean if Facebook shuts down and my pictures disappear, I will probably live without them being online just fine. If LinkedIn shuts down and my business life story is erased from their servers, I probably wouldn't know for a few days at least. Just for fun I have copies of the good pictures on my little home server.
For now, I'll keep "buying" storage devices for my home and office. At least I know where they are. Anyone else have any thoughts on "the cloud'?
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